Neil Gaiman: Yay or Nay?

Some like Neil Gaiman's brand of speculative fiction and modern fantasy, yet others don't.

I personally like his stuff, yet most of the people in my school have never heard of him.

Various bloggers have sarcastically expressed their "fondness" for the concept for the new Stardust movie, but will ye stand up for your own opinion and fall off at least one side of the metaphorical Fence of Not-Deciding?

So basically, what I'm trying to say here is, "Neil or no Neil"? Like him or not?

I really liked the movie Mirrormask, though I don't remember if I found out it was his at the beginning or the end.

I read a short story by him and thought it was ok, if not particularly innovative.

I tried to read American Gods and couldn't even get halfway through it.

I find gaimen better in theory than practise. sumarise his work and it sounds great read it and it is ok.

American Gods was alright, but for me the book that really interested me in Gaimen was Neverwhere .

As for the upcoming movie.. We shall see how it turns out, but the book is good. It is a fairy tale after all, so I hope people aren't expecting LotR or something.

The only Gaiman book I've ever tried to read was American Gods. Like blue said above, I couldn't get through it. I tried, but I could not get interested. I'm willing to give him another try. I don't want to base my opinion one book. Any suggestions as to what would be a good one to try?

the only thing i've read of his was american gods, but i pretty much agree with simonw - the idea was great, the execution could have been better.

I am on the "yay" side. I like Gaiman's tone and I like what he does with myths and modern ideas.

I sort of enjoyed neverwhere and stardust but neither "ticked"

good omens is one of my top favorite books, ever. I cannot recommend it high enough - funny, clever, witty, still has a plot and makes you think.

Recently i read anansi boys and that is a very enjoyable trickster myth book.

I haven't read american gods but it is high on my list

What, no 'meh' option? Because that's what I'd vote, at this point. I've only read his American Gods as a shared read in this group, and while I enjoyed parts of it, on the whole I found the book fair to middling.

I'll come back and post some threads for you, so you can read our discussions, TeenAuthor.

I didn't like American Gods at all, couldn't even finish it, but I did like Coraline and I enjoyed Mirrormask, though I didn't know until now that he wrote it. But I'm not in a hurry to read anything else of his.

Here you go, TeenAuthor:

Book Discussion: American Gods Chapters 1-4

Book Discussion: American Gods Chapters 5 - 8

Book Discussion: American Gods Chapters 9 - 12

Book Discussion: American Gods Chapters 14 - 18

Book Discussion: American Gods Chapters 19 - 20

I have no clue what happened to Chapter 13! LOL

Gaiman's The Sandman series was quite good on first read, and Coraline was also really enjoyable.

But, American Gods wasn't nearly as good.

I tried re-reading The Sandman again a couple of months ago, and I could see what I really liked about it, but it didn't hold up as well on a second reading.

I then went to his The Books of Magic and I realized that this was still brilliant.

So, I think Neil Gaiman was startingly good compared to what else was out there in horror/mythology comics, but really doesn't stand, IMHO, as a great author, and perhaps not even a 'really good' one, but is one who has flashes of excellence in him, that come across in shorter works.

I loved the idea of American Gods, but didn't even finish the book because the execution was so poor. I liked Good Omens, but it seemed very much a Pratchett book to me. Not sure how much Gaiman really did there.

I have friends who rave about Gaiman. Maybe he's better at comic books, because the novels haven't impressed me.

Gaiman? I think he is a pretty good author, I started to read Sandman way back in the day, I think it still stands as an excellent work. I can understand the feeling about American Gods, that book was a bit hard to get through, but I can highly recommend his short story collections, I think that is where he stands out the most. For me it is a Gaiman yay.

#13 I really enjoyed Good Omens too - I think Gaiman reined Terry in on that book (I am a HUGE fan of Pratchett's style), meaning, I think the collaboration worked extremely well in Omens.

I also enjoyed Coraline, but wasn't able to get into The Sandman series. I'd like to try Anansi Boys, but I've read it is a "companion" to American Gods... is this true? Should I try Gods first?

For me it is a Gaiman "dunno" (how lame is that-sorry!).

#12 - I tried re-reading The Sandman again a couple of months ago, and I could see what I really liked about it, but it didn't hold up as well on a second reading.

It's interesting just how much tastes differ. While I enjoyed Sandman the first time through, I've found that it's gotten even better with each subsequent reading. Every time, I notice new things that I missed before and that add even more depth to the story. The series as a whole ranks quite highly on my Overall Favourites list.

