Book Review: Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

I was hoping for a little more from this collection than I got. I think, since this is Gaiman's second short story collection and I had read his third recently, that he has simply matured as a writer in the time since this. The best stories are at the beginning and ending: a Sherlock Holmes plus H.P. Lovecraft mashup called "A Study in Emerald" and an American Gods sequel story called "The Monarch of the Glen." Both of those are especially unusual short stories in that they seem to open up new possibilities for the worlds they inhabit. Most of the other stories are indeed very good, but in the end seem more like writing exercises and leaves on the wind than fully developed like the other two. (Oh, there's also one called "Goliath" set in the world of the Matrix, also a cut above the rest.) Like all Gaiman, well worth it, but I have to admit it seems below average for his high level.