scott plummer

it's been almost a month since my last post. i had thought about doing a post for each volume but i didn't want to interrupt the flow of the stories once i got into them.

i've never been a comic reader but this series has kept me engrossed from the very start. the story of dream and the rest of the endless is handled rather eloquently, and sometimes violently by neil and the immensley talented artists that were involved.

some of the stories are not for the faint of heart. from a masacre in a diner led by someone that i like to describe as "bat shit crazy" to convention of serial (cereal) killers to the skinning of a dead mans face.

the series is recommended for mature readers and for good reason the scenes described above are rendered uncomfortably beautiful. the depiction of hell by the artists are some of the most disturbing images i have laid eyes on. it seems the artists were in my head because that is what i picture hell to look like.

i've started with volume six so you can expect another post in this series in roughly a month.

i know i haven't posted since january 22nd when i posted about stardust, but worry not all, i am still reading.

i am currently reading the sandman series and the plan is to wrap them up in two seperate posts. i am reading the series in the 10 volume format. i am on volume 3 right now and will post my thoughts after i have finished up volume 5 and again after volume 10.

want to follow my progress? well you can follow me on twitter where i chat about it occassionally or you can check out goodreads profile, which also posts to twitter and facebook.

after being completely, and totally blown away by american gods and anansi boys, i couldn't wait to start neverwhere.

my verdict?

mind=BLOWN

i honestly didn't think i could be i completely and totally impressed and in love with three books in a row from the same author, but neverwhere along with american gods and anansi boys has proved me wrong. most of this is going to be a spoiler, so i'll just alert you now.

*spoiler(s)*

first of all, like charlie in anansi boys i thought richard was a bit of a push over at the beginning of the book, which i believe was neil's intention. i loathed his fiancee jessica and her over bearing mother. if it weren't for mr. croup, mr. vandemar, and islington, those two might have been the characters i detested the most.

i completely fell for the set up in neverwhere. i was completely convinced that the marquis de carabas was going to be the one that betrayed them and was really the one that hired croup and vandemar to kill door, not islington.

with that said i was completely shocked that hunter was in on the betrayal, although she gained some sympathy when she admitted her betrayal.

the idea of the "fallen" angel, islington in this case, is often a cliche, the idea was handled wonderfully as was the dispatching of the angel along with croup and vandemar. that was wonderfully written and one of my favorite parts of the story.

i was quite happy that in the end richard decided that he wanted to go back to "london below" and be where he really belonged

*end spoiler(s)*

next up is stardust which i have already made good progress on. if all goes the same as with neverwhere i should be done with it inside of a week. after that i am probably going to start on the sandman series.

i honestly didn't think i'd be writing a "my year of gaiman" post so soon after my last one. i was around 80 pages into this one when i finally got my american gods post up on the 5th. i had started reading it i think on the 3rd. so i blazed through this one in just under a week.

damn.

according to it's wikipedia page, anansi boys exists in the same universe, but is not a sequel to american gods.

while i was hooked on american gods from pretty much the beginning it took a little bit to get into anansi boys, but just like american gods, this one got it's hooks in me and didn't let go.

my initial observations was that spider was a prick who only cared for himself, and charlie was weak who didn't care enough for himself, which i really identified with. throughout the book, at least to me, each character helps the other see their flaws and short comings and by the end of the book they are better off for the experience.

*SPOILER ALERT*

i love that spider and charlie are the good side, and the bad side of the same person, and that the "bad side", spider, was "sent away".

being a musician the realization by charlie that he had "god powers" through song really attracted me to the character.

rosie was never right for charlie, he was better off with daisy. just my opinion.

and graham coates? dude was a douchebag. period.

*END SPOILER*

there isn't a lot of insight and analysis in these "reviews" because i think over analyzing books, music, movies, etc. tends to wreck the enjoyment of them. so i will end by saying i thoroughly enjoyed this book and i can't wait to start the next one, neverwhere, probably tomorrow.

i recently finished neil gaiman's novel american gods. i'm not going to go into a long winded review but i just wanted to share my thoughts on it. i am not typically a fiction reader but i wanted to expand the types of books that i was reading. there will be spoilers, so if you haven't read it and you plan on reading it please stop reading this post now

you have been warned.

being new to gaiman's work i wasn't sure what to expect. he had come highly recommended. i loved it. it has it's moments of being quite unsettling. at first i found the "flash backs" to be somewhat jarring but due to the length of the book i eventually welcomed them as a break for my brain. i loved the use of american landmarks. there were moments when i was thinking what the hell is going on but he kept my interest and all i could think at the end was, "what, there's no more?" it is very, very good.

now for the spoilers.

1. for some reason i didn't make the connection that wednesday was shadow's father

2. i didn't see it coming, although i should have, that hinzelmann was also a god and had been sacrificing a child every year in the town of lakeside.

3. it kind of bugged me that shadow's wife had cheated on him while he was in jail, but in the end her charachter was one of my favorites.

4. i was also pretty disturbed at how bilquis was killed and repeatedly run over by a limo. but it was effective story telling.

*end of spoilers*

overall i loved this book and would reccommend it to anyone. it is one of those rare books that i will read again. even rarer still is that it is a fiction book that i will read again.

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ok, so now what is this "my year of gaiman" thing you might ask yourself?

i have set the task this year of reading as many of neil's works as i possibly can. i know i kind of cheated and started american gods in mid december of '09 but it's a big book. are you really going to begrudge me an extra two weeks?

i am going to provide similar type review of each book as i finish and move onto the next. it should be an interesting year, and i look forward to it and i look forward to your comments.