So I'm a "yay." I really like Neil's stuff; I find it inventive, clever and fun. The only one I'm rather iffy on is, oddly enough, Good Omens.

I loved Stardust, it was beautiful! But after "American Gods" I just don't think he's the author for me really.

I haven't read any of his novels in the traditional sense... I've read Good Omens, which I adored beyond all reason, and I've read half the Sandman series, which I've gotten quite hooked on. So that's a "yea" so far.

Yay! He's is one of my favorite authors. I love the quirkiness, the humour and the mythology in his writing.

#15 noonlight - If you liked Good Omens, I think you'll probably enjoy Anansi Boys better than American Gods. It's lighter and funnier. Boys is sort of a spin-off of Gods, but it stands on its own. Anansi is a minor character in Gods, and Anansi Boys is about his son.

I'll say yay. I liked American Gods and Anansi Boys, I thought they were different and odd and that's what grabs me. I read Good Omens a few years back and loved it.
I don't really analyze an author, though. I either like the book or "eh", I've never totally blown off an author because I didn't care for a book. On the other hand, if I absolutely love a book, I'll definitely make it a point to look for the author again.

i'm so glad to see so many gaiman fans claim that american gods is their least favorite of his books. it makes me more inclined to try his stuff again.

I had seen his works on Sandman, but have to admit I've never read it - when I found him I was just surfacing from some serious reading of graphic novels and wanted something else. So I can't comment on that one.

I've read Good Omens gazillions of times, I think it's hilariously fun. On my firstr ead I thought American Gods OK - the nest time round I felt it... flat.

I enjoyed Coraline. So, I went on to try Anansi Boys but found it impossible to read more than a third of the book... and even that took a lot of conviction on my part - I really TRIED but did not manage.
It felt like a college movie,very superficial, artificial, naive, STUPID.

Since I have not felt any urge to try any other of his works. On the contrary. There are so many great authors and books out there and life is very short - I want to focus on those reads that rewards me for taking the time.

I'm firmly in the yay camp. I started out reading the Sandman, and have liked almost everything he's written. American Gods is my favorite of his books, but after reading a lot of the various discussions about it, and the thoughts of those I've recommended it to, I've revised my opinion about it slightly. I've found it takes some people a little time to get used to his style, which is a little unusual. So while I still love the book, I don't recommend it as the first Gaiman book anyone should read. I point people towards his short story collections, Angels and Visitations and Smoke and Mirrors, then Stardust, Neverwhere and only then American Gods. It's a progression that has seemed to work.

American Gods is the only thing I've read by Gaiman and I really liked it. I'll be reading more of his work. Next up is Good Omens.

Yay, but with caveats.

I really liked American Gods but thought Anansi Boys was both derivative and kind of tedious. I didn't think it was awful, per se, just another unremarkable fantasy novel to slog through.

His recently released Fragile Things collection of short stories worked very well as a book on MP3, though obviously some stories were better than others. And his poetry was downright emabarrasing, the sort of thing you expect from a whiny 14 year old emo type.

Both Yay and Nay

I listened to an audiobook of American Gods and couldn't get into it, his Good Omens book was okay with some good parts but not really my thing. Howerer I loved Stardust.

Yay.

I find his work generally entertaining, sometimes derivitive, with ocassional moments of true genius. I won't run screaming to the store when he releases a new book, knocking down old ladies in my frenzied rush to get the first copy, but I'll probably pick it up somewhere along the line.

Keep in mind I've only read a few of his works, so I claim no expertise on his skills.

Yay.

I started with Sandman and agree with xicanti about subsequent readings. From there I gobbled up Neverwhere, Stardust, and the short story collection Smoke and Mirrors. American Gods left me a little flat. I felt he had said all these things about gods before, but better, in the Sandman. I liked Anansi Boys better, perhaps because it was shorter and seemed to have been more tightly edited, opinions? I thoroughly enjoyed the latest short story collection Fragile Things. Oddly enough I haven't gotten around to Good Omens yet.

I say yay. I read Coraline first and loved it. Then I read American Gods and I liked that one also. I have only read those two and I plan to read more. I think that his books are very different from other books and that is why I liked them so much.

I've read Good Omens several times and think it's fantastic. Until last year it was the only thing of his I'd read, though as a collaboration (albeit an excellent one) I figured it didn't really count. Last year I read American Gods and thought it was truly brilliant, but it seems I may be in the minority there?? I read Anansi Boys after that, and while I did enjoy it I didn't like it as much as American Gods. It's much lighter in style, but I enjoyed the weighty feeling of American Gods. I keep meaning to start on the rest of his oeuvre, but there aren't enough hours in the day!

