Any time I pick up a book by Neil Gaiman, I know I’m going to get something good. His prose sings, his stories are creative and magical, and his characters have a personality and depth that would taunt any literary snob insistent on rejecting fantasy as a genre. On top of all this, his work is, by turns, pleasant and heart-breaking, horrifying and hilarious.
His 2015 short story collection, Trigger Warning, is all of these things. But, it also has great qualities that set it apart from his other work.
Among its best traits is this: it provides a nice taste of the variety and flexibility of Gaiman’s work. It has everything good I listed above, but with jumps between genres and themes and moods, which provide readers with a sort of storytelling “variety pack.” I mean that in the best possible way. Anyone should be able to find something here that they like, and with Gaiman’s creativity on full display, the mix of stories should give most folks a mind-expanding batch of tales for every mood. It even has some fresh takes on classic stories (like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty), and additions to existing franchises and stories (including one for Doctor Who, and another for American Gods).
As for downsides? Well, those are mostly matters of taste. While there’s some combat and excitement in the collection, those looking for a pulse-pounding thrill-ride may find themselves disappointed by the more contemplative, magical tone of the stories. And, as humor is intensely subjective, not everyone will vibe with the way the book looks for a laugh. Finally, Gaiman often explores the weird or unconventional, so if that turns you off, then so be it.
However, if you’re a writer (especially a fantasy, sci-fi, or short story writer), I would consider Trigger Warning to be required reading. It has a lesson that I think all of us would do well to learn: you don’t always have to explain your world or your magic.
Maybe it’s a “me” thing; I spent so much time in writing workshops where everyone was trying to nitpick each-other’s pieces (and where genre fiction wasn’t always welcome) that I, like others, developed an obsession with explaining everything in clear, technical terms. I was torn between my love of wonder, and an impulse to make sure my reader knew exactly how the magic worked, in order to protect my work from accusations of “not making sense.” And, I know I can’t be the only one; you see this “clear and technical” kind of explanation in Brandon Sanderson, V.E. Schwab, and many other fantasy authors. It’s usually referred to as “hard magic.”
It’s not an inherently bad thing, by the way. I love Schwab’s work (seriously: read A Darker Shade of Magic if you haven’t, yet), and I’ve met many folks who love Sanderson specifically because of his “scientific” approach to magic.
But, Gaiman reminds us that there’s a lot of magic in leaving questions unanswered. It makes the story feel more real. After all: life doesn’t give a technical description of any of the oddities it throws our way. So, why would our stories?
There’s an art to it, of course; you need to give readers enough information to start forming their own opinions, and you need to deliver that information in a way that doesn’t intrude on the story being told. Otherwise, we’re back to technical explanations. But, done right, it makes the magic and fantasy feel natural and grounded, like a regular part of our world. This amplifies Gaiman’s already very-present fusion of magic and reality.
It’s this fusion that makes me love Gaiman’s work in general, and Trigger Warning in particular. It reads like a peek at the magic hiding under the surface of regular life, or the humanity hiding under the fairy tale. Gaiman’s way of writing connects our world to the fantastic and vice-versa, imbuing the story with a magic so strong that we can still see it in our world once we’ve looked away from the page.
For writers, this can be the ingredient that brings your work to life, that makes it breathe and live, instead of simply being told. I’d strongly recommend giving it a try, yourself. While you’re at it, read Trigger Warning and see how it handles magic and the fantastic. As I mentioned in my last blog post, analyzing the works of other writers will help you improve! Happy writing!
P.S. For all the horror fans out there, take a close look at Click-Clack the Rattlebag, about halfway through the book. Short, sweet, and terrifying.
Featured image courtesy of David Gonzales!
