I have never read anything from Neil Gaiman, but I obviously see him talked about here quite a bit, including the review below. So, as someone thinking about giving him a try, I have a few questions:
- Please describe his style.
- What does he typically write about?
- What makes his books "fantasy/magical".....which I assume they are?
- What book should a newb start with? Why?
Thanks!
I found it utterly boring and unimaginative, the characters were hollow and the plot seemed like a high schooler's first stab at a novel. You would think the idea of a parallel London underground from the real London would be a great setting but it really fell flat for me; I wouldn't want to visit his parallel world. I simply could not make it through no matter how hard I tried.
That said, maybe I went wrong with the guy? I had always heard good things about him but then I began reading Neverwhere and I could not figure out why people thought he was so great. I am not against trying him again in the future but for now I have put him aside for other authors that I have heard about. I just finished my first experience with Guy Gavriel Kay via his stand alone novel Tigana and thought it very good. Kay's writing just seemed so much more mature than Gaiman's.
I don't want to discourage you, it just may be that Gaiman isn't really my cup of tea in the end and so Neverwhere didn't click with me, but I just could not, for whatever reason, get into his style. Hopefully you have better luck.
-Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings