needs more goddesses, kthx

[ivy_chan]

I've been reading 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman, and I'm not sure what to think about it. Don't get me wrong, the concept is fascinating, the writing itself is brilliant, and the world he brings to life is clear in my head. I actually do care about the main character and especially his wife, Laura, and most of the other characters are depicted in

Comments

[meganbmoore]

Gaiman is good, but really only writes one or two types of characters well, and they're definitely male characters. In my admittedly limited exposure, the only female characters of his that he's really done justice to are Death and, to a lesser degree, Yvaine (much as I passionately adore Yvaine). Helena in Mirrormask was also pretty well done, but blatantly owed a lot to Labyrinth's Sarah, and Gaiman has pretty much said that he was just providing words to help tie Dave McKean's ideas together. In general, I find that while I like Gaiman as a writer, most of my interest in hs stuff stems from the fact that he appears to be a seriously cool guy and class act as a person.

ETA: And, uhm, Neverwhere has Door. Of whom I'm also quite fond, but feel is underused. That said, I actually recommend watching the miniseries over reading the book, as blatantly cheaply done as it is. Mostly because the book is actually an adaptation of the mini-series's script. Rather like how Stardust loses a lot without Charles Vess's illustrations.

And, sadly, the rape thing is nothing new, and is part of why I'm not nearly as fond of Sandman as others.

[redbrunja]

Also, the Marquis in Neverwhere? *rarw*

(Although I liked the book better than the mini series, personally.)

[meganbmoore]

In the book, I think I just kinda got bored with being in Richard's head.

[redbrunja]

Understandable.

[ivy_chan]

Well, since a couple people have been suggesting Neverwhere, I'll give that a try. I did like Good Omens, but that was a joint effort between Gaiman and Pratchett, so I'm not sure how much it counts towards Gaiman as a writer. I haven't read Sandman because the art style throws me off, but I've heard of the Endless, and I do think Death sounds pretty awesome. Too bad Dream sounds like kind of like a douche.