I'm another half-and-half. Funny, 'cause I consider him one of my favorite authors.

He's a great short-story writer, and his comics are excellent. His novels are a bit frustrating, though. I don't think he's ever quite learned how to keep a story going over the length of an entire book.

Stardust is probably his weakest novel, so of course they're making it into a movie. (That was sarcasm, BTW.)

Alrighty - I went to my library and they did indeed have Anansi Boys so I am going to give it a try! (hey, worst case I am able to add it to my 50 Books list - LOL) Perhaps I will post later with a more definitive reply.

I've been listening to Fragile Things. Half the time I don't see what's so great about him. Then I get to "A Study in Emerald" or "Goliath" and I want to run around telling people about him. I think he's a genius who writes too much...

For those of you who have only tried Gaiman's novels, I cannot recommend his work in comics and short stories highly enough. Those two areas are where he really shines.

#19 I just finished Anansi Boys and am now leaning towards the YAY! camp, I really got a kick out of it! Thanks for suggesting it over American Gods for me. I'm sure I'll be giving Gods a whack now tho'.

noonlight, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I really liked American Gods myself. I'd say it's deeper and darker than Anansi Boys but has moments of quirky humor too.

I'm in the "meh" camp, and will probably rethink my position when I've read some of his short stories or comics. I liked Neverwhere, loved Good Omens, and was not very fond of American Gods. I'd really like to read the Sandman series, though.

I like his novels--I think Neverwhere was my favorite, and I liked American Gods too--but I agree that he's at his best in his short works.

I'm a million times into the 'yay' side. He is by far my favourite author, and I have yet to read a single one of his books that I didn't love. I was never really fond of short stories, but after having read all his novels, I picked up Smoke and Mirrors, and fell in love some more! I've loved Neverwhere, Good Omens, American Gods, and highly enjoyed Stardust and Anansi Boys.

I can't sing his praises enough. ;)

Wasn't blown away - apart from good omens - Stardust was fair, Fragile things had some good stories, and some less so. I'd read again, but I probably wouldn't buy full price.

Well, heh, my username probably says it all... :P

I first "discovered" Neil about 7 years ago, when a friend lent me his The Sandman collection, I got hooked... and the rest is history. I've been a fan ever since. Not that I have read much of his work, I'm still going through it (the man is prolific indeed!), and I'm also a huge Stephen King fan too, so just between those two, I got TONS of books to read still!

The next book of his that I read and I absolutely adored was Neverwhere. So magical... I really enjoyed American Gods, and I liked Anansi Boys even more.

But what I can't recommend enough is The Sandman.

@usin: I can't sing his praises enough. ;) ==> Me neither! ;D

I absolutely love the Sandman Series. In particluar Season of Mists. I love the idea presented in this series that the most adversarial thing Satan can do is to abdicate his throne as ruler of Hell. This series handles the pandemonium that ensues brilliantly and brings up some huge theological questions such as the role of free will and predestination in the whole fall of angels affair.

However, I hated Neverwhere. I actually thought that the book was pretty poorly written. There was an amateurish feel to the book.

I liked American Gods better than Neverwhere, although I really didn't love the book. I thought that the characters in American Gods were fairly one sided, cold, and rather, for lack of a better term, disconnected feeling. This could be purposeful on Gaiman's part because the characters are, for the most part, god figures that feel contempt for humans while simultaneously existing only as manifestations of human desires. By their very nature these characters cannot help being anything but one sided. Even the main character is named Shadow, not the best name for a character (the protagonist) who is expected to be multi-dimensional. Even if this disconnect is purposeful (which I'm not sure of after reading Neverwhere) I still find it unpleasant to read. I left American Gods wondering whether it was a shoddily written book or a brilliant book that was meant to leave you as cold as a Lakeside winter.

I just finished Anansi Boys, and I now stand firm that Gaiman is a fun writer with really creative ideas.

I devoured The Sandman series. I have yet to read one of his novels though. Well, except for Good Omens, but I think that was more Terry Pratchett than Gaiman.

I wouldn't say that I love the full body of Neil Gaiman's work but I think he is more original than most of those currently writing fantasy these days.

I actually did like Stardust and thought he handled the literary fairy tale in a way that was respectful of the genre while still humorous. I read American Gods but felt it suffered from a certain sprawl of too many cultures being fitted into a relatively thin story. I thoroughly enjoyed Good Omens, but as someone else pointed out, that could be the Pratchett element.

I suppose my point is that I like Gaiman's work but don't necessarily think he is a literary giant.