Neil Gaiman...worth the read??

Satori1977

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A friend and I at work were talking books, and she told me I had to read Neil Gaiman. Even gave me a copy of Neverwhere. Anyone read it? Is it any good. I am about ten pages in already, and will still read it, just wondering about other's opinions. She said it is a must read for people that like fantasy, or anything dark and twisted.
 

Kathleen42

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I quite liked Neverwhere, though it has been many years since I've read it. It's the direction I wish Urban Fantasy would go in more often.

My favorite book by him, though, is Good Omens (which was written with Terry Pratchett)
 

Cranky

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So I hear. My copy of American Gods is sitting on my shelf, gathering dust. I've only gotten about three chapters through it, and I can't bring myself to read any more.

Different strokes. You may love his work. Lots of folks do. I just don't happen to be one of them.
 

Kathleen42

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So I hear. My copy of American Gods is sitting on my shelf, gathering dust. I've only gotten about three chapters through it, and I can't bring myself to read any more.

I normally like Gaiman and I hated American Gods. had to force myself to finish it and spent most of the time wishing I was reading The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Adams.
 

ad_lucem

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A friend and I at work were talking books, and she told me I had to read Neil Gaiman. Even gave me a copy of Neverwhere. Anyone read it? Is it any good. I am about ten pages in already, and will still read it, just wondering about other's opinions. She said it is a must read for people that like fantasy, or anything dark and twisted.


I recently read the Graveyard Book to my son. I thought he did a wonderful job. We enjoyed it very much.

I haven't read his "grown up" books, yet.
 

MelodyO

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I read American Gods and was unimpressed. I guess that's maybe not the title of his to start with. However, I read a page or two of his latest (something about murdered parents and kids being adopted by monsters), and was spell-bound. And Coraline is currently THE obsession with my 14 year old daughter. He certainly has a way of scaring the crap out of kids...in a good way. :D Let us know what you think when you finish Neverwhere; I may just give it a whirl.
 

Dommo

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I didn't really care for American gods or the graveyard book. They both just felt disjointed to me, and too stylized.
 

Judg

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I didn't care overmuch for Neverwhere, but rather liked Stardust and The Anansi Boys. At heart the man is a romantic, but his writing is all over the map. I read a collection of short stories too, and there were fairy tales and dark things and playful things and gross things and erotic things and fun things. He has a very vivid imagination, but you never know quite what you're going to get. You might love one book and hate the next.
 

A. Hamilton

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my one and only experience with him was a recent read of Anansi Boys. I liked it very much. but if you're one to put down a book early on if it's fails your expectations, be patient with this one. it took a turn into the fantastical that I wasn't expecting from the early chapters (but was what I was hoping for in the book).

eta: the thing about the Anansi Boys that I liked so much was the way it mixed fantasy with everyday life. it felt like I was reading a story about the boys next door, who I had no idea had this fantastical life.
 
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rugcat

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I think Gaiman is a very fine writer indeed. Stardust was a good book, though not as developed as his later stuff, I'd say. I liked Anansi Boys a lot, but I liked American Gods even more. Both books are complex novels with some real heart.

Neverwhere is more accessible, I think -- more straight urban fantasy, less serious, in the novelistic sense. But thoroughly enjoyable, and certainly a cut above most of the uf books out there.

And Coraline was a brilliant YA book -- haven't read The Graveyard Book yet, but I will.
 

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i barely ever read fiction, but i decided to read american gods while on vacation and i have to say it was one of the most disappointing books i've read in a long time.

unfortunately, it was also the only book i brought along so that just irritated me some more.
 

willietheshakes

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hmm.

I fucking loved American Gods.

And I think Sandman is, over the course of its 75 issues, one of the ten greatest NOVELS of the last 25 years.

The Graveyard Book brought me to tears.

And his short stories are stunning.

That being said, I thought Neverwhere was pretty thin. Stardust good for a fable. And Anansi Boys good, but I didn't really connect.

I consider myself a Gaiman fan, but the thing with his work, unlike that of many other writers, is that he tends to take chances and push himself in different directions with each book. As a result, not every reader will like everything he writes. And that's fine. There's enough quality there to keep one coming back, even if the last book didn't quite work for them.

In truth, it's a career path that I'd like to emulate.
 

AmandaAcidic

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I've only read Stardust by him.

I wish I would have read the book before I saw the movie. I think I would have liked the book better before the movie, but I fell in love with the movie and it made the book fall short for me.
 

SassyB

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I only started reading Neil Gaiman recently and would recommend his books.
I loved Neverwhere, well worth reading.
American Gods was good although it didn't carry me along or involve me as much as Neverwhere.
The Graveyard Book is for kids but it's a wonderful read and brought a tear to my eye.
 

