Not entirely sure why i have waited so long to read his novels, I liked his Sandman stuff and loved Good Omens, but i havent seen many writers really make the transition from comics to novels well.
1. Neverwhere - Read this on holiday recently, twice, and it was the only saving grace of the horrible week in Tunisia. Characters were superb, even the minor characters captured the imagination and made you wonder how the hell he had the inspiration for them. The plotline was anything but simple, and the setting was amazing, never since Narnia have i wanted to visit a fantasy world quite so much, London Below seems so much more interesting than London Above
2. American Gods - So i picked this up, expecting more of the same, not really prepared for the direction this book took. Again he has very strong characters, but the levity of this book was tempered by some seriously disturbing scenes, yet the twists and turns of the plot keep you rivetted all the way till the last word. I felt a few of the mechanisms could well have been ripped from Pratchett, but then Pratchett takes a lot of his ideas from elsewhere too. Quality stuff
3. Anansi Boys - Lighter hearted than American Gods, but the characters again keep this tale flowing, mixing some darker traits of humankind with the kind of mischief that only Norse Gods appeared to get up to in the past.
So far, Neverwhere has been the best of what i have read, but he is definitely an author of note, and i'll be buying the rest of his back catalogue while i wait for his next stuff to come out.
1. Neverwhere - Read this on holiday recently, twice, and it was the only saving grace of the horrible week in Tunisia. Characters were superb, even the minor characters captured the imagination and made you wonder how the hell he had the inspiration for them. The plotline was anything but simple, and the setting was amazing, never since Narnia have i wanted to visit a fantasy world quite so much, London Below seems so much more interesting than London Above
2. American Gods - So i picked this up, expecting more of the same, not really prepared for the direction this book took. Again he has very strong characters, but the levity of this book was tempered by some seriously disturbing scenes, yet the twists and turns of the plot keep you rivetted all the way till the last word. I felt a few of the mechanisms could well have been ripped from Pratchett, but then Pratchett takes a lot of his ideas from elsewhere too. Quality stuff
3. Anansi Boys - Lighter hearted than American Gods, but the characters again keep this tale flowing, mixing some darker traits of humankind with the kind of mischief that only Norse Gods appeared to get up to in the past.
So far, Neverwhere has been the best of what i have read, but he is definitely an author of note, and i'll be buying the rest of his back catalogue while i wait for his next stuff to come out.
