@super2j said:
@Zuldim said:
It's based on a Neil Gaiman novel, which manages to be even more bizzare than the film.
I really like the movie, and as you said, it's certainly not generic. If there's one thing Neil Gaiman certainly cannot be accused of, it's being generic. He wrote a version of "The Jungle Book" where the main character is a boy who lives in a Graveyard and is raised by ghosts. Called "The Graveyard Book". Dude's writings are trippy. And that's why I love them, so whatever.
So yes, to answer your question, Stardust the movie is in fact pretty great.
So what you are saying is that i should go read some of these books? I mean i just read most of the hitch hikers guide to the galaxy collection(Thanks Will Smith of Tested). So im definitely interested in more weird unique story telling.
@Yummylee: Im glad im not alone on this.
If you liked Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, one book I can strongly recommend by Neil Gaiman (co-written by Terry Pratchitt) is Good Omens. The style which the book is written in reminds me very much of how the Hitchhiker's book were. In many ways it reminds me of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but set in a psuedo-biblical apocalypse setting, instead of a sci-fi one. The whole plot of that one is that the forces of Heaven and Hell have decided that it's time for the apocalypse to begin, but an Angel and a Demon who decide they like Earth how it is just fine, not perfectly good or perfectly evil, and so they try to find a way to stop it-- Plus, no one can seem to find the anti-christ. It's a fun read, which made me laugh out loud multiple times. It's also being adapted into a movie, which I think is slated for 2014.
American Gods is probably his most famous novel. I'd give story details on that one, but honestly the less you know about it going in, the more you'll probably enjoy that specific story. Needless to say, it's considered one of the best urban fantasy novels ever written for good reason, and is worth the time. Stardust, as I said, is a really good read. The movie nailed the tone of the book pretty well in my opinion, so if you want that story but with some more details, then it's a great read. It's tonally similar to classic fairy tales, and I really like it. His children's books are also all fantastic, and, though they're short reads as they were meant for children, they're all unique enough stories that they're well worth the time. I've read Coraline (which was made into another pretty good movie by Laika a few years back), and The Graveyard Book, which I mentioned before. Both are really good reads, even as an adult.
He's probably most famous for his work on the comic series Sandman, but I've never read Sandman even though I hear it's incredible, so I can't comment on that.
He also has quite a few really good short stories, which are worth tracking down if you're into that sort of thing. One I'd recommend off the top of my head is "A Study in Emerald", which is a rewritten version of the first Sherlock Holmes story "A Study in Scarlet", set in the world of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulu Mythos. It's as awesome as it sounds.
So yeah, Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors, and if you want to read some really good books, he has everything from heady fantasy novels, to comedies (like Good Omens).
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