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    M Is for Magic
    M Is for Magic
    M Is for Magic
    Audiobook5 hours

    M Is for Magic

    Written by Neil Gaiman

    Narrated by Neil Gaiman

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    About this audiobook

    Stories to delight, enchant, and surprise you.

    Bestselling author and master storyteller Neil Gaiman here presents a breathtaking collection of tales that may chill or amuse readers—but always embrace the unexpected. Collection includes:

    ""The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds,"" ""Troll Bridge,"" ""Don't Ask Jack,"" ""How to Sell the Ponti Bridge,"" ""October in the Chair,"" ""Chivalry,"" ""The Price,"" ""How to Talk to Girls at Parties,"" ""Sunbird,"" ""The Witch's Headstone,"" ""Instructions""

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJun 26, 2007
    ISBN9780061475825
    Author

    Neil Gaiman

    Neil Gaiman is the celebrated author of books, graphic novels, short stories, films, and television for readers of all ages. Some of his most notable titles include the highly lauded #1 New York Times bestseller Norse Mythology; the groundbreaking and award-winning Sandman comic series; The Graveyard Book (the first book ever to win both the Newbery and Carnegie Medals); American Gods, winner of many awards and recently adapted into the Emmy-nominated Starz TV series (the second season slated to air in 2019); The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which was the UK’s National Book Award 2013 Book of the Year. Good Omens, which he wrote with Terry Pratchett a very long time ago (but not quite as long ago as Don’t Panic) and for which Gaiman wrote the screenplay, will air on Amazon and the BBC in 2019. Author photo by Beowulf Sheehan

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    Reviews for M Is for Magic

