h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I just read yesterday about a new Gaiman book that won't be coming out until 2001. It's called Coraline and it's a children's novel. Here's a link to the review I found.

http://www.zealot.com/reviews/archives/coraline.php3

It looks to be very good.

Looks very good! I really liked The Day I Traded My Dad For Two Goldfish - even though I'm not a kid anymore. Thanks for the scoop!

The new book is called "American Gods" and is scheduled for release in October, 2000. It's available for pre-ordering on Amazon.com. The best source that I've found for Neil news is the Dreaming (sorry, I don't have the address, but if you do a search for Neil Gaiman, it should be one of the first things to pop up). If you ever get a chance to go to a signing, Neil usually reads and it's way cool. He's one of the best readers I've ever heard- funny, charming & smart. Hopefully, he'll tour with the new book.

Thanks for the info, Roane! I agree that Gaiman is one of the best writers around. I sure love him!

G7

I can't wait till October!

Yes, exactly, excited but apprehensive. There's a story in s&m called something like "the fishbowl and other stories" which is about hollywood, basically, it gives me some hope but I am still a little worried. however, one can only hope, and maybe trust in N.G to maintain it's quality.
I have to agree with you about "stardust", it's nice, it's original, inventive while paying some homage to many writers, but it just doesn't have the impact that "sandman" and "neverwhere" have.
yours FF

Is that the short story where an author is flown out to Hollywood and meets the old man who takes care of the fish? That's one of my favorites and shows up in Smoke and Mirrors. I have faith in NG. He's been working on this one for quite some time.

G7

The new book is called "American Gods" and is available at Amazon.com for pre-ordering, due to be published in October, 2000. The best place for Neilnews on the Web (that I've found, anyway) is The Dreaming at www.holycow.com/dreaming/.

Oooops! Sorry! Goes to show you how new I am at this-I thought my previous post didn't go through, 'cos I wasn't looking in the right place. Dork!

I agree about that story, it's called "The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories" and I loved it. The recurring bit about who was in the room with Belushi the night he died is hysterical (tragedy + time = ?). Neil has said in interviews that more of that story is true than you would believe.....I came away from "Smoke & Mirrors" feeling like he can write anything-any genre, any age or gender of character. I can't wait for the new book.

He's also directing a film of "Death: The High Cost if Living", working on "Coraline", working on a T.V. show based on "The Day I swapped my Dad For Two Goldfish" and has just sold the movie rights to the short story "Chivalry" from S&M (!) to Miramax as the pet project of a particular director (no announcement as to WHO, but it's supposed to be somebody big, that Miramax bought it especially for...)

Don't worry about the double posting. I still do it occassionally!

Wow! NG *directing* Death! That will be so cool! Have you heard any rumors about casting? I've often wondered who would play Death. Sadly I can't think of many actresses who could pull it off...

G7

There's been a big Internet rumor that Fairuza Balk wanted it, but Neil isn't casting yet. It's only going to be a $3-4 million film, so whoever she is will have to work cheap! The Fairuza Balk rumor has been going on for a year or so, at least, and she has said in interviews that she would be interested, but then she got all coy, once Neil got the dough to do it. He should probably go with an unknown, to make it easier on himself!

I forgot to mention in my previous post that he's also got the text to a new children's book, "The Wolves in the Walls", finished & has been waiting for Dave McKean to find the time to illustrate it. Dave must have found time, because it's being talked about for summer 2001, within a month of "Coraline". He was at a convention in Minneapolis recently & read from "American Gods". Someone who was at the convention posted to the Dreaming & said that all 3 books will be out within a month of each other, in 2001, but here in the U.S., Amazon.com still shows "A.G." due in Oct. Go figure.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Amazon.com is right. I don't want to have to wait another year to get AG!

G7

Unfortunately, Amazon.com has now changed the date of the book's release to May 2001. Aaaaaagh! The only good news is that Neil is doing a reading tour to raise money for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in October. He'll be in NYC, Chicago, Portland, OR & Los Angeles. No word yet on how to get tickets, but e-Bay has some VIP passes that they're auctioning off to raise money for the CBLDF, and if you feel like paying $450 or so (last time I checked) you can go to the reading, then have dinner with Neil afterwards. Of more interest on e-Bay is *the jacket*. Neil wore the same black leather jacket from 1989-1996 (then he got a new one) and he donated it to the auction. Since he has never been seen in public out of his costume of black jeans, black t-shirt, black leather jacket, & black sunglasses, the fans have gone nuts. Earlier today the bid was $5,077.00. It would be cool to own it though........

