M Is for Magic

M Is for Magic by Neil Gaiman

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Ever have those days where you put on an old jacket from last winter, and find a $20 bill in the pocket?  That’s how I felt when I first heard about M Is for Magic.  I didn’t know that Neil Gaiman had a new book coming out, much less that he had pulled a Ray Bradbury by picking some of his stories appropriate for younger audiences, and packaging them together under a new title.  Shoot, he even acknowledges Bradbury in the introduction and in “October in the Chair,” so it’s no surprise that he even adopted Bradbury’s old title format for the collection.  Bradbury had R Is for Rocket and S Is for Space, and now we’ve covered the Ms, as well.

So, the reality is that if you’re a hardcore Gaiman fanboy, then you’ve read most all of these stories.  There’s only one story here that’s an “exclusive” (“The Witch’s Headstone,” a wonderful romp that’s reminiscent of Jonathan Carroll’s early stuff), but I believe it’s going to see print in a future publication, anyway.   The good news is that this is a lot like a “greatest hits” for Gaiman.  “Chivalry,” possibly the best short work of fiction published last century, is there, as is “Troll Bridge” (which shows the darker side of growing up) and “The Price” (an even darker look at our pets and what they do for us), along with a newer “classic,” “How to Talk to Girls at Parties” (an odd science fiction story that probably owes a small debt to Harlan Ellison).

Like any short story collection, there are a few misses here, including “The Case of Four and Twenty Blackbirds,” but the premises and ideas behind the stories make up for what they lack in punch.  Even Neil Gaiman can’t be on all the time, but even when he’s just puttering along, there’s much more going on to keep your interest than just the presentation.  The story itself should keep you reading.  Besides, as I’ve mentioned before, mediocre Neil Gaiman is definitely better than the best of some other authors I’ve read.

So, there may not be anything new here, and it may not all represent the best stuff that Gaiman has written, but M Is for Magic is a great introduction to a wonderful author.  That it’s been released just in time for you to pick the collection up for the young reader in your family for Christmas isn’t, I doubt, a coincidence.  Besides, if you haven’t read “Chivalry” yet, then your life isn’t quite yet complete.

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