In a tale of horror, humanity and uncomfortable truths, Neil Gaiman is never afraid to go into the dark in search of the light.
However, although Gaiman achieved early fame as a writer of dark fantasy, he cannot be categorized into any genre. His writings explore the recurring theme that “no matter how old, the past never dies.” He once said: “You know that myths and legends still have power. They’re buried and forgotten, but they’re like mines.”
cross on foot Gaiman’s Extensive Bibliography — over 40 books — can be intimidating, to say the least. Since reading at the local library as a child and dropping out of college to start writing professionally almost 40 years ago, Gaiman has written biographies, comics, graphics, his novels, screenplays, novels and essays. I came. His work for younger readers (picture books, intermediate novels, young adult novels) could fill another entire guide, so I’ll limit myself here to his books for adults. (But if you do venture into the kids section, check it out) “Coraline” and “Graveyard Book” beginning. )
“I think what we read as adults should be read without warning after that. Read at your own risk, perhaps,” Gaiman writes in the storybook Trigger Warning. “We need to know what fiction is, what it means to us, an experience of story unlike anyone else.”
With that in mind, here’s a highlight tour of Neil Gaiman’s work.
What should I read if I don’t know anything about his work?
to start with “American Gods” (2001). Published in the same year as the end of the original dot-com boom and the introduction of his iPod, the novel anchored the zeitgeist as consumer technology was taking hold in the mainstream. Gaiman is set in a world where gods brought by true believers from old nations are challenged by new gods of technology, media and other contemporary concerns. The book follows Shadowmoon, a quiet ex-con who takes a job as a bodyguard for a mysterious employer. Her versatile characters include Shadow’s ex-wife from The Walking Dead, but after throwing her gold coins into her open tomb from her rowdy leprechaun at her funeral, he turns out to be accidentally revive her.
The novel is an Americana Fantasia, a road trip novel written from the perspective of a modern immigrant, less than a decade after Gaiman moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul from England. pole area.And if you like what he’s doing to God here, try “Anansi Boys” (2005) and “Nordic Mythology” (2017).
I need a sharp shock to my literary senses.
“Adults are content to walk the same path hundreds or thousands of times,” says the narrator. “The sea beyond the lane” (2013). “Probably adults wouldn’t think of going off the beaten path, sneaking under rhododendrons, or searching for space between fences.” Promote. The same is true for confronting memories embedded deep in the uneven ground from childhood to adulthood. The book is one of Gaiman’s shortest coming-of-age novels, and you can read it in one sitting if no one interrupts you. However, there may be various of The novel explores common childhood fears (parental rejection, bullying at school, evil housekeepers, invasive insects) in the English countryside where a lonely boy befriends the girl next door and an evil presence is revealed. It haunts you as it blends into a tense plot of invading worlds. .
There is nothing scary.
Gaiman’s re-editing of myths and legends resulted in many gentler tales.took “Stardust” (1999) was published as a comic and illustrated book in collaboration with artist Charles Vess before being released as a straight novel.
Set in the mid-19th century, the book’s refreshing tale is reminiscent of William Goldman’s The Princess Bride, but is steeped in rural English folklore. The story unfolds in the village of Wall, a border town that straddles the realms of humans and faeries, and follows a haunted young man named Tristan Thorn who promises to bring back a fallen star to impress a woman. To go. Like most quests in unfamiliar lands, there are complications along the way, but compared to Gaiman’s other works, Stardust is a light adventure.
Give me an epic and moving adventure.
How about immersing yourself in a moody fantasy/horror comic with all 75 episodes?Gaiman’s candidacy as a writer “Sandman” From 1989 to 1996, he cast an almost forgotten character from the DC Comics universe as the fantastical Dream (also known as Morpheus), a brooding god-like being who rules over a sleepy realm of fantasy and terror. ) to show off your storytelling talents.
Dream is part of a family called the Endless, which includes Death, his older brother Death, who is typically a Goth dressed in black with Doc Martens boots and a silver ankh necklace. Depicted as a young girl, with strong sisterly views (She once told him: The dumbest, most self-centered, and most horrific excuse for anthropomorphism on this plane or any other!”) .
The series can be pitch black at times, but sharp dialogue and deeply woven storylines tie it all together.
How about some cheeky demons and jokes
What about cassette tapes?
“Good Omens: The Wonderfully Accurate Prophecies of Witch Agnes Nutter” (1990) is Gaiman’s first and arguably most entertaining published novel, co-written with Terry Pratchett, creator of the Discworld series of British fantasy novels. In this book, a mix-up with the baby Antichrist throws a wrench into the familiar Armageddon scenario. The main characters are Aziraphale, an angel and part-time rare book dealer, and Crowley, a stylish demon who has been described as “a vaguely downward-fallen angel rather than a fallen one.” The two have been friends for thousands of years and feel very comfortable in the perpetual conflict between good and evil. The tone of the book is truly a fusion of Monty Python and “The Omen,” with ironic footnotes, and a great escape from the current state of the world.
I’m into urban fantasy.
Many of Gaiman’s books have been adapted for stage and film. “Nowhere” (1996) began as a television script, but became a novel after Gaiman realized that the limitations of television production prevented him from telling the story he had envisioned. Richard, a somewhat unhappy Scot, is transplanted to the British capital, where he discovers a parallel world beneath the city called London Below. Who are its inhabitants? Those forgotten by history, the homeless, and the “trapped”. It depicts the adventures of Richard and a girl named Door in evading an assassin in London. Below is a mix of Alice’s Wonderland and a map of the London Underground.
I want a literary sampler because I’m indecisive.
Since the 1990s, Gaiman has published several collections of stories and poems, some of which are: “Neil Gaiman Rieder: Selected Fiction” (2020). It’s an exuberant buffet of his best stories (voted by fans) in one thick but useful book, complete with a preface by Marlon James. . Highlights include “Chivalry,” a naughty tale about an elderly woman who finds the Holy Grail in a thrift store. “Truth is a cave in the Black Mountain” depicting a spooky legend from the Isle of Skye, Scotland. And the Sherlock Holmes riff “Death and the Honey Case” with bees.
