Spacehamster’s Blog

I’ve been reading Neil Gaiman’s blog for about two years now, as I was just as intrigued by the life of a writer as I was by his writing. Up til’ now I’d only ever read Neil Gaiman’s work in the comics - two Sandman anthologies, Death: The High Cost of Living and ‘The Books of Magic’. They were all great reads. I’d never gotten into his novels until now, mostly because I enjoyed seeing artists weave their creations around Neil’s wonderful writing.

Out of curiosity, I borrowed ‘Stardust’ from my local library - and about 5 pages in I was hooked. With most other authors I’d read in my youth (Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler), there’s a tendency to immediately hook you from the very first paragraph. Neil’s novels seem to be a slow burn - he uses his prose to weave a world and then entraps you with a compelling narrative. I’d borrowed ‘Stardust’ for two whole weeks but I finished the entire novel off in one night - that’s how compelling it was.

I’d seen one correspondent on a mailing list dismiss Neil Gaiman’s writing as ‘juvenile’. I think the truth is that to enjoy Neil Gaiman’s writing, you must be willing to suspend your disbelief and let your imagination soar. His goal isn’t to write elaborate prose for the ultra-literary elite - it’s to use words to weave magical worlds that we, the reader, can get lost in. And that’s not the kind of thing that’s going to win the praise of the literati glitterati.

So if you love being enchanted by modern-day fairy tales and fables being written for a adult audience, then Neil Gaiman is definitely for you.