Short Story Sunday.....on Monday Part V

Yes, folks. It's that time again!! Time for another installment of my Neil Gaiman Short Stories from Fragile Things! I really hope I'm not boring you....and that you aren't logging on just to say, "Lord, is she ever going to FINISH this book!!" I'm just trying to follow through with the RIP II challenge and read short stories on Sunday! I'm enjoying it so much, it may be a tradition I continue!

Feeders and Eaters is actually a rather scary little tale. Gaiman said it started out as a nightmare for him, and I can understand why! A man is at a dirty little diner in the middle of the night waiting for his train. As he's sitting there trying to go unnoticed, a man calls out his name. He doesn't recognize the man, but soon finds out it's someone he used to work with, named Eddie Barrow. But Eddie doesn't look like the man he once knew. The old Eddie was tall, strong and handsome. This man is thin, gray and looks like he's been to hell and back. Eddie starts to tell him the story of what has happened to him, and it all leads to a little old woman that lived in the room next to his. A woman who has a need to FEED.

Diseasemaker's Croup was written as an entry to a book of imaginary diseases. It's a strange little entry that is full of babble and really big medical terms!! Not my cup of tea, but interesting.

In the End is a one-page filler that is apparently Gaiman's attempt at writing the last book of the Bible. It's pretty much a reversal of In the Beginning from the Book of Genesis. And I have to say I liked it alot.

And finally Goliath, which was actually written to be a part of the website for the movie The Matrix. This story takes place in London, and is about a man that is very tall....almost 7 feet. He has just been rejected by the RAF on account of his height. One day he's working at his boring job of bookkeeper, and all of a sudden, the world starts to melt and drip away. Colors are becoming puddles, and everything goes black. He meets a bespeckled man that tells him that everything will be back to normal soon. The world is under attack by aliens and missiles have taken out a central processor. Then....like nothing ever happened, the world is back to normal!! He thinks that it must have been a dream, but the memory of that time stays with him until he meets the man in glasses again 15 years later!

I'm a huge fan of the original Matrix movie!! It blew me away when I first saw it. But Goliath is great story that blends in nicely with the concept. Actually this story is probably better than either of the Matrix sequels! Feeders and Eaters is a great short story for the Halloween season. Dark, scary and leaves a person wondering. I keep asking myself, "How does Neil Gaiman come up with this stuff?" He really has a knack for inventing worlds and stories in just a few sentences. Actually, I think I have a total literary crush on the man. Stay tuned for the final 2 installments in the coming weeks!!