Neil Gaiman

r3nu4l

I first heard of Neil Gaiman through his 'Good Omens' work with Terry Pratchett, an amazing book.

Then I bought American Gods on special offer at WH Smith and loved that too.

Now I've just started Neverwhere (author preferred text version) and so far it seems brilliant

I love the uniqueness of his work, it is so imaginative and innovative.

So what do you think of his work?
What work of his should I read next?
Are there any of his books I should avoid?

Talliesin

No books to avoid.

The Sandman series of comics is a masterpiece.

Recently read Anansi Boys. Extremely good.

tSubh Dearg

Everything of his that I have read so far is great. I love Neverwhere and American Gods. I've just finished Anansie Boys which is very good, he manages to balance humour with black moments in his books very well.

I would also recommend his collection of short stories and poems Smoke and Mirrors. I gobbled them up in about a day.

He also wrote the graphic novel series The Sandman. I've never bee na bitg fan of comics but these I love and I passed them on to my highly sceptical parents to read and they loved them too.

I've yet to read a bad book by him though Stardust (I think that's the name) is maybe a little weaker than his other works.

I've also read Coraline which is one of his children's books "buttons for eyes!" It's probably more creepy to an adult than a child but it's still very well written, he doesn't talk down to children in his books.

Personally I love his use of mythology that is a feature in all his works, but that might just be because I studied Classical Studies in college.

I agree with you that he is a very imaginative author. I got to see him being interviewed for Rattlebag back in November and he was a very clear speaker and told a lot of amusing anecdotes of how he got into writing and so on.

I think that you should read Anansie Boys next or the short stories but really any of his stuff is good in my opinion.

John

I've only read Anansi Boys and I thought it was very poor. He should stick to comics.

r3nu4l

Well, I'm not a big fan of graphic novels but I will definitely give his a try.

I went to his website (not very good) and was amazed at the sheer breadth of his work. Wow!!

I think it would be a real shame if he stuck to graphic novels alone, Good Omens and American Gods were great and so far Neverwhere is shaping up to be a great read!

Thanks for the advice folks

simu

John2 wrote:

He should stick to comics.

I agree. I'm getting really sick of all these "kooky" kids' books for adults. They seem like the lazy way out tbh.

deman

Haven't read Neverwhere but I've seen the mini-series. Excellent story. Can't wait till Stardust comes out on a big screen

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486655/

r3nu4l

Should finish Neverwhere on the bus this evening, coming home from work I'm going to miss the characters and the world he created!

Great book, have to read some more Neil Gaiman soon

Edit: 27/6/2006: Finished it! Very fitting ending, really enjoyed the book

Tree

Halfway through Anansi Boys, enjoying it.

rather like tom holt stuff. got some very funny descriptions in it

Talliesin

Picking and choosing through Smoke and Mirrors, a short-story anthology of his, right now. It's a medium in which he writes well. TBH, while I disagree with simu and John2 in that I do enjoy his novels, I think he is a better writer of screenplays, children's books and short stories than he is a novelist, and it is as a comic-writer that he truly excels.

Andy-Pandy

Whats the first sandman comic,Whats the best place to start?

tSubh Dearg

The first Sandman comic is called Preludes and Nocturnes. It is important to read them in order as he constantly references back to things that happen in previous parts.

There are 10 books altogether. They are, in order:
Preludes & Nocturnes
The Doll's House
Dream Country
Season of Mists
A Game of You
Brief Lives
Fables and Reflections
World's End
The Kindly Ones
The Wake

There is another book in the Sandman series but it is seperate from those I just listed. It's called Endless Nights and it contains a story about each one of the Endless, Dream's brothers and sisters.

Andy-Pandy

tSubh Dearg wrote:

The first Sandman comic is called Preludes and Nocturnes. It is important to read them in order as he constantly references back to things that happen in previous parts.

There are 10 books altogether. They are, in order:
Preludes & Nocturnes
The Doll's House
Dream Country
Season of Mists
A Game of You
Brief Lives
Fables and Reflections
World's End
The Kindly Ones
The Wake

There is another book in the Sandman series but it is seperate from those I just listed. It's called Endless Nights and it contains a story about each one of the Endless, Dream's brothers and sisters.

Thank you, i shall order them today.

Brief_Lives

I never realised there was a Neil Gaiman thread on here.

I have been to loads of his readings, talks and book signings both in New York and London, and looks like he will be in Europe again soon.

I'll probably head to London to see him and do a bit of shopping.

Link here:

https://www.neilgaiman.com/where/