Liffguard Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 American Gods is a great book IMO, though I understand why some people find it too slow and meandering. It has an incredible atmosphere and really builds the tension over the course of the book.Good Omens is brilliant, both hilarious and dramatic by turns. It really shows off the best of both authors.Sandman is also great, but I'm going to specifically recommend The Dream Hunters. It's a work of illustrated prose rather than a comic, and based on Japanese mythology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitestripe Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 I'm in the "meh" camp. After I kept hearing about how great he was, I read Neverwhere. It was OK, but didn't have me on the bandwagon. I thought maybe he was better at short stories so I checked Smoke and Mirrors out of the library. Again, meh. I wanted to give The Graveyard Book to my nephew for his birthday, but I decided I should read it first, and I LOVED it. I tried American Gods and didn't finish it. I guess the guy's just not for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathis Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 He is full of interesting ideas but I don't think he actually writes all that well. His prose is flat and kinda dull IMO, and it really drags his books down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 He is full of interesting ideas but I don't think he actually writes all that well. His prose is flat and kinda dull IMO, and it really drags his books down.I love that you wrote this response in a dull and flat manner. Well played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Buck Posted April 28, 2012 Author Share Posted April 28, 2012 Well, I'm definitely going to check out Snow, Glass, Apples, and the Anansi Boys sounds pretty damn interesting, so I think I'll start with that one. Thanks for the suggestions, you've definitely made me much more curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sci-2 Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Also, to answer the OP.Opinion on Neil Gaiman - Sci would hit it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Oh yes, another of his short stories is The Problem with Susan, which critiques C.S. Lewis' handling of Susan Pevensie in the last Narnia book. Gaiman twists pre-existing material very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Plissken Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Gaiman is responsible for one of my favorite ever short stories, The Price.I loved American Gods and Sandman, but twice couldn't be arsed to finish Neverwhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renasko Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 I've read 'Sandman', 'Anasi Boys', 'American Gods', 'Good Omens', 'Neverwhere', and my favourites of his are 'Stardust' and 'Coraline', which I saw on-screen, and chose not to read. Go figure. He's worth a read, but I'm in the meh camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sci-2 Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Snow, Glass, ApplesGaiman's Short Story Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Buck Posted April 28, 2012 Author Share Posted April 28, 2012 Just finished Snow, Glass, Apples. I thought it was pretty damn good. The writing didn't necessarily blow me away, but the storytelling was very good, and the atmosphere was perfect. I'll definitely be checking out some of his other short stories over the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 What I like about Neil Gaiman is he's as good as macabre, disturbing or just downright horrifying (24 Hours - from Sandman, Babycakes) as wonderful and whimsical (Stardust, Brief Lives - the Sandman arc which to this day stands as one of my favourite stories in any medium). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 What I like about Neil Gaiman is he's as good as macabre, disturbing or just downright horrifying (24 Hours - from Sandman, Babycakes) as wonderful and whimsical (Stardust, Brief Lives - the Sandman arc which to this day stands as one of my favourite stories in any medium). I can't pimp Sandman hard enough. Some of the artwork can be a bit of an acquired taste, but there isn't a storyline in the entire run that isn't compelling. I hope you pick up some of those books Francis, as I believe it is his strongest work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Buck Posted April 29, 2012 Author Share Posted April 29, 2012 Is there a Sandman collection that contains the entire story, or are they always broken up into pieces? So far I've only been able to find them in five piece editions, which would be crazy expensive to buy (at least from what I've seen online...perhaps I should check the library). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkynJay Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Is there a Sandman collection that contains the entire story, or are they always broken up into pieces? So far I've only been able to find them in five piece editions, which would be crazy expensive to buy (at least from what I've seen online...perhaps I should check the library).They made an Ultimate Sandman collection. I own it in 10 trade collections, but I collected that over about a year. However, it is mainstream enough that even my cruddy library has it, in both forms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalbear Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Gaiman is very overrated. I find the more you like literary references, the more youll like his works - but keep in mind that he tends to stick absurdly close to the references and doesn't really explore past them. To me, much of his work felt like snobbish namedropping. Also, quite a bit (especially sandman) is emo bullshit. Which is happily supported by said emo bullshitters. Sandman also has morpheus, who is one of the most evil protagonists I've ever read. His best work is his short stories or good omens, where you can really see another author's hand in actually having something interesting happen and extrapolating past the archetypes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 About Sandman and it being emo bullshit: Kind of harsh, I think. The main character is, yes (and a total bastard) but a significant portion of the plot is devoted to how his being such a miserable self-absorbed fool is a bad thing, so labeling the entire work as such seems a bit daft. It being an icon of emo-type culture is a bit like Scarface becoming a reference point for 'gangster life' or whatever. Totally missing the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalbear Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Quite simply that's not they big a deal to me. It's just a point. Morpheus was the original version of Edward Cullen. Except he's more self involved and more douchy, and doesn't sparkle quite so much.Also, while one part of the 12 part series is about him being horrible, the rest is him largely being glorified. It's not that surprising that people who feel alienated would glom on to this alien character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Kalbear,The series is about him recognizing what he is. Morpheus has been a right bastard for 14 billion years. That takes a little time to overcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sci-2 Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Kalbear raises issues I had with the work. The characterizations are a bit dodgy. Morpheus gets off the hook with a "I'm Soreeeee" a lot of the time.That said, watching the plot coalesce, Gaiman's prose, and the efforts of the supporting cast makes the series worth a read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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