A Platonic Love Letter to Neil Gaiman
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My first foray into the world of one Mr. Neil Gaiman was not a typical one. At least, not typical for myself. I started watching his interviews on YouTube and found that he was a rather funny, down-to-earth British icon. Only after those videos (some of which were in mediocre quality) did I feel the urge to go out and buy one of his books.
I started with Neverwhere. A story about a regular Joe named Richard Mayhew who happens upon a girl named Door, royalty in this other magical realm called London Under. Fascinating, dark, and gripping. I swallowed the book whole in less than two days. Then I moved on to Stardust, about a boy named Tristian who elects to fetch a star fallen from the sky to earn the favor of his one true love. Yet another quick but stellar read with one of the best epilogues I have ever read in the entirety of my short life.
His style is simplistic, but not in a bad way. In fact, Gaiman's prose reads very much like a contemporary storyteller, writing as though he is actually telling a story. Couple that with his ability to sound utterly poetic at times, and he most certainly comes off as a genius. The dialogue he pens is some of the most realistic. The characters feel vibrant and real.
I love Gaiman's work so much that I went ahead and bought American Gods (something I had previously owned but never got to finish), Good Omens (with the lovely Sir Terry Pratchett), and The Ocean at the End of the Lane (which is regarded as his best so far). I pressed even further and found a way to read all ten volumes of the Sandman comic. My first venture into that medium.
Gaiman in 2019
The second season of American Gods will premiere as well as the series premiere of Good Omens on Amazon. And though I've yet to finish either book, I look forward to gobbling them up so I can watch the adaptations. Before Sir Terry Pratchett died, he had sent a letter to Neil asking him to be sure that Good Omens gets a run as something other than a novel. I'm excited to see what happens.
A New Novel
Soon (though I can't quite be sure how soon), Gaiman will be releasing a sequel to Neverwhere. As much as I'm aware, he's never crafted a sequel to one of his books. It's to be titled The Seven Sisters. I can't contain my anticipation. It swims in my veins like an inordinate amount of alcohol.
In Conclusion
Read Neil Gaiman. He won't disappoint. Even his children's books like The Graveyard Book are excellent, somehow pervading beyond the intended audience. Though my wife doesn't think he's that good, I can tell you that he's now become my favorite author, living or dead, supplanting J.R.R. Tolkien, who held that spot for many, many years.