I saw those things on eBay. If only we were independently weathly, eh? I wouldn't mind the signed Death: Time Of Your Life either...

The tour, however, is an awfully cool thing. The only thing that makes me sad is that Neil announced that this is his last Angel Tour. Maybe he'll do a book tour next year. That would be something at least...

G7

I really hate waiting like this knowing when the book is scheduled to be published makes it easier. I did however recently find something interesting, a book, with the words "DON'T PANIC" writtenonit in large, friendly letters and underneath them the title "Douglas Adams & the hitch hiker's guide to the gallaxy" by (wait for it...) Neil Gaiman! I'm afraid it's not there anymore. It was first published in 1988 as "don't panic: the official hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy companion" and revised in 1993 if this comes as any kind of surprise to any of you then go get it!

Yes, The goldfish pool and other stories. I wasn't sure because as far as I could remember they weren't goldfish. I was very embaressed, and went to check it out as soon as I got off the computer. Excellent story, I had a friend of mine read S&M and when he got to it I said it was one of my favorites (although I have more favorites in that book than second favorites) when he finished the story he asked me why exactly did I like it so much, I was dumbstruck. Shameful.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Well, I suppose that not everybody can appreciate NG the way that we do.

Believe it or not, I have one of the original copies of Don't Panic. It's not in the best of shape since I read it quite a few times and let several friends borrow it as well. It is really very good.

G7

Hey, everybody! I just got this in my e-mail and thought you'd all like to see it:

12:00pm ET, 29-August-00

Gilliam To Helm Good Omens

Terry Gilliam (Brazil) is in line to co-write and direct Good Omens, an
SF feature film based on the novel of the same name by Terry Pratchett
and Neil Gaiman, the director told the IGN FilmForce Web site.

Gilliam will reportedly begin the movie after he wraps The Man Who
Killed Don Quixote in Spain, IGN reported.

Gilliam told IGN that contracts for the project have been signed. "A
British company, Renaissance Films, are handing over some money to us to
write it and hopefully make it after this one," Gilliam said. "It's a
good tale. The book is probably the 11th most-talked-about sci-fi book.
I don't know that it's really sci-fi, but it involves the Antichrist.
The angel from the Garden of Eden and the serpent from the Garden of
Eden have now, thousands of years later, grown to like humanity kind of
like a couple of diplomats to some banana republic, and they've been
away from their home countries for a very long time, and they've gone a
bit native."

Gilliam added, "Unfortunately, the Antichrist has been delivered, and
the whole place is going to come to an end in a few days, and they
really don't want it to happen." Good Omens was first published in 1990.
Gaiman and Pratchett wrote a draft of a screenplay back in 1991.




G7

Ooooh... something to look forward to

I'm sorry to be very very late: I'm one of the lucky few who saw the Neverwhere-series, and I have to differ with the Marquis being the best bit. In the series (AND in the book) it's Mr. Croup who has all the best lines. The way that guy (or is it fox) expresses himself, the way he USES language, now THAT is what makes Gaiman fantastic (and at the same time there is of course the juxtaposition with Mr. Vandemar). It's not only the good storylines and the excellent characterization, but what makes me enjoy Gaiman that much is his use of language. He's got that in common with Shakespeare, and I sincerely hope that Gaiman has reached what in my view is one of his goals: make the "Sandman-public" READ some Shakespeare. How can you understand Gaiman's Sandman-story "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (or all other stories featuring Shakespeare for that matter) if you don't know a thing about Shakespeare and his original plays? Hell, you even need to know who Marlowe is to really grasp why Shakespeare NEEDED Sandman in the first place...
Anyway, Gaiman IS great, no doubt about it. And mostly because of his wonderful use of language (which unfortunately means that the non-English-speaking part of the world will never be able to appreciate him completely, but that's another discussion).

I agree. I worked at a comic warehouse when Midsummers Dream came out and was amazed and pleased at the number of readers who contacted us asking what it was based on. Many of them went out and read the Shakespearian version (one of his best, IMHO) and commented that they planned to read more. Its not every comic author that can do that.

G7