American Gods

American Gods by Neil Gaiman, 635 pages

American Gods is quite the interesting and award winning book. For the most part it follows the life of a recently released convict named Shadow who receives a proposition from a man calling himself Wednesday. What at first seemed like a simple bodyguard/assistant role soon spirals out of control and leaves Shadow fighting for his life.

What I liked best about American Gods is the blending of mythology into everyday life. There are the old gods, ones that have always been here and ones that were bought to this country with immigration, and the new gods, like internet, tv, etc. The gods get their powers from how many people believe and follow them. So in a world that is embracing all that technology has to offer, the old gods find themselves slowly drifting away. The plausibility of this scenario, assuming that the gods do exist, resonates with me. The assumption that media, television and internet are considered “gods” at first seemed unlikely, but as the story goes on, I came to believe it. If all that is needed for “worship” is our attention, then what else do we spend more time working with or sitting in front of?

I highly recommend this book to everyone, as it really makes you think about what might from some perspective be modern “mythology”.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman, 181 pages

There's this special category of book- the kind that is short and seemingly simple; if you read it just for the surface story, you may think "Well, wasn't that a weird little tale," and report back to the book club group that you just don't "get" fantasy.  But... if you let yourself spend some time in it, you realize that it's far richer than that.  In this simple tale, a man returns to his childhood town for a funeral, and reflects on fantastic memories of his youth.  But if you spend a little longer in the story, you'll read about loss of innocence, the question of whether we'll think our lives were worth it when we reach the end of them, and what it means to be lonely.  And despite how that sounds... you leave the story with a sense of hope.  I thought this was simply beautiful.

In conclusion: I just can't quit you, Neil.  You pulled me in with Sandman, and lost me with American Gods.  You won me again with Marvel, 1602, but made me say "meh," with The Sleeper and the Spindle.  Do I just like your graphic novels?  No, because I loved Good Omens.  Was that primarily Terry Pratchett?  I just don't know!  Reveal your mystery to me- what is it about you that I like alot when I like it and dislike alot when I don't?  You beautiful, silent enigma, you!

Neverwhere

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, 370 pages

Imagine living a boring normal life. For some like me it doesn't A life where work is going well and you are engaged to be married. That is what Richard Mayhew has. Or at least had until he stopped to help a girl who lay bleeding on the street. A girl named Door, who can talk to animals, doesn't quite understand the modern world, and tells him about a world that cannot possibly exist. Richard takes her back to his place as she refuses to go to a hospital. There he renders what little aid he can and hides her from two strange men that turn up looking for her. It is no surprise that she heals faster than a normal person and is ready to leave in only a couple hours, and vanishes through a door. Which is great for Richard as he can now get on with his life. Except now no one can see him. He loses his job, his apartment, his fiancée and his life is collapsing around him. Desperate for answers Richard goes in search of the one person who might know what is happening, Door.

Once again Neil Gaiman has created a world that is wonderfully complex and a delight to experience. Imagine all the possible worlds hiding just out of our sight because we don't or can't believe that they exist. I can only imagine how life would change if we could suddenly see these world we knew couldn't exist.

Like everything else I have read by Gaiman, with the possible exception of Mr. Punch, I truly enjoyed reading this book. When I finished it I went straight to the catalog and frantically searched for a prequel, sequel or anything that was related to this world he created. Sadly this was just a stand alone novelization of a television series by the same name. Sadly the TV series was not met with the same success as the book.

Angels and Demons

The Mammoth book of Angels and Demons, 544 pages

This is another one of those collection of short stories novels based around a certain theme. As you might have been able to guess by the title every story is based on either angels, demons, or in some cases both. I am not sure what initially drew me to this book, maybe it was the cover art or the fact that it was edited by Puala Guran instead of the usual George R. R. Martin. Either way it was worth reading.

Like nearly every collective work I have posted on here, some stories were enjoyable, some were dull/boring, and others were just weird or interesting. While it did have stories by some of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, George R.R. Martin, etc. none of the stories really stood out as exceptionally noteworthy. Though the TSA using the full body scanners to check for demon possession instead of weapons was close.

What was noticeable though was how often St Louis featured into this book. Of the twenty seven short stories I noticed that four and maybe a fifth(it was a little vaguer) either mentioned part of St Louis, took place here, or passed though the town. One of the stories even specifically mentions the bus half hanging off the roof of the City Museum! Getting even closer to the library one of the demons who was originally passing though St Louis ends up staying and residing in the Park Pacific Building, which is right across the street. When I was reading that story I just happened to be sitting out front of Central and could not help but glance at the building and give it a suspecting glare.

