Niel Gaiman, British author now residing in Minneapolis. Just thinking about that makes me wonder. I mean, sure you’re trading one cold, dreary place for another, but in the long run, you’re trading one cold, dreary place for another with more snow. But I digress.
The works of Neil Gaiman are nothing new. In fact, Gaiman has gone from a cult following on his 80s comic masterpiece Sandman, to a full blown fanfest as he has started writing novels (wonderful, brilliant novels!). In addition to graphic novels and novels, Gaiman has also written quite a menagerie of children’s books as well, from picture books to young adult novels (wonderful, brilliant picture books and young adult novels!).
Suffice it to say, I think Neil Gaiman is one of the finest writers currently putting ink to paper.
I started out about a year ago reading Sandman. Initially, I got it from the library and read the first issue and thought, “Hm.” I didn’t see the appeal. I tried the first issue and put the book down, forgotten for nearly two weeks until it ended up in my carry-on bag. After finishing all three other books I had with me, I returned to Sandman. I re-read the first issue, started on the second, and about an hour or so later when I finished the total eight I thought, “Why the fuck am I stuck here in Disneyland when there are nine more volumes of this I could be reading?”
So Sandman… brilliant. Not a superhero book, not a comic in any traditional means… A majority of the book focuses on Dream, one of seven personifications of constants of the universe (they consist of Dream, Death, Destiny, Destruction, Despair, Desire, and Delirium) known as The Endless. To try to describe the story beyond that would do no justice to Neil Gaiman’s brilliance, nuance, and overall spectacularicity (yes the series is good enough to make up that word).
Neil Gaiman has since written tons more and proved that he isn’t a one trick pony. Neverwhere and Anansi Boys are both modern takes on the fantasy genre. They both take place in modern times and both involve the main character learning about a secret world larger than himself. Both are funny, spectacularly written, and deserving of all the praise that they’ve received before I got here. Both also don’t need me to say anything more about how great they are.
There’s more. Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, The Graveyard book, just to name a few. They’re all great, smart, funny, brilliant books. And if you want to have a really fucked up day… Check out any of the books that Gaiman did with Dave McKean (the stunning artist of The Sandman covers).
