“How to Talk to Girls at Parties” has been nominated for a Hugo, and has been made available on-line. It’s one of the short stories in Gaiman’s collection, Fragile Things.

I should first admit that although I’m a bit of a comics geek, Gaiman’s not on my must-read list. Occasionally I will adore his work, mostly it’s merely an afternoon’s read. It’s nothing in particular against him, merely that he’s not interested in writing about things I’m interested in reading about, so our paths don’t cross.

“How to Talk to Girls at Parties” was a huge disappointment for me, however, even with my moderate expectations. Short stories need to make up in intensity what they lack in length. A clever and unexpected twist, or startlingly original idea will achieve this: see Snow, Glass, Apples, for Gaiman doing this well. “How to Talk to Girls at Parties” had a few original ideas, but the central conceit was so incredibly transparent that I had figured it out five hundred words in.

The following contains spoilers.