Having a book both talk about, or even mention areas that are familiar really help to immerse the reader and in this case make me like the book that much more. But I tend to find this only works when I don't know that St Louis is going to be mentioned, otherwise it loses the thrill.

Mr. Punch

The tragical comedy or comical tragedy of Mr. Punch by Neil Gaiman, 112 pages

Having never seen a Punch and Judy show I was not sure if I would understand or enjoy this book but after the glowing recommendation from Kara K, and having liked everything Gaiman has written I gave it a try. When Kara said that it is not the story that haunts you but the imagery she was entirely correct. McKean's dark and gloomy style certainly leaves a lasting impression.

I think those that liked Gaiman's darker works would enjoy this but it should be emphasized that despite the childish theme of Punch and Judy this is in no way a book for children.

Sandman vol 6, 7 and 8

Sandman Volumes 6, 7 and 8 by Neil Gaiman, 40 pages, 256 pages, 169 pages.

A quick note. The omnibus I previously blogged about contained most of Volume 6 and therefore I am only counting the uncovered parts in this tally.

Now that the explanation is out of the way these volumes continue from where the omnibus leaves off.

In Sandman Volume 7: Brief Lives Delirium convinces her brother Dream to help her find their long missing brother Destruction. Of course, as it is with any story involving Delirium, the road to finding Destruction is a hazardous one.  This volume really fleshes out Deliriums character and shows that she is more than the airhead she seems. I should also mention that Delirium is still my favorite character.

In Sandman Volume 8: Worlds End we are treated to a collection of stories told by travelers trapped in an inn named "Worlds' End, a free house". These stories are all one shots and really have nothing to do with the actual Sandman story line but are entertaining none the less.

As I had said with the omnibus this is a fantastic series that I really enjoy and look forward to reading more of.

Sandman

Sandman Omnibus Volume 1 by Neil Gaiman, 1034 pages

Having seen Kara blogging about this and hearing it hyped from multiple other sources I decided to try this series out. It might seem strange to try a series with an omnibus but I felt I could trust their recommendation.

The Sandman series is about Dream, the ruler of the dream world. It follows him on various adventures and stories that take place in hell, dreams and here on Earth. Along the way we meet various figures from mythology, gods, angels and demons. We also meet Dream's brothers and sisters Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair and Delirium.

There is a lot of chronological jumping around as some stories take place back in ancient times while others are present day. Gaiman also seems to play around with different art styles at times. The majority of the comics are like a modern day graphic novel, but then he will throw in one with a realistic or more abstract style. As a whole the series is very good and I enjoyed reading it.

Ocean at the end of the Lane

Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, 181 pages


Since it was declared that Neil Gaiman books would be worth more points I have been meaning to read one. Now that we are at the end of this round I am down to my last chance (or maybe I have completely missed it). Having not read anything by Gaiman I asked around to see what I should read. This was the most suggested book.

Ocean at the End of the Lane follows an unnamed boy as he discovers both a friend and a scary magical world. It is extremely gripping and easily passes as horror/suspense novel. There are some disturbing, cringe worthy scenes that could be hard to get past. But what really hits home is the ending. It left me feeling completely drained and shocked. I would love to talk about it more but that no spoilers thing gets in the way.

Anyways if all of Gaiman's books are this good you will be seeing a lot more of his reviews on here.

Graveyard Book Graphic Novel: Volume 1

The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel Volume 1 by Neil Gaiman, Craig Russell

188 Pages

When I was a kid my dad used to bring me stacks of comic books home every time he travelled to Denver for business.  They has some sort of comic book warehouse there and once I got them I used to sit and read them for hours.  As an adult I don't really don't like comic books or graphic novels very much and I couldn't really tell you why until I read this graphic novel.

I have read the original Neil Gaiman book the Graveyard book and find that when adapted as a graphic novel it loses some of its magical qualities because the artist is defining what he sees in the novel instead of my imagination.  I believe the same thing happens when they make movies out of books.  They almost never live up to your imagination.  The only group of movies that comes close has been the Harry Potter movies.

The Facts In The Case Of The Departure Of Miss Finch

The Facts In The Case Of The Departure Of Miss Finch
 by Neil Gaiman, Michael Zulli & Todd Klein  
51 pages

This graphic novel is based on a short story in one of Gaiman’s compilations that I recently read.  It was pretty good, as graphic novels go.  Miss Finch (not her real name) was in England for only a short time and friends of the narrator of the story had agreed to entertain her for an evening.  They asked the narrator to join them in hopes that it would make the evening more bearable.  They went to a circus.  It wasn’t a normal circus, however, and the group thought most of it was a little hokey, until Miss Finch was chosen a volunteer from the audience.  After that, the show got much more intense.  I really felt that the graphic format added something to the story.  I liked the original version of it pretty well, but the illustrations helped bring it to life a little better for me.  Fans of Gaiman will probably like this and some fans of the hero type graphic novel might also like this book.

