Clearing my backlog

Ok, three books that have escaped the merciless scalpel of my reviewing are below. A paragraph for each, chronological order of reading, usual stuff, usual quality of review ("it was a gud book. I liked the peepl and the wurds").

"Signal to Noise", by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, is the story of a dying film director and his final film. It's Dave McKean so the artwork is outstanding, as much a part of the narrative as Gaiman's words. This is probably the only work by Neil Gaiman I haven't thoroughly enjoyed, although that may be due to the sombre subject rather than any fault of the work. It certainly had the power to affect me emotionally in parts. Definitely an interesting book.

"The Devil in Amber", by Mark Gatiss, is another of his Lucifer Box books. This time his gentleman/painter/spy/playboy has moved on twenty years or so, but now he's embroiled in a Dennis Wheatley style occult thriller, battling demons and shagging hotel porters and the sacrificial virgins alternately. Another fun read, very entertaining.

"Mothers and Other Monsters", by Maureen McHugh, is one of Small Beer's free ebooks. It's a collection of short stories; some are science fiction, some fantasy, some magical realism, some that could fit in any genre depending on how you interpret them. As with most collections, there are some stories I loved, some which didn't do much for me and one or two I just didn't understand. Standout story for me was "The Cost to be Wise", which has an awesome ending. Small Beer are giving it away right now, so why not try it for yourself?