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| M Is for Magic | 
 enlarge | Author: Neil Gaiman
Creator: Teddy Kristiansen
Publisher: HarperCollins
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
Buy New: $1.43
You Save: $15.56 (92%)
New (53) Used (22) Collectible (1) from $1.42
Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 85926
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.8 x 1
ISBN: 0061186422
EAN: 9780061186424
ASIN: 0061186422
Publication Date: July 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New & Unread Book with Remainder Marked- May Have Slight Handling Wear From Bookstore Shelf- Instock For Immediate Shipping
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| Customer Reviews:
 M is for Morbid March 16, 2008
7 out of 14 found this review helpful
This small anthology contains 10 short stories and one bad poem. It clearly presents itself as a children's book (for "ages 10 and up" according to the flap), and many of the stories were apparently selected for elements that many superficially associate with Children's Literature, such as child protagonists, a sentient toy, a heroic animal, a mythical creature or some nursery rhyme references.
However, the pretence that this is a Children's Book is a cynical marketing deception. With the possible exception of "The Witch's Headstone", none of the stories here were originally written for children, nor have any been substantially altered for that audience. I did notice that at least one story ("Troll Bridge"), had received some very minor editing to remove some of the more blatant adult language and references (which in no way detracts from the tale anything of value, IMHO), but it remains a highly adult-themed (and disturbing) tale.
But the most inappropriate thing about this book is its promotion of suicidal ideas. The worst offender is "October in the Chair," which starts with a boy running away from home, and ends with his decision to throw away his life in pursuit of the sanctuary of the graveyard. This could be read as a horror story - and I suppose a healthy child would indeed be horrified by it. But it does not read as horror. It reads as a dark fantasy -- an advertisement for child suicide.
Suicidal themes are further explored in "Troll Bridge," which is not quite so bad as "October..." in that it at least suggests that a child might want to wait until he has some experience of life - which mainly means experience of sex - before he ultimately and inevitably decides to throw away his worthless life.
"Witch's Headstone," the last story in the volume, also adds to the theme, but indirectly. It is about young boy who lives in a graveyard under the protection of its apparently-benevolent ghosts. The graveyard appears as a (somewhat bleak) sanctuary, while the living world outside is portrayed as evil and threatening. I do not object to this positive portrayal of a graveyard sanctuary, since there is no indication that our hero got to this juncture via suicide (in fact, he is refered to as the "live boy"). The problem arises because this appears in the same volume as "October...", and the situations are so similar that it almost that it might be a sequel. It seems to resolve the ambiguous ending of "October..." in favor of the idea that the suicidal act at the end of that story was a good idea.
Nonetheless, I might have thought that "...Headstone," viewed strictly on its own (rather than as a follow-up to "October..."), was a tolerable kids' horror fantasy, containing some genuinely imaginative and creepy situations. However, it contains yet another terrible flaw. One character, who the author clearly intends as sympathetic, is the ghost of a witch who, as revenge for her execution, curses an entire village to a painful death. Wait ... sorry - it was not quite the ENTIRE village. "Just those that watched me get burned and drowned," explains this mass-murderess (with a shrug) when our boy hero inquires on this issue. That seems to make it okay in Gaiman's mind. In short not only does Gaiman suggest (in "October...") that our kids ought to kill themselves, but he also suggests (in "... Headstone") that they might want to slaughter half the community on their way out, on the flimsiest of justifications.
Setting aside the volume's unsuitability for kids, and viewing it simply as a slim collection of adult stories, it remains a mixed bag. "The Price," about a mysterious stray cat, is the best story here. Others, such as "Troll Bridge" are memorably horrific and disturbing, though I hesitate to call them good. Still others, such as "The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds" and "How to Sell the Ponti Bridge", are just pointless tales that try too hard to be clever, and fail. Many of the stories (even "The Price") are underdeveloped - Gaiman seems to think that not finishing or adequately developing a story is a good way to create an illusion of depth. Almost all of the stories here can be found in earlier, larger, collections (The best ones are from SMOKE AND MIRRORS, while others are from FRAGILE THINGS). The only advantage to this slim volume is that it spares the reader exposure to some of Gaiman's more degraded dark fantasies.
