Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman was born in 1960 in Portchester, Hampshire, and spent the early 1980s as a journalist, conducting interviews and reviewing books, before moving into fiction. His name was made in comics: The Sandman ran from 1989 to 1996. In 1990 he co-wrote the novel Good Omens with Terry Pratchett, and his first solo novel, Neverwhere (1996), was a novelization of his own BBC television series about London Below, a magical realm that exists alongside the familiar city.

His prose moves between adult fantasy, dark children's books and retold myth. American Gods (2001), which mixes Americana with ancient and modern mythology around a taciturn man named Shadow, won the Hugo, Nebula, Locus and Bram Stoker awards for best novel. Coraline (2002), a fantasy-horror novella for children, won a Hugo the following year, and The Graveyard Book (2008), about a boy known as Bod who grows up in a graveyard, became the first book to win both the Newbery and the Carnegie medals. Norse Mythology (2017) retells the myths directly. Stardust, Coraline, American Gods, Good Omens and The Sandman have all been adapted for film or television.

Adult readers should start with Neverwhere. It is self-contained and shows his favorite move, hiding a second world inside an ordinary one, without the length and sprawl of American Gods. If it works, read American Gods next and then Anansi Boys (2005), which follows the twin sons of Mr. Nancy, an incarnation of the trickster god Anansi, after his death.

Younger readers, or anyone who wants a short book first, can begin with Coraline or The Graveyard Book instead. The Ocean at the End of the Lane (2013), about a man who returns to his hometown for a funeral, is another compact starting point for adults. The Sandman is central to his career but is a comics series; begin with the first collected volume rather than a famous single issue.