"The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman

Year of Publication: 2008
Number of Pages: 312 pages
Genre: Fantasy, horror

Summary: While his family are murdered by a mysterious man named Jack, a baby crawls into a nearby graveyard where he is adopted by the ghosts that dwell there and named Nobody Owens ("Bod" for short).
Living among the ghosts in the graveyard, and guided by his mysterious guardian Silas, who belongs neither to the worlds of the living or the dead, Bod learns the ways and the secrets of the graveyard. He discovers the gateway to the nightmare desert city of the ghouls, and encounters the Sleer a powerful and dangerous spirit, guarding ancient treasure.
However the real dangers lurk in the world outside, for Jack is still out there, still hunting for Bod and will stop at nothing to finish what he started.

Opinions: As with the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, this multi-award winning, international bestselling novel has appealed to both children and adults alike. This is a genuinely magical and enchanting modern fairy-tale, which moves at a great pace. Packed with invention and imagination, this is a pretty dark book and there is a lot of scary stuff in it, but there is a lot of warmth and tenderness in there as well. I absolutely loved reading the book and found it one of the most striking and enjoyable reading experiences I have had in a very long time.
Neil Gaiman is one of the most acclaimed and successful of modern fantasy writers and has penned short stories, comic-books, scripts for film and television as well as bestselling novels for both adults and children. He has a unique touch, which is hard to pin down, both contemporary and timeless, and it is very much in evidence here. His fans, both young and old, will find plenty to enjoy here.
This novel deserves to become a classic of both children's and fantasy literature, and is bound to become a much-loved addition to countless bookshelves worldwide for many years to come.

The Comical Tragedy or Tragical Comedy of Mr. Punch

Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean
Year of Publication: 2006
Number of Pages: 96 pages
Genre: Graphic novel, horror, fantasy, mystery

Summary: A man remembers when, as a young boy, he stayed with his grandparents in an English seaside town. His grandfather, who would later go mad, and his hunchback great-uncle own an unsuccessful amusements. While he is there he meets a mysterious Punch and Judy Show operator (or "professor") and begins to uncover the secrets of the "oldest and wisest play", as well as the dark secrets at the heart of his personal and family history.

Opinions: Acclaimed author Neil Gaiman is probably best known in the comics world for his ground-breaking series The Sandman (1989-1996) but he has done many limited series and one-off gaphic novels. This book is a disquieting and compex meditation on memory and childhood. Told almost entirely through the fragmented memories of the unnamed narrator the story deals with a child confronting the bizarre and often disturbing world of adults intermixed with the fantasy of the Punch and Judy shows, which were bizarre and frequently quite violent puppet shows for children which at one time were hugely popular. The story hints at a lot, but very little is actually revealed. Gaiman's text is superbly complemented by McKean's artwork, which blends detailed paintings, with text, photography, models and other objects. Reading this is a genuinely disturbing and powerful experience.

"The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes" by Neil Gaiman

Year of Publication: 1991
Number of Pages: 238 pages
Genre: Horror, fantasy

Summary: The Sandman is Morpheus, also known as Dream, one of a family of immortal beings known as The Endless. After decades of being trapped by an evil occultist, a severely weakened Morpheus escapes but finds that his realm, The Dreaming, is in ruins. However, to restore order to his world and the dreams of humans, he needs to regain his tools which were stolen from him: A helmet, a pouch of sand and a ruby. In his quest to regain them he teams up with cynical occult detective John Constantine, has to fight a super-powered psychopath and enter Hell itself.

Opinion: This book is the first compilation of stories from the classic comic book The Sandman, collecting issues one to eight. Now, The Sandman is one of the greatest comic book series of all time, blending horror, fantasy, past, present, history and mythology with dark humour to create a genuinely powerful, artistic and literate saga. It's fair to say though, that this book does not present the best of The Sandman. It's fairly obvious that they weren't sure at this point in which direction to take the story, and it is very much a horror comic. That is not to say that it is not good though. The stories are imaginative and well written and the artwork (by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg and Malcolm Jones III), while not as good as it would later become in the series, suits the stories and provides plenty of memorably grotesque images. This is the best place to start off your Sandman experience, aside from introducing the character, the storylines echo throughout the rest of the series. Fans of DC Comics will probably enjoy the appearances from other characters from the DC Universe, such as John Constantine (from the Hellblazer comics, and the 1995 movie Constantine where the blonde Englishman was played by the dark-haired American Keanu Reeves) and there is also a brief appearance from Jonathan Crane, aka The Scarecrow, (from the Batman comics).

"Never trust a demon. He has a hundred motives for anything he does... ninety-nine of them, at least, are malevolent."
- The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman