Where to start with Neil Gaiman?

[Mike]

My wife has been recommending him to me practically since we met, but somehow I have yet to get around to it. I've been thinking of reading American Gods after I'm done with The Lost World, although I might do Watership Down for the upcoming group read first. But I got to wondering, is there a better place to start off with him?

I did enjoy his Doctor Who episodes. I wouldn't call them the best of the Matt Smith era, but they were still solid.

[[deleted user]]

I would say it depends on what kind of stories you like. (Maybe your wife knows?) Gaiman writes differently in different boks. Stardust is fairly light. American Gods is serious & complex. Neverwhere is serious but more straightforward. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is supernatural horror. Coraline is creepy YA.

He also writes a lot of short stories. Our group discussion for May (May 11) is his Trigger Warning collection. (We also previous "discussed" (here) his short story collection Smoke and Mirrors, though it wasn't very active (OK, it was almost just me, with a few comments from Xdyj. Someday I'll understand how 22 people can vote to discuss a book and only 2 show up. sigh)

[Donald]

I think G33z3r nailed it. If someone was looking to read "Gaiman", as opposed to a particular genre, I'd say American Gods or the Sandman comics are the best combination of story and example of his writing. However he's written such a spectrum of different styles of genre stories that there's a bit of everything.

I'm a bit of the way through Trigger Warning now and it would be one way to get a taste of his stories, and then decide if you like some particular types you can probably get suggestions derived from that, e.g. Click Clack the Rattle-bag is closer to the Graveyard Book and Coraline, whereas The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains might be more towards Sandman.

[Darren]

His short stories.

[Andrea]

Given the TV series coming out, I plan to read my first Gaiman with American Gods. Also I plan to nominate Anansi Boys for the June contemporary read when nominations open up. Though it's the sequel to American Gods I figure most have read the first book, or are reading it now or will read it soon so I'm hoping it will get a fair amount of interest.

[Darren]

Andrea wrote: "Given the TV series coming out, I plan to read my first Gaiman with American Gods. Also I plan to nominate Anansi Boys for the June contemporary read when nominations open up. Though it's the seque..."

Anansi Boys wasn't a sequel. It was more of a spinoff.

[Andrea]

Darren wrote: "Anansi Boys wasn't a sequel. It was more of a spinoff. "

Thanks for letting me know, I was just going by Goodreads listing them as a series, or a duology really. But I guess it's still best to read one before the other?

[Mike]

I just bought Trigger Warning on my Kindle, although I'm slightly annoyed that a 350-page book prices at $11.99. Although I might still concentrate on Watership Down as I'd like to be done, or at least almost done, by the time we start reading that one. The short story collection is something that I can read bits and pieces at my leisure while still concentrating on something else.

The movie adaptation of Coraline was kind of creepy.

[Donald]

I'll throw in a few more correspondences from Trigger Warning - The Sleeper and the Spindle maps to Stardust in style, and Black Dog is a literal spin-off of the American Gods/Anansi Boys universe.

[Emily]

Andrea wrote: "Thanks for letting me know, I was just going by Goodreads listing them as a series, or a duology really. But I guess it's still best to read one before the other?"

I read Anansi Boys before American Gods because at the time I had no idea there was a linkage. I LOVE Anansi Boys and enjoyed it much more than American Gods.

Most of my friends don't have the same tastes I do, so when they ask where they should start with Gaiman, I suggest Anansi Boys, Stardust, Sandman, and Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (which was Gaiman and Terry Pratchett).

Trigger Warning is next on my list so I can participate in the discussions.

[Tyler]

I would recommend starting with American Gods and then perhaps Anansi Boys. I really liked The Graveyard Book, for a fast, macabre, YA read.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I loved Stardust. I'd say start there.

[Donald]

Randy wrote: "I loved Stardust. I'd say start there."

The problem with Stardust is that it really isn't representative of "Gaiman". I really enjoyed the book and the movie but it's quite a different tone to most of the rest of his work, so if someone's recommending Gaiman to the OP they probably aren't thinking Stardust as the one they'd like.

[Mike]

I think I will be starting with Trigger Warning, at least some of the stories, and give my thoughts in the discussion. American Gods comes after that, since I talked her into holding off on the TV show until I've read the book. And she really wants to see the show, which puts impetus on me to read it sooner than later.

Thanks everyone.

[M.P.]

I read American Gods first, as it was touted as his best piece of writing. Fairly interesting book in some ways. It seems a little gritty and crime thriller-esque in plays, but there's some big ideas floating under the surface--about old and new gods, old and new philosophies converging.

[Darren]

I want to change my answer to "Wherever you want." Most of his books are self-contained, and it's not like reading Stardust will skew your reading of Neverwhere, or vice versa.

[Andy]

I'd also go with 'anywhere!'.
Having said that, Norse Mythology doesn't reflect his usual style as it is more of a retelling of myths. Still good.

[Earnest]

I'd say go with The Sandman comics. A lot of the core themes of his later novels are already touched upon. Plus you'll finish comics faster and get a sense of his writing faster too.