Violent Cases

Violent Cases by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, 64 pages

In this short but breathtaking graphic novel, our unnamed narrator recalls a childhood encounter with Al Capone's osteopath, a man who tells him more about Prohibition-era gangsters than any five-year-old ought to know. The story is told in a straightforward conversational manner and is certainly interesting, but would be largely unremarkable without McKean's engrossing artwork, which combines pencil sketches with old photographs and bits of fabric. I read this book in just half an hour, but given the complexity of McKean's art, I know that I'll be going back to this book for weeks, parsing more information out of the detailed sketches and collages. Originally published in 1987, this gem of a story is a glimpse of the fantastic work Gaiman and McKean would accomplish in the future.

EDIT: The more I think about this book, the more I appreciate Gaiman's ability to create a complex story (it's a story within a story within a story, folks!) and make it seem so simple. There is absolutely no confusion in the narration here. Granted, part of that is due to the lettering and McKean's art. But Gaiman is such a wonderful storyteller that he makes it look easy, when it really must have been quite difficult to structure. And therein lies the beauty.

Rogues

Rogues edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, 806 pages

Rogues, scoundrels, ne'er-do-wells, thieves, ruffians... Rogues is full of them. This collection of short stories spans several genres, and offers up some truly delightful stories of never-trustworthy, always-appealing characters written by everyone from Joe Abercrombie (who opens up the book with a tale following a mysterious package that is repeatedly stolen) to Garth Nix (more double-crossing thievery, this time with magic!) to Neil Gaiman (a charming thief stealing his coat back) to George R.R. Martin himself (who closes the book with a Song of Fire and Ice story that predates any of his novels set in that world).

While the stories got a little slow in the middle, I loved the variety in these stories, particularly Gillian Flynn's story of a sex worker/con-woman (which has the best, and least repeatable, opening paragraph ever) and Walter Jon Williams' story about a conceited actor who gets involved in a Mexican drug cartel while he's filming on location. Some of the fantasy stories were a little tough to get into (50 or 60 pages is not nearly enough to fully realize the worlds in which some of them were set), but all in all, this was a fun collection. As Martin says in the prologue, everybody loves a rogue!

Signal to Noise

Signal to Noise by Neil Gaiman, art by Dave McKean, 117 pages

An acclaimed filmmaker is dying, and he doesn't have much time left. He has refused all attempts by his doctors and friends to prolong his life, even long enough for him to write and produce his next film, a highly anticipated apocalyptic movie set in 999 A.D.

It's a simple enough premise, though Gaiman and McKean have created something here that pushes the boundaries visually and philosophically. The images and text weave together in unexpected ways, questioning and referencing everything from the Bible to socially accepted ways of dealing with death. It's a beautiful, though not easy-to-read, tale of death and coming to terms with one's own mortality. If you're new to graphic novels, I wouldn't necessarily suggest this as a jumping-off point, though I'd definitely include it as one to read.

Good Omens

Good Omens : The Nice and Accurate  Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, 412 pages

Several centuries ago, a witch by the name of Agnes Nutter predicted the future, with events culminating in an apocalypse. The time for said apocalypse has come. It will be heaven versus hell in one fantastic showdown. The Antichrist has been chosen and born. There are a few snags in the plan, though. The representatives for heaven and hell, Aziraphale and Crowley, respectively, who happen to be friends, aren't thrilled about the apocalypse and would like to figure out a way around it. The child they thought was the Antichrist was switched with a human child at birth. The four horsemen of the apocalypse have some groupies that can't decide what to call themselves.

In other words, an already crazy situation becomes even crazier. This book was very entertaining, a sort of scifi/fantasy blend, with lots of sharp wit and many actual laugh out loud portions. I'd not previously read anything by either of these authors, but I will definitely check out some more of their works.

P.S. Crowley, the representative for Hell, was definitely my favorite character in this book, driving around in his vintage Bentley, taking credit for heinous human acts that he actually had nothing to do with. :)

Odd and the Frost Giants

Odd and the Frost Giants written and read by Neil Gaiman, 117 pages; 1 hour 30 minutes on audio

Odd is a 12-year-old boy who has a bit of a bad lot in life. His dad died last year while on a Viking sailing expedition (though it was from drowning while trying to save a pony rather than from battle wounds), and not long afterward, Odd's mother moved in with a rude man and his herd of rude children. To add injury to insult, Odd then crushed his foot and leg, making him even more useless in the eyes of his new stepfather.