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    • 3/5
      A lukewarm collection which runs the gamut from outright silly as in the opening "Who Killed Roger Rabbit" rip-off (The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds) to melancholic (Troll Bridge) to a vague Ray Bradbury homage (The Witch's Headstone). An OK read, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed it a lot more back in grade school.
    • 5/5
      This is an excellent collection. If you're a fan of Neil Gaiman, these stories are for you. If you're not a fan, you will be once you listen to this book.
    • 4/5
      This collection of 11 short stories includes a little bit of everything: realistic fiction, fantasy, science fiction and horror. Of course, all include Gaiman’s trademark sense of humor and whimsy and the fantastic – even the introduction is wonderful reading. A treat for Gaiman fans and a fabulous introduction to the author’s work for the uninitiated. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Liked it. Liked that the author is the reader. Got a little monotonous as it's a bit hard to id stopping points, giving the reading the reading a sense of dragging on and on.
    • 3/5
      I loved a few of these, but some were meh.
    • 3/5
      Usually, I love Neil Gaiman, but this collection didn't move me as much as his other work. I'm not sure if it is because I'd already read most of the stories - a handful also appear in the adult-oriented collection Fragile Things, and one of the short stories is actually a chapter from The Graveyard Book, which I have also read. My favourite story in this collection was The Price, about a mysterious black cat that protects the narrator and his family from a demon that approaches their house each night.  
    • 5/5
      loved it. brilliant short story collection
    • 4/5
      Full of short stories about magic & supernatural beings. A lady who finds the Holy Grail in an old junk story, two boys who happen to show up at a alien party, a detective fairy tale story and the witch's headstone from The Graveyard Book. A great book for teachers who want to introduce this genre to students.
    • 4/5
      Older short stories that foreshadow his better works to come.
    • 3/5
      I'm not a huge short story fan but I love the inventiveness of Neil Gaiman. And there was a part of one of my favorite books, The Graveyard Book, in it.
    • 5/5
      I love Neil Gaiman. These stories are weird, creepy, and well written. It's a perfect book to read in October.
    • 4/5
      A mixed bag collection of short stories, most of which I'd read before."The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds", a noir parody in a world populated by nursery rhyme characters, is a cute concept, but I'm not sufficiently familiar with British nursery rhymes to get the most of out of it. I recognise when a reference is being made as I'll usually have heard the rhyme's title, but I don't know the actual lines to it, and so the humour Gaiman is presumably trying to mine is frequently lost on me."Troll Bridge" is a dark modern day fairy tale of a boy meeting a troll under a bridge, and then repeatedly as he grows older. It's perhaps not quite my cup of tea, verging too far into horror territory for my tastes, but I do find the writing engrossing here."Don't Ask Jack", a tale about a Jack-in-the-box which might or might not be haunted, has a similar mood to "Troll Bridge", but I like it a tad more, perhaps because it is shorter and simpler and I feel like I'm wasting less time getting to the point."How to Sell the Ponti Bridge" is, if you have a moment, a nesting narrative fantasy crime comedy thriller about a pandimensional club for con artists. It's quite good, I find, until the very end, where the end twist is not much of a twist at all, even though all the characters behave as though it's beyond brilliant. That punctures it a bit for me, but I see this is by far the oldest of the stories in the collection, and having been written much earlier in Gaiman's career, I can partially forgive it the underwhelming ending. If the end twist had been more satisfying, this would easily have been a favourite of mine, as it is otherwise very much up my alley of preferences."October in the Chair" is another nesting narrative. In this one personifications of the calendar months tell each other stories. I've read this one before and always feel a bit unsure if I'm missing some kind of essential point -- a couple of very short stories in the beginning aside, there's really just one proper, long tragic story told during the proceedings, and I'm unclear on why that wouldn't have worked just as well on its own, and what the framing device adds to it. While that story is fine (a bit too slow and ponderous for my tastes), the framing narrative is far more memorable, and I kind of feel like the whole of it ends up a bit lesser than the sum of its parts somehow."Chivalry" is a fantasy comedy of an old woman buying the Holy Graill on a whim. It's a bit of a delight, and, if you can stomach some low key zaniness, one of the collection's high points by my tastes."The Price" is a pseudo-autobiographical (Gaiman seems to have made himself the protagonist) fantasy horror of a black cat that shows up at his house and keeps getting hurt badly during mysterious fights at night. It feels a bit self-indulgant in the set-up, spending a lot of time describing the other cats of the house (though most of them never appear again in the story), but I find it otherwise to be the most memorable and gripping tale included."How to Talk to Girls at Parties" is a science fiction mystery drama of two boys attending an all-girl party that is not what it seems to be. Honestly, I didn't get much out of this in its comic book version a few years ago, and I think I now might have gotten even less out of this short story that it was adapted from. The premise is potentially quite fun, but there isn't much of a narrative springing from it."Sunbird" is another highlight, a fantasy horror comedy of an Epicurean club wishing to dine on a phoenix, and the story here I've read the most times previously. There's an odd irrationality to some character choices that the book lampshades but never explains that always rub me the wrong way, but I otherwise really like this one. With "Chivalry", it competes for being my second favourite story here, behind "The Price"."The Witch's Headstone" is sort of an adventure story about a boy raised by ghosts venturing briefly into the mundane world. The story is a chapter from "The Graveyard Book" novel, and while it does work on its own here, it has a lot of references to earlier stories and set-up for later ones that should have been edited out before it was published on its own. It's entertaining, and in the stronger half of the collection for sure, but if you're interested, I'd strongly recommend you just pick up the full novel instead."Instructions" is a wonderful poem taking the reader through a fairy tale of evocative tropes and notions. It doesn't quite qualify as a story per se, but if it did, it'd likely edge out "The Price" as my favourite here.Kristiansen's black and white illustrations are decent, but for me, I can't say they really gave any added value. They're too few and too anonymous to really bring anything to the stories that my imagination hadn't already done by the time they showed up.All in all, you'd probably be better served buying a different Gaiman short story collection than this one (and as this is one that reprints stories from several other ones, you'll also avoid a lot of overlap if you skip this before buying some of the other ones), but it's definitely varied in both form and style, and should have a little something for most tastes -- assuming your tastes lean towards the supernatural in any way, at least.
    • 3/5
      I adore Gaiman's work and I adore listening to him tell his stories, that is how I read this book. The stories this go around though really didn't keep my attention. They are well written like his work usually is, but they just didn't hold my attention expect for the story "The Witch's Headstone" and that was only because its a piece from my favorite Gaiman work "The Graveyard Book"I wouldn't rush out to listen/read this book and it wont be a top recommendation from me either, but as a Gaiman fan it was worth giving it a shot, his pieces are well written these ones just didn't do it for me this time, and I am okay with that.
    • 3/5
      Maybe I should rate higher, but only a few stories really grabbed me, and the whole thing kind of went downhill as I got closer to the end. Girls At Parties was a little pretentious and strange; Sunbird dragged on too long; and I've already read The Graveyard Book. Final poem, *shrug*.

      Winners for me were the months swapping stories (I love the phrasing of "October was in the chair," not to mention a crisp night, bonfire, tart cider to wash down roasted sausage. Shut up, other months.) (Not sure I get why June was so nervous, though.) The old lady getting the Holy Grail at a thrift store was cute, and "The Price" got me in the feels.

