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  • Unnatural Creatures by Neil Gaiman and Maria Dahvana Headley
  • Alaine Martaus
Gaiman, Neil , comp. Unnatural Creatures; comp. by Neil Gaiman and Maria Dahvana Headley; illus. by Briony Morrow-Cribbs. Harper/HarperCollins, 2013. 462p. Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-223629-6 $17.99 Paper ed. ISBN 978-0-06-223630-2 $9.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-06-223631-9 $9.99 R Gr. 7-10.

In this collection of sixteen classic and contemporary fantasy short stories (most previously published), Neil Gaiman establishes a literary Museum of Un-Natural History, where impossible creatures that exist only in shadow and imagination are on display. The initial draw here is Gaiman himself as collector and curator, a role he appears to relish as he provides brief personal anecdotes as introductions for each story and the collection as a whole. Those willing to trust Gaiman to be their mythical docent will be rewarded with a broad spectrum of clever, well-written stories of the monstrous fantastic by a range of notable authors from the late nineteenth century to today. In tone, the included pieces run the gamut from chilling (Gahan Wilson's story of a carnivorous spot on the linen) to heartbreaking (Frank Stockton's tale of friendship and kindness between a griffin and a churchman, "The Griffin and the Minor Canon") to absurd and amusing (E. Nesbit's account of a little girl who gets on the wrong bus and faces down a villainous, laughing cockatoucan). Hallmarks of various story-types are also evident, including fairy tales (Peter Beagle's story of Death attending an eighteenth-century ball), folk tales (Nnedi Okrafor's story of a snake-charming young girl in contemporary Nigeria), and science fiction (Larry Niven's story of a time-traveler who mistakes a unicorn for a horse). Design enhances the atmosphere, with dramatic titling and illustrative headpieces the entries. The collection works well as an introduction to historically significant fantasy writers (though it's peculiar that the table of contents fails to identify the authors of the stories, so the interested will need to delve to find out who's featured) for those familiar with only contemporary fare; it will also find readers in Gaiman fans who have graduated from The Graveyard Book (BCCB 10/08) and are looking for more challenging material. [End Page 506]

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