Neil Gaiman Goodness

[Gamma Fiend he/him]

So I was looking for threads discussing American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and didn't find any threads about him or any of his books yet. So I figured I might as well just start a general Gaiman Goodness thread so we can all discuss just how fantastic of an author he is. Or, if you would like to post why he's not exactly your cup of tea, feel free to do as well.

Of course, we'll probably have to Spoiler Tag most of the in-depth book discussion on his various novels, if this is to be an "In General" thread and not for any one book specific.

In the last 3 weeks, I have finished American Gods, Anansi Boys, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. All of them were absolutely fantastic, and I love Gaiman's writing style. His prose is very enjoyable. This is more of a vague, overall type of "fan gushing" thread, so I won't go into the specifics of the books right now, but I just wanted to express how much of a fan I am of Gaiman's now.

 

I will have to add, just finishing Ocean at the End of the Lane last night, I think that one might be my favorite so far. It was just very powerful and by far one of his most intriguing stories I've read so far. I mean.... Old Granny Hempstock!

[Windrunner he/him]

I've only read a bit of his work so far. Ocean at the End of the Lane was the first of his I've read, and it was beautiful. I've also read Stardust, which was pretty great as well, even if I didn't like it as much. I own the Graveyard Book, which I've not yet gotten around to and I also have American Gods on my Nook, but it is weirdly formatted for some reason, so I haven't read it yet. I've heard very good things about it though.

 

I mostly gave him a shot because Pat Rothfuss loves to gush about his work, so I figured it had to be fantastic.

[Quiver he/him]

So. Neil Gaiman.

 

I haven't read much of him; a few volumes of Sandman (which I enjoyed), his Snow White short story (which was awesome) and Neverwhere.

 

I... did not like Neverwhere. Something about it just didn't really work for me. Haven't read American Gods yet, though I intend to- albeit it mostly because I'm a Pratchett fan.

[kaladamSB he/him]

I have read American Gods and thought it was good. Low Key was my favorite reveal.

[LouiseSparrow she/her]

I loved Neverwhere and Good Omen's, I have American Gods but I haven't read it yet.

[el_warko he/him]

Full Disclaimer: I have a major man crush on Neil Gaiman. I won't hear a bad word said about him. Well I will listen, but I will dismiss them out of hand because (see start of sentence).

That said, he will not be everyone’s cup of tea (as per OP) as he can be quite macabre, graphic and at times very unpleasant.

Neverwhere was my introduction to his work. Saw the BBC TV adaptation mid 90's and was hooked,. Croupe and Vandamar are among the greatest mercenary/villains of all time.

Sandman was a complete revelation, I'd read graphic novels but never anything so adult before. I can still vividly remember the diner scene in one of the earlier books. I was equally repulsed and drawn to it. It is so awesome. I still use this as a case study for people who go: comics are for kids.

American Gods was fantastic, I really enjoyed the interludes when you saw the gods coming to the country as well the characterisation in general. (kaladam - I thought the Kobold reveal was better IMO)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane was just so nice to read.

The Truth is in a Cave in the Black Mountains is a rollicking great short story with extra added awesome.

His short story collections are similarly fabulous.

His YA work is phenomenal too, Stardust and Caroline are *run out of positive adjectives* stories.

If you have a young daughter or like nursery rhymes Blueberry Girl is a great poem.

In short: See first sentence.

[StormingTexan he/him]

I've only read American Gods and I thought the writing was good but I think it's another book that was just too hyped and I expected too much. It was an interesting story but Shadow was just so extremely boring to me. Maybe that was the intention I dunno but it made the book really hard to read for me. I just didn't care what happened to him. It's one of those books that when I finished it I thought "what did I just read?".

All that being said I do still want to read some of his other stuff. Maybe it was just American Gods I didn't like. I don't mind giving an author a second chance.

Edited April 17, 2015 by StormingTexan

[ParadoxicalZen he/him]

Super sorry about the necro, but has anyone else read the Sandman and accompanying novels?

[azninvasion99 he/him]

Super sorry about the necro, but has anyone else read the Sandman and accompanying novels?

Yep! They are fantastic.

[ParadoxicalZen he/him]

Sweet, cause I saw Morpheus' Overture statue in Auckland and I wanted it so much *_*

[Who Sharded?]

I dropped American Gods halfway through.  It just wasn't doing it for me.  I liked the writing but the plot felt so meandering.

 

However he had a short story in one of GRRM's anthologies, and I loved it.  Hilarious.  My next shot at Gaiman will be Good Omens.

[azninvasion99 he/him]

Sweet, cause I saw Morpheus' Overture statue in Auckland and I wanted it so much *_*

That thing is amazing. My comic shop has the Sandman chess set and it taunts me every time I go in there, but I can't afford it. 

 

 

I dropped American Gods halfway through.  It just wasn't doing it for me.  I liked the writing but the plot felt so meandering.

 

However he had a short story in one of GRRM's anthologies, and I loved it.  Hilarious.  My next shot at Gaiman will be Good Omens.

 

American Gods was an interesting read, but I can see how it isn't for everyone. I read it after reading Sandman and I felt the themes were very similar which probably helped me some in getting through it.