      Oh, and the troll story was good. I picked up this book from my library's Blind Date With a Book because of noir-ish first line. I liked that one all right, but it was almost a little too cutesy with itself.
    • 3/5
      Uneven. The best stories are gold, but there’s plenty of copper here too. The troll story and the boy raised in the graveyard stand out as the best.
    • 5/5
      Another brilliant collection of short stories from a true master of the craft. I especially enjoyed the story from The Graveyard Book. I find I have very little to say when I really like a book, and I really liked this book. The end.
    • 3/5
      Why. Why. Why do I keep subjecting myself to Gaiman? I've yet to enjoy anything he's written. Such a waste of time.
    • 4/5
      Imaginative writing, supposedly for kids 8-12. The first two stories have inappropriate content for that age, some of it sexual. Otherwise, the remaining stories might intrigue that age range. Most of the stories have scary elements or might seem so to that age range. Kids generally like that. I didn't find much magic here, as the title suggests -- mostly the stories were either clever or imaginative and on the dark and confounding side. The author commands respect, but I can't say I liked this collection. Some stories were better than others. Maybe ask a 12-year-old for a different viewpoint.
    • 3/5
      A book of short stories by Gaiman. I listened to the audio read by Gaiman. Many of the stories (all?) were published in a previous collection, as well. I should just copy and paste every single review I’ve done for a book of short stories! I liked some better than others. Especially with audio (as this was), though it goes for short stories – at least for me – in general, anyway… if I miss something, with a short story, you really end up missing the entire story because there really isn’t any way/time to catch up with what you missed, unless you want to back up and start it again (that’s where it’s a bit easier with a print or ebook over an audio). My favourite story was one that I’ve read before about a black cat. I do love that he often includes cats in his stories and this black cat was not unlucky for the humans.
    • 3/5
      Several stories were excellent, but the collection is uneven in quality.
    • 4/5
      As always, I needed a nice book of short stories to get me through the work day — I love that I can sit down, read one on my lunch break, and then move on with the rest of my day. As I’ve said before, the problem I have with short stories is that I don’t always like all of them, and it’s disappointing to spend my lunch reading something I didn’t very much enjoy. Fortunately, with Gaiman, I rarely have that problem, so when I saw this available on OverDrive, I jumped at the chance to check it out.This collection is incredibly cohesive — the themes and tones of the stories balance each other nicely. It’s a delightfully weird collection that consistently surprised me with its twists and turns. “Troll Bridge” talks about the process of growing up and becoming an adult, and how what we value can change over time. “The Witch’s Headstone” is a lovely companion to The Graveyard Book, which I’ve also read. It shows the bravery and goodness of a small child, and how sometimes children can see through biases and do the right thing. “How to Talk to Girls at Parties” shows how difficult talking to girls can be — and how otherworldly the other sex seems when you’re a teenager and trying to figure out the dating thing.Those are just a few of my favorite stories. I enjoyed all of them as a whole and recommend this if you’re fan of fantasy and Neil Gaiman.Originally posted on Going on to the Next.
    • 4/5
      The introduction was indeed a marvellous introduction! I believe everyone can or will understand where he is coming from. A lot of your childhood is made up of short stories. Brilliant things they are and will carry on being so for many years to come. Yep you got it this book is made up of short stories, eleven to be precise.At first I was confused as to why magic, then I started thinking well most stories have some sort of magic all on there own whether it being fantasy, horror, sci-fi or even non-fiction. There is something about the words being put together in certain ways that makes each and everything I read magical.These are most definitely nonsense. Every story was magic in it's own way.These are my favourites.......The case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds...This is about Jack Horner (you know 'little jack horner') infact this is about detective horner. Someone killed humpty dumpty. He did not actually fall off the wall he was pushed.... dun dun dunnnnn. I could not help but smile all the way through this (sad I know).Don't ask Jack...This is four pages long, four damn pages. You know that feeling when the hairs on your neck stand on end? Yep that feeling. Well I had that while reading this. Four pages brought about that. It needed to be longer to keep the effect but it was there all the same.October in the chair....This starts with the months of the year sat around a fire camp drinking apple cider telling stories. October tells a story about a boy called Runt. Runt being the name he is nicknamed by the older brothers. Anyway Runt runs away. He takes a bus, then walks for a while. He ends up in the meadow by an old farmhouse. Then a ghost of a little boy shows up so on, so on, so on.. It's freaky in it's own way!I just realised I was about to write them all down. They are all my favourites. I do not think I could possibly choose between them! *Palm smack* Why don't you see if you can decide??
    • 3/5
      Title is an approved take-off on Bradbury's collections for juniors (R is for Rocket, S is for Space). One story comes from The Graveyard Book chapter 4. 
    • 4/5
      As always, Gaiman shines in short stories. I love the twists and turns.
    • 4/5
      I know now why I'd never read this book before - it's because I've read all the component parts in various other books. They're good stories, though, particularly The Price and Chivalry and Sunbird and Troll Bridge, so I don't have anything to complain about.
    • 5/5
      M is for Magic has a collection of short stories- many of which appear in some of Gaiman's other collections. It's wonderful to read these stories. A cat who fights the devil, a woman who finds the Holy Grail in a second hand shop, how to eat the rare sunbird... and many more. I love how he writes and I enjoyed reading the stories I hadn't read before. He remains a fantastic storyteller. I highly recommend his graphic novels Sandman, and his novel The Graveyard Book.
    • 4/5
      Compilation of peculiar short stories told in the typical “Neil Gaiman” style, these two are the same as that of Fragile Things. I love it.
    • 2/5
      Once again I found myself intrigued by Gaiman's style even while his actual stories seemed to fall flat on their faces. While I found only one, maybe two, stories of any real captivating interest I found myself dragged into reading the entire book by Gaiman's word choice and particular style of expression which I wouldn't mind integrating into my own written voice, just a little anyway.
    • 3/5
      I took a few of Gaiman's books with me on holiday and this one was among the pile. I must say that it interested me the least. I've had this problem before with his short stories. I don't know what it is. I just love his longer novels, but his short stories seem to leave me quite cold. But then again I do have problems with short stories more often then not. Perhaps I just need more time to get into the frame of mind of a particular story, than the amount of pages can give me ...
    • 4/5
      Ah Gaiman, your books are like crack to me. Your shorts are no exception