Neil Gaiman — #100FavouriteAuthors

The man who’s yet to grow up!

“Will eventually grow up and get a real job. Until then, will keep making things up and writing them down.”

Hello folks — I’m back!

My new series will involve some of my favourite authors. You already guessed that by the title, I’m sure. I might also not write EVERY single day — at least I’m not going to keep that target for myself. If I can, I will. But I will complete this series of #100FavouriteAuthors.

I begin with one of my all-time favourites — Neil Gaiman.

It makes sense, because I just started watching the American Gods series on Amazon Prime today. A lot of people consider Sandman to be Gaiman’s magnum opus — I disagree. American Gods, in terms of sheer ideas and scale probably tops it. I still love Sandman, it’s just that I like American Gods a little more. Speaking of which, here are my Top 3 favourite stories of Neil Gaiman:

1. A Study in Emerald: I bet you’re surprised to see this here. This is possibly has the most devilish twist, and is one of the cleverest adaptations of an Arthur Conan Doyle story (A Study in Scarlet). I cannot say more for fear of spoiling the story. But do yourselves a favour and read it. Read its freely-available PDF right here. Thank me later.
2. October in the Chair: Another short story, this one sends a chill down my spine whenever I read it. But it also has great re-read value, even though every time it will leave a lump in your throat. It’s a story of the 12 months of the year sitting around a bonfire, telling stories. It’s October’s story, and as is wont with him, his story is cold, dark and grim. It’s all about a boy named Runt, who is unhappy in his home. Read the story here.
3. The Graveyard Book: This happens to be one of my favourite Gaiman stories, if not my ABSOLUTE favourite. Imagine Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book set in a graveyard — voila, you have the basic plot of The Graveyard Book. This book makes me feel like a child all over again. And it is a wonder that Gaiman manages to transform such a dark tale into a children’s story. This is a book you MUST buy — here’s the Amazon link.

What I love most about Neil Gaiman is that he doesn’t talk down to his audience even if he’s writing a children’s story. He makes it accessible and enjoyable for people of all ages. One of my favourite quotes (from the Graveyard Book) is this:

“You’re always you, and that don’t change, and you’re always changing, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

I think it describes ‘growing up’ quite succinctly.

That’s it for my 1st entry in #100FavouriteAuthors. See you guys in another entry soon!

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