Fantasy Novella Review: MirrorMask

Review by Ken St. Andre

Product: MirrorMask (children's edition)
Product Type: Fantasy Novella, 80 pages
Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Dave McKean
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: September 27, 2005
Review Date: June 29, 2009

What is green, hangs on a wall, and whistles?

Don't know? Well, why should you? You're probably not British. [Ed. But the probability that you are British isn't all that low, either.]

How about this one—the sphinx's riddle? What goes on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening? The answer is Man, right? Everyone knows that one. Well, no, the answer is actually a performing dog named Fred. He's part of the Campbell circus, and often changes his mode of locomotion.

Confused? Good! That's the perfect state for reading, or seeing, Mirrormask—it is a film also, though I have never seen the film. (I'd like to see it—maybe some day . . .)

Mirrormask is the story of a dream that Helena Campbell, circus girl, had one night. During that dream, Helena passed into the Dream Lands, and her doppelganger took her place on Earth. In the Dream Lands Helena was daughter of the Dark Queen; that is, her alternate bad self was the daughter of the Dark Queen. It's all very confusing and nightmarish, where her guide is a man whose face is a mask, where the cats have rainbow-colored wings and human faces and they want to eat you, where the sphynx roams around looking for people to riddle with. In the Dream Lands there are fish in the air, and books that return themselves to the library and wonders everywhere.

It's a nightmare, and no one draws nightmares like Dave McKean. Dave and Neil have worked together for a long time. Gaiman must like the twisted visions that McKean produces to illustrate his fantasies. For years they did the Sandman comics for D.C.'s Vertigo line. McKean also illustrated the book form of Coraline. McKean is not a man to limit himself to a single style of art. Most of the time it's awkward, flat line-drawings, sort of Picasso turned into a comic book artist, but sometimes its photo-realism or dream-scape collages. That sense of being in a dream becomes so much more vivid if you allow yourself to study McKean's illustrations. There is one on almost every page. Sometimes text and art are integrated into a ragged mix of both realities, and sometimes they exist neatly side by side. There is so much detail and symbolism packed into every picture—one could study them for hours—but I advise against it. You might find yourself drawn into Helena's nightmare.

I wonder if Neil Gaiman has been possessed by the spirit of Charles Dodgson, better known to us as Lewis Carroll. Dodgson wrote stories about a little girl who dreamed herself out of mundane reality and into Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass. In Wonderland Alice encountered a strange smiling cat—in Dream Land Helena encounters smiling cats also and they're hungry.

Lewis Carroll	Neil Gaiman

Hmm, it makes one wonder. Both British, both dressed in black, the same long faces and curly black hair, both relying on a well-known illustrator to bring added depth to their works (Tenniel and McKean), both writing about young girls who slip the bounds of reality as we know it. Both have demonstrated fondness for books and libraries. Hmmm? Maybe it's simple reincarnation, or just history repeating itself.

In any case, Mirrormask is both absorbing and disturbing. It is a book about escape, but the escapes don't work, and the protagonist (both of her) are brought back to reality by the Mirrormask. It is a book that will both entertain you and make you think. This edition is targeted at teens, but anyone can profit from reading it. I highly recommend it, and anything else you may find by either Gaiman or McKean, separately or working together.

Oh! What is green, hangs on a wall, and whistles? I guess you'll have to get Mirrormask and find out.

Buy it here: MirrorMask (children's edition)

Related Items: Coraline | Mirrormask DVD

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About The Reviewer: Ken St. Andre is the creator of the fantasy roleplaying game Tunnels and Trolls. He also co-created the classic PC game Wasteland. He has written various other games and fiction, and is an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He currently dwells in Phoenix, Arizona, where by day he takes on the guise of a public librarian. He is worshipped as the Trollgod in a universe parallel to Earth's, in a place called Trollhalla, where he is also known by the name Khenn Arrth.

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Legalese: The above review is the opinion of the individual reviewer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Eposic Diversions LLC. This review is Copyright ©2009 by Ken St. Andre. Online rights have been licensed by Eposic Diversions LLC. Please respect these rights and do not further distribute this review or any significant portion of it without permission from the rights holder. If you quote from this review, please give credit to the author. If your quote is on the web, a link back to the full review is appreciated.

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