Intro to Neil Gaiman

1. “Stardust”, by Neil Gaiman, 2001

In this fairy tale, young Tristan Thorn promises his beloved that he will find a fallen star for her, which has fallen beyond the Wall separating their small English village from faery-land. Thus promising, he crosses the wall and heads towards the star. Soon it turns out that Tristan’s connections to this enchanted land lie far beyond his intention to find the star…this is a slender, whimsical, and satisfying tale.

2. “Neverwhere”, by Neil Gaiman, 1998

When Richard Mayhew discovers an injured girl named Door one night, he decides to help her…and soon learns that by helping her, he has left the ordinary world of London Above and become a part of the invisible world of London Below and now there is no trace left of his former existence. Motivated by forces beyond his control, Richard decides to assist Door on her quest to find the assassins who murdered her family. In the mysterious London Below, familiar London continues to exist but in strange iterations – for instance Knightsbridge is a bridge, “Night’s Bridge.” As Richard, Door, and several companions that join them along the way seek for answers, they are also stalked by the assassins that have already hurt Door’s family, and would hurt them. Soon, Richard will be confronted with the most difficult choice of all…

3. “American Gods,” by Neil Gaiman, 2002

In this ambitious, complex novel, Gaiman grapples with the onslaught of the information age, and introduces panoply of Gods first invented by humans, and now far removed from modernity. Shadow, the protagonist, becomes the only human who can “save” the older Gods in what is a battle between the past and the slick future. Beginning when Shadow is released from prison, he is soon approached by a mysterious figure who hires him in his quest. Shadow’s life becomes increasingly discomfiting and acquires supernatural aspects (including the recurring appearance of his dead wife Laura and his growing surety that he is not dealing with mortals). As the stakes grow higher, it appears that the fate of all mythological Gods is at risk, as is Shadow’s life.


Commentary: As an introduction to Gaiman, these move from simplest (a “Princess Bride”-like fairy tale) to complex, the ambitious “American Gods.” Similarly, although all filled with Gaiman’s dark humor, the progression here is from light to dark. “Stardust” is beautiful, whimsical fairytale with hidden amusing nuggets for the modern reader; “Neverwhere” is a dystopic fairytale, in which a magical but grimy world exists beneath (as opposed to next to) the modern one; and “American Gods” loses the guise of fairy tale and surmises that Gods – and not very nice ones – live and dwell and even kill among human kind. Also of note, is that in each of these a decision is made to cross into a netherworld; in “Stardust”, Tristan easily chooses; in “Neverwhere,” Richard’s nature dictates a choice; and in “American Gods,” a Faustian bargain is made that draws into a disturbing and co-existent world.