Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman

Book Review by Joe Ramsden | 01 May 2015
Book title: Trigger Warning
Author: Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman’s latest publication is a collection of fanciful stories and poems designed to rivet and excite the reader with tales of transdimensional prisons, the denizens of 221b Baker Street and strange happenings in rural England – all of which are short, effortless to read and designed to make you feel a little uneasy.

The stories in the collection don’t attempt to break new literary ground, but instead focus upon the arousal of the reader’s pressure points – their triggers. This manner of jolting the reader with rather disturbing content is what warrants the collection’s title of Trigger Warning. A phrase derived from the blogosphere, used originally to alert the reader to potentially disquieting content, Gaiman reappropriates the meaning to befit his belief that we ‘each have our little triggers.’ However, in a collection of fantastical but certainly not obscene material, the emergence of anything that will truly disturb the reader seems an unlikely prospect.

The writing is greatly informed by the notion that our reality is, in fact, only a veil waiting to be pulled back to reveal a world brimming with hobgoblins and hell hounds. Each text can be read as a standalone piece of fiction, although fans of the author’s work will be rewarded with reference to – and, in some cases, resurrection of – beloved past creations. Those unacquainted with the author’s catalogue of work will doubtless appreciate his imagination and wit, especially in his efforts to air ideas that all too often remain undiscussed. [Joe Ramsden]

Out now, published by Headline, RRP £18.99