Still, the stench of moral decay is not absent here, and virtually all the stories display a disturbing indifference to morality. "...Blackbirds" celebrates the principle that one must "look out for number one." When, in "Troll Bridge", the hero offers first his sister, then his girlfriend, to the troll in order to ransom himself, there is never any clear indication that the author feels that he ought to have behaved otherwise. "...Ponti Bridge" celebrates the glorious achievements of a con-man. "Sunbird" seems to celebrate, as though it were merely funny, a happy-go-lucky rascal who casually murders all his friends (for unexplained motives) in the course of obtaining immortality for himself.
"The Price" is the closest thing to an exception. The protagonist is a coward, as always, but the same cannot be said for the mysterious, self-sacrificing Cat who suffers for his sins. It is the only story here that strongly suggests the possibility of Good as well as Evil, and that is why it is my favorite.
 A Wonderful Title, Even With Recycled Material August 8, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
What a lot of people seem to miss when complaining about this book is that it was assembled for younger readers. This book was made in the style of Ray Bradbury's R Is For Rocket. It's primary function is to introduce younger readers to Gaiman's work. All the stories here I would feel comfortable with my children reading, while most of the titles from Fragile Things, I might hesitate. This book does contain some repeat stories, some hard-to-find material, and some new stories, as well. Read this book to get a sneak peek at Neil's new book, The Graveyard Book. All in all, a wonderful book, and I'm thankful for it.
 Marvelous July 28, 2007
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Oh, please, give the G-man a break. This collection isn't meant for hardcore fans; it's for elementary school and junior high kids who have never read any of his stuff before. (Let's face it; many of the stories in "Fragile Things" and "Smoke And Mirrors" aren't exactly kid friendly.)
And I think it's a great idea. Now that "Coraline" and "Stardust" movies are coming out, there will be a lot of parents (and aunts and uncles, and grandparents...) who will be glad to give their kids an introduction to stories like "Sunbird", "Chivalry" and "The Case of The Four And Twenty Blackbirds", without worrying about the munchkins stumbling on anything too adult or upsetting. For the grown-ups, there's "Interworld" and "The Eternals" already out, so let the curtain climbers enjoy this curtain raiser.
A Hard-to-Put-Down Treasure Box August 14, 2007
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
Neil Gaiman is an artist of prose and poetry. In his capable hands, ordinary things become new worlds of magic and mystery:
* Favorite nursery-rhyme friends become suspects in a film-noir detective's murder case.
* Mystical artifacts turn up on the bargain racks in the local charity donation shops.
* Seemingly normal parties are mere covers for intergalactic research and experimentation.
Readers can almost always expect the unexpected from Gaiman, and "M is for Magic" is no different. The short story format allows readers to squeeze a little bit of fantasy into their ordinary lives, while the finely crafted plots and characters leave one eagerly anticipating the next little journey, making it a hard-to-put-down treasure box.
In contrast to some of Gaiman's more "adult" works, this collection of short stories was compiled to appeal to a younger audience. All of these stories were originally published in other collections or periodicals, but are still a delight to read over and over again. I would definitely recommend this book as an addition to any fantasy lover's bookshelf--young and old alike.
Reviewed by Jeannine R. Burkholder
08/14/2007
Courtesy of Teens Read Too August 20, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
M IS FOR MAGIC is a collection of eleven short stories. This book was geared for elementary/middle school but I thought that I couldn't read many of the stories aloud in my classroom because some of the themes are pretty adult.
I liked many of the stories, especially THE WITCH'S HEADSTONE. This was a story about a real boy who was living in a graveyard and being raised by ghosts. He decides to do a very kind thing for a ghost who didn't get a gravestone and the story follows the adventure that goes with that decision.
I also enjoyed THE CASE OF FOUR AND TWENTY BLACKBIRDS. It was a detective story set with nursery rhyme characters. The detective needs to solve the mystery of who killed Humpty Dumpty. It is told with attitude and is very funny.
There are also stories that are scary or just plain creepy. The story about the jack-in-the-box just gave me chills. So if you want to read some good, strange stories that only take about an hour to read, check this book out.
Reviewed by: Marta Morrison
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