PattiTheWicked

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I think the thing to remember about Gaiman is that his books tend to vary wildly in style and theme so someone who loves some of his books probably won't love all of them. Case in point - I thought American Gods and Anansi Boys were two of the best things I'd read in ages... but I couldn't finish Neverwhere or Good Omens, and I've never connected at all to the Sandman stories. I did enjoy Stardust immensely, but Coraline was just kind of "okay" for me. Still haven't read the Graveyard Book, but it's on my list.

Gaiman writes for everyone -- just not in every book.
 

WendyNYC

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I read Coraline to my daughters and The Graveyard Book for myself. I thought both were very well done.
 

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And I think Sandman is, over the course of its 75 issues, one of the ten greatest NOVELS of the last 25 years.

yes, sandman is phenomenal. havent finished the entire thing yet, just now in the middle of reading the Kindly Ones, but "a season of mists" was one of the greatest interpretations of lucifer, ever.
 

cletus

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I enjoyed Stardust and the collection Smoke and Mirrors was OK.

Hated American Gods enough to not care if I ever pick up another Gaiman book.
 

eveningstar

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I think the thing to remember about Gaiman is that his books tend to vary wildly in style and theme so someone who loves some of his books probably won't love all of them. Case in point - I thought American Gods and Anansi Boys were two of the best things I'd read in ages... but I couldn't finish Neverwhere or Good Omens, and I've never connected at all to the Sandman stories. I did enjoy Stardust immensely, but Coraline was just kind of "okay" for me. Still haven't read the Graveyard Book, but it's on my list.

Gaiman writes for everyone -- just not in every book.

This is what I was going to say. Neil's books are a motley bunch. I love Neverwhere and American Gods but only kind of liked Anansi Boys. And I adore some parts of Sandman but not others. Same goes for his short stories, some I find brilliant and others I forget as soon as I've finished them. His picture books are marvelous.

Neverwhere was also a BBC miniseries before it was a book. I think it works better as a book, myself.
 

Satori1977

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Thanks for all the input. The book hasn't hooked me yet, but I will keep reading. Maybe check out some of his other titles as well. And he wrote Caroline? I so want to see that movie, I adored Nightmare before Christmas and the Corpse Bride...and it seems right up the same alley. Didn't even realize he did kids stuff too.
 

Kitty Pryde

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Yeah, throw in my vote for 'Neil Gaiman is awesome'. I love American Gods, Neverwhere, Sandman, Good Omens, and all his short stuff. I also like Coraline, Stardust, Neverwhere the BBC miniseries, and Don't Panic! Anansi Boys was okay, but not as great as his other stuff.

PS He also wrote the English version of the script for Princess Mononoke, which I thought was fabulous.
 

Summonere

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Neil Gaiman … well, to paraphrase him on himself, if you don't like that book, he's written quite a lot, maybe you'll enjoy another. He's a hit-and-miss author for me (thus affirming his own admission). Neverwhere was an okay but unremarkable version of stories I've already read before. American Gods was even less remarkable, wandering and unsatisfying. I kept reading it, waiting for it to get better, and it didn't. Just one long slog through, yet again, familiar ground, in this case ground trod by a low-amplitude monotone as a main character. Many times when reading Gaiman's most lauded work I get a reaction similar to Wayne Coyne's when Three Dog Night received a Grammy nomination for "Joy to the World," aka, "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog," which is to say, I can't believe that this is that popular. That said, Gaiman has done good work, and I have enjoyed it, but thus far seem to prefer his work at less-than-novel-length.

Meanwhile...

To all of those who enjoyed American Gods, why?
 

Kitty Pryde

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Many times when reading Gaiman's most lauded work I get a reaction similar to Wayne Coyne's when Three Dog Night received a Grammy nomination for "Joy to the World," aka, "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog," which is to say, I can't believe that this is that popular. That said, Gaiman has done good work, and I have enjoyed it, but thus far seem to prefer his work at less-than-novel-length.

Meanwhile...

To all of those who enjoyed American Gods, why?

'Joy to the World' is a totally rad song!

I love American Gods so much that, as soon as I finished it, I flipped back to the first page to reread it. I have never done that with any other book. I liked it because of all of the gods, frankly. At my high school we spent a TON of time on comparative religions and there's so so so much great stuff with all the different gods playing off each other. It's like a huge intricate puzzle, so I found that fascinating. I thought Shadow was an interesting character, low-key but not monotone. His journey isn't that thrilling, but the reader's journey is very exciting. Wednesday and Low-Key were also really interesting characters.

You said that the book was familiar ground, but I haven't ever read any other books starring the gods of every religion running amok. Which, to me, is the coolest point of the book.

Also, the House on the Rock is a place that really exists!