titus_hjelm 's review for:

The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Non-fiction by Neil Gaiman

3.0

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Neil Gaiman seems like thoroughly nice person. This is an impression based on a couple of interviews and his online persona, so I'm running on very thin fuel here. Nevertheless, this has made me want to read his work, which I've not always liked as much as I like the person I think he is. This collection of short nonfiction confirms that first impression. Gaiman--I'm not quite at 'Neil' yet--is friendly, funny, supportive, but also critical (although not really political). There are many different types of texts (of varying quality also) here, but the overall feeling for me is of a trusted guide introducing you to the business of fiction and writers you should read. The closing chapter on Terry Pratchett advises us not to judge authors by their covers. Perhaps Neil Gaiman isn't the nice guy I've constructed in my head. But I'll certainly keep reading his stuff as long as proven otherwise.