Denver Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club

This is a good old-fashioned fairy tale, but not told in too old-fashioned a manner. Gaiman uses just the right blend of old-style storytelling (including some of the graphic scenes one could expect from a pre-Disney fairy tale) and modern cynicism, as in this passage where our protagonist encounters an irritable witch:

     "Thief!" shouted a cracked old voice. "I shall turn your bones to ice and roast you in front of a fire! I shall pluck your eyes out and tie one to a herring and t'other to a seagull, so the twin sights of sea and sky shall take you into madness! I shall make your tongue into a writhing worm and your fingers shall become razors, and fire ants shall itch your skin, so each time you scratch yourself--"
     "There is no need to belabor your point," said Tristran to the old woman.

Gaiman has a delightful sense of whimsy (for example, at one point Tristran is trapped on a cloud, shouts out, and is surprised to be answered by a passing tall ship) which, if anything, he uses too sparingly - many elements, such as the market at the wall, could have used elaboration. The story is involving and moves along at a brisk pace. My main disappointment with the plot was the meager efforts offered by the supposedly formidable brothers from Stormhold.