"Black Dog" by Neil Gaiman

"Black Dog" by Neil Gaiman

First Publication:  Trigger Warning:  Short Fictions and Disturbances

I have a confession to make.  I started reading Neil Gaiman when he did “Sandman” for DC Comics.  His work on it impressed me.  Somehow I never made the time to read much of his prose.  Since then I have started to work my way through them.  “The Graveyard Book” is one of my favorites.  I have also read “Odd and the Frost Giants”.  “American Gods” and his other novels are making their way to the top of my reading stack.

“Black Dog” is a follow up to “American Gods” that takes place a few years after the novel.  Shadow Moon is in England and meets a woman in a small-town pub.  Of course, this is just the beginning of his nightmare.  The Black Dog of the title is a local myth of a large dog that appears to people when they are about to die.  Gaiman starts the story with an uneventful easy pace that slowly builds in suspense as the American God Shadow is drawn into an adventure that could lead to his death.  Another solid effort from Gaiman.

Recommended, especially to fans of “American Gods”.

I read this as part of the Short Story Quest of Once Upon a Time X.

18. Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

Writer:  Neil Gaiman
First Publication:  2008
Challenge:  Once Upon a Time VII


 As I suspect it was for many people my first exposure to Norse mythology was Marvel Comics Thor titles.  Stan Lee and Jack Kirby adapted numerous characters and elements into their creation.  Thor, Odin, Loki, Asgard, etc. were taken and modified to make their series.  I remember my surprise when Roy Thomas introduced a red headed Thor and explained that his character was based more on the original myths.  Thomas also wrote about another version of Thor in All-Star Squadron at DC Comics.  Over time, I collected some books by Poul Anderson that used the Norse myths but I have never gotten around to reading them.  I plan on reading some of them this summer.

I wish I had a copy of “Odd and the Frost Giants” when my sons were younger.  It would be a great book to read to your kids.  I think it would make a good animated movie.  The tale of a young boy who does not fit in and how he goes on an adventure is one that would appeal to many children and adults.  I do not want to give away too much of the story because it is one you should experience for yourself.  The one thing I will comment on is the solution Odd develops to “defeat” the frost giant.  Using your wits can sometimes achieve much more than physical strength.  I was wondering how Gaiman was going to handle Odd’s confrontation with the frost giant but he came up with an appropriate answer. 

After reading and enjoying “The Graveyard Book” and this one (also some of his comic books), Gaiman is climbing the ranks of writers I want to read more of.

Highly recommended, especially for younger readers.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Gaiman captured my imagination from the opening when a man named Jack enters a family's house and kills them.  The only thing that goes wrong is an infant boy escapes his crib, crawls outside and disappears.  Where did he go? Why can't Jack find him?  That is the tale this magical storyteller crafts in "The Graveyard Book".