I’m finding myself becoming a big fan of Neil Gaiman after reading (and being enthralled by) _American Gods_ a little while back and now having finished his freshman novel _Neverwhere_. Both are a sort of fantasy exploration written in oddly placid yet quirky styles, the first dealing with the gods of our past abandoned to roam American unworshipped after having been brought here by settlers and then forgotten by their offspring, and the second exploring a mysterious “London Below” horror world made up of bits and pieces of London trapped throughout time and coexisting in a strange magical fantasy realm. In both stories (and, I gather, his next work, _Anansi Boys_) the protagonist is an average joe drawn into a dark underworld he neither knew existed nor finds easy to accept.

I’m pondering whether I’m enjoying the fantasy genre in general or only Gaiman in particular, as well as which of his works I should pick up next (probably the aforementioned _Anansi Boys_), as my occasional dippings into his _Smoke and Mirrors_ short story collection have not always left me fulfilled.