Ode to Neil Gaiman

(illustration by Tom Gauld)

I kind of have this thing for Neil Gaiman. He is an author that really bends his genre and does fantasy in a refreshing way that reminds me that fantasy can be good and enjoyable without being cliche or trite.

I just got a collection of short-stories he helped compile (along with Al Sarrantonio). In the intro he described very well my reason for reading, "We wanted to read stories that used a lightning flash of magic as a way of showing us something we have already seen a thousand times as if we had never seen it before... It's the magic of fiction: you take the words and you build them into worlds. It seemed to us that the fantastic can be, can do, so much more than its detractors assume: it can illuminate the real, it can distort it, it can mask it, it can hide it. It can show you the world you know in a way that makes you realise you've never looked at it, not looked at it. G.K. Chesterton compared fantastic fiction to going on holiday--that the importance of your holiday is the moment you return, and you see the place you live through fresh eyes."

A lot of other people seem to think so as well, because they keep making his stuff into movies.

Coraline

This one is just good. Unexpected, slightly creepy, but good for many reasons.

Stardust

This one is just enchanting, clever, and highly enjoyable.

Sandman

This one is a graphic novel series, not actually a movie, but it's cool

Good Omens (Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett)

This one is also not a movie, but a really fun book. This is an adaption by some kids and I actually think they did a really good job, considering their budget. They remain true to the book (huzzah!). Plus it reminds me of these book projects we had to do in high school.

So there is some inspiration, to get me to use my pen to capture a snippet of the vast expanse of my mind.