So when Odd leaves home in the middle of winter, nobody seems to mind, though it opens Odd up for an adventure that quite lives up to his name--after meeting Norse gods Odin, Thor, and Loki (who are trapped in the form of animals), Odd vows to help them reclaim Asgard from the Frost Giants.

It's a delightful tale, and Gaiman's narration on the audiobook is wonderful. (Seriously, can we get Neil to read every book?) My one regret about the audiobook is that I missed out on what I've heard are some lovely illustrations in the traditional book version (though, of course, then I would have missed out on Gaiman's reading). I suppose I'll just have to thumb through the book version as well...

Black Orchid

Black Orchid by Neil Gaiman, art by Dave McKean, 176 pages

Black Orchid is largely the back story of a superhuman plant-woman who fights crime and corruption in Gotham City. Because it's rooted in the DC universe, the reader meets (or at least gets passing glimpses of) several of the heroes and villains therein. While Gaiman has said that this is his favorite graphic novel that he's written, I don't know that I agree. It seems like there are seeds of a great story there, but confining it to a single volume doesn't allow it to become as fully realized as I'd like to have seen. It is, however, a flat-out GORGEOUS book. McKean's artwork is astounding. Read it for that reason, if for no other.

Good Omens

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

366 pages

I should have realized what an odd book this would be, based on who wrote it, but I was still somewhat surprised.  This is a story about the end of the world, which is going to be brought about by the Antichrist, named Adam by the people who raised him.  However, Adam was accidentally switched for the wrong baby at the hospital.  Crowley, a demon, and Aziraphale, an angel, decide to try to thwart the plans for the end of the world by introducing the boy to the good side also.  Of course, all along they are targeting the wrong boy.  Anathema Device, descendent of Agnes Nutter and current caretaker of the book, The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, is also trying to prevent the end of the world, if she can figure out enough of the prophecies in time.  The four horsemen are biding their time until the Antichrist starts the war that will be the end.  Very funny and completely off-the-wall, this is a great book that fans of humorous fantasy will like.

Sandman: Endless Nights

Sandman: Endless Nights by Neil Gaiman, 150 pages

Created and published seven years after the end of The Sandman comics, Endless Nights is a collection of vignettes about each of the Endless. Each is illustrated by a different artist, ranging in style from traditional comics panels to collage. Particularly striking are the stories about Delirium (which is, like Delirium herself, pretty hard to follow) and Despair (which is a series of 15 portraits of despair). These are good little short stories and poems, perfectly illustrated for each of the Endless. If you haven't read Sandman, feel free to start here to get a bit of an introduction to Dream and his siblings. If you have read Sandman, check this one out for a bit of a visit from old friends.

Sandman: The Wake

Sandman, vol. 10: The Wake by Neil Gaiman, 192 pages

In this, the final of the real Sandman series (volume 11 is a collection of seven short stories on Dream and each of his siblings), we see a significant shift in Dream's world, and indeed, in the world of all of the Endless. I really can't go into it without doing some SERIOUS spoiling, but I will say that the artwork in this volume is also a significant shift from the previous volume, and it mirrors the plot changes perfectly. This volume is the perfect example of how an artistic style can significantly enhance the story it tells; the heavy, geometric art that I so adored in volume 9 would be SO. WRONG. here, but the detailed, pencil-thin drawings and muted colors are the perfect way to tell this portion of the story.

As I wrap up this epic tale, I must go back to what I said during my first post about Sandman: I knew going into this that Sandman is an influential graphic novel, but I don't think I realized exactly how much of it I would see reflected in nearly all of the graphic novels I've read and enjoyed, through artistic style, story arcs, paneling, character development, and more. Consider me floored, and incredibly glad to have read these.

Sandman: The Kindly Ones

Sandman, vol. 9: The Kindly Ones by Neil Gaiman, 352 pages

This is volume 9 of 11 for The Sandman series, and as such, it's hard to say too much about the story without giving stuff away. That said, this one revolves around a scorned woman's search for the Furies (also known as the titular Kindly Ones) in an attempt to seek revenge on Dream. The storyline hops back and forth among several characters, making it sometimes hard to follow, but in the end, it all comes together nicely. One thing that confuses me a bit: the story wraps up quite nicely at the end of this volume, so I'm a bit flummoxed about what volumes 10 and 11 have to offer. I suppose I'll find out soon, right?

One other thing: I've enjoyed the artwork (created by various artists) through much of this series, but I particularly like the work in this one, specifically in the parts dealing with Hippolyta, the aforementioned scorned woman. The bold angles and heavy lines may put some people off, but I thought it was cool.