[BOOK REVIEW] The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman

Title:  The Dangerous Alphabet

Author:  Neil Gaiman

Artist:  Gris Grimly

Genre:  Horror / Adventure / Fantasy / Alternate World

Year Published: 2008

Year Read:  2016

Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 7+ (Some Scary Imagery and Perilous Situations)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

Now, I have read many of Neil Gaiman’s books and I usually loved his adult and young adult fantasy novels since they are so full of excitement!  So it is rare that I read any of Neil Gaiman’s children’s books and I just happened to stumble upon his children’s book “The Dangerous Alphabet” along with illustrations by Gris Grimly!

 

The story starts out with two children and their cute pet gazelle sneaking past their father and going to a world that is located beneath the surface.  It was here that the two children ended up meeting a group of monsters and pirates, who then ended up kidnapping the girl and taking her to their lair where they plan to eat her.

Can the boy and their pet gazelle save the girl from the pirates and monsters?

Read this book to find out!

What I always loved about Neil Gaiman’s books is that they are so imaginative and you actually feel like you are living in the worlds that he has woven for the readers.  “The Dangerous Alphabet” is no exception as this is clearly the most imaginative children’s book about the alphabet that I had ever read!  I loved the fact that Neil Gaiman presented the alphabet in a more narrative tone rather than just stating some random objects that happened to start with whatever letters they are representing.  It made the story more creative and interesting to read and I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat trying to see if the boy and the gazelle would rescue the girl in time.  Gris Grimly’s artwork is delightfully creepy and fits well with the horrific and intense tone of this story.  I loved seeing the creepy creatures that pop up in the background such as seeing a dead rat floating in the river and some other children getting kidnapped as it gives the situation an intense and chaotic feel.  I also liked the fact that Gris Grimly drew the children’s pet gazelle as being adorably cute as the gazelle contrasts strongly with the grim artwork of the book.

Parents should know that Gris Grimly’s artwork might be a bit creepy for some children as there are images of monsters and pirates terrorizing the two children and their pet gazelle throughout the whole story.  Some of the creepy images that might stand out for some children are the images of the dead rat floating in the moat and of the children being chained up by the pirates and monsters.  These images might be unsettling for not only children, but also for parents who do not want to see children chained up.

Overall, “The Dangerous Alphabet” is a fantastic book that is full of dark moments and imagery that any child who enjoys a good horror story would easily enjoy!  I would recommend this book to children ages seven and up since the disturbing imagery and intense storyline might be scary for some children.

     

[BOOK REVIEW] Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

Title:  Fortunately, the Milk

Author:  Neil Gaiman

Artist:  Skottie Young

Genre: Time Travel / Humor / Adventure / Family

Year Published: 2013

Year Read: 1/16/2014

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 8+ (Some Bizarre Imagery)

I have read many books by Neil Gaiman that were either children’s books or adult books, but Neil Gaiman’s most recent book, “Fortunately, the Milk,” has to be one of the most surreal and light-hearted books out of his collection! 

The story starts off with a young boy and his little sister running out of milk and their father ends up going to the store to buy some more milk.  However, when the father vanishes for a long time and he finally comes back home, his kids wonder where he had been.  The father than goes on and tells this bizarre story about how he was on his way home, when he was abducted by aliens who wanted to remodel the planet Earth.  The father then manages to escape the aliens through an emergency exit in the ship and he lands in the ocean where he meets a group of pirates!  The father then managed to escape the pirates when a booming voice from above the sky calls out to him to climb up the rope ladder. When the father climbed up the rope ladder, he ends up meeting a green stegosaurus called Professor Steg who happens to be a world-renowned time traveler!

Then things get weirder from here…

Neil Gaiman has done it again in this whimsical tale about a father going on a wild adventure after trying to deliver some milk to his kids!  Now, I have mentioned before that this is probably Neil Gaiman’s most light-hearted book out of all of his children’s books combined since most of his works were dark and yet still retain its creative flair for the fantasy elements!  So, I absolutely loved the way that Neil Gaiman made this story both hilarious and creative at the same time and I also loved the humorous nature of this story as the Father and Professor Steg easily trick their enemies whenever they get into a tight situation! I also loved the loose narrative of this story as the Father and Professor Steg constantly keep getting into weirder situations as the story progresses and I was constantly baffled by the various people they meet along the way such as Splod the God and a group of wumpires (not vampires, although they have the same characteristics).  But what really surprised me the most in this book were Skottie Young’s illustrations, since I was so used to seeing Dave McKean illustrate many books by Neil Gaiman and it was a pleasant surprise to see a different artist illustrate a book written by Neil Gaiman.  Skottie Young’s illustrations complement the chaotic and hilarious nature of this book as the characters and the landscapes look truly exaggerated and surreal, making the Father’s adventures really stand out!  I also loved the image of the Father himself as he wears a long striped scarf and has wild and crazy hair that brings out his eccentric nature.

The only thing that might be problematic with this book is that the story tends to jump around very quickly and that might confuse some children.  There are many events that take place during the father and Professor Steg’s adventures such as meeting the pirates and meeting the space aliens and all of those adventures colliding with each other might confuse some children who are not used to reading so many events in one sitting.

Overall, “Fortunately, the Milk” is a fantastic read for children who are huge fans of Neil Gaiman’s works and love reading about surreal and imaginative adventures!  I would highly recommend this book to children of any ages!

 

[BOOK REVIEW] The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Title:  The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Author:  Neil Gaiman

Genre: Fantasy / Horror

Year Published: 2013

Number of Pages: 181 pages

Date Read:  11/24/2013

Publisher: William Morrow Books 

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Child Abuse)

Trigger Warnings:  Child Abuse

Now, I have been reading Neil Gaiman’s works for many years now and I have been enjoying most of his works (my personal favorites being “Coraline,” the “Sandman” series, “Neverwhere,” and “The Graveyard Book”).  So, imagine my amazement and delight when I realized that Neil Gaiman had a new book coming out called “The Ocean at the End of the Lane!” And before I knew it, I immediately ran to the bookstore to buy this book and I started reading it right away!  I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised with the results of this book!

The story starts off in Sussex, England, where a middle aged man goes back to his childhood home after attending a funeral.  It was there that the man starts to remember his childhood memories at his old home and also about meeting up with a strange and amazing little girl named Lettie Hempstock.  It turns out that Lettie Hempstock was the one who helped the boy get through the most frightening event that happened during his childhood, which was caused after a South African opal miner committed suicide in the boy’s father’s car that he stole.  This series of events will cause the boy to think about whether or not magic really exists in the world he lives in and also help him understand the true meaning of friendship.

Neil Gaiman has struck a nerve in my ever lasting book loving heart with his stellar storytelling in stories that deal with fantasy and horror elements!  I loved the way that Neil Gaiman wrote this story in a poetic way as it gives the story a more imaginative and beautiful tone and I actually felt myself experience the adventures along with the boy in the story.  One of my most favorite quotes in this book deals with the boy’s fascination with books as stated here:

“I was sad that nobody had come to my party, but happy that I had a Batman figure, and there was a birthday present waiting to be read, a boxed set of the Narnia books, which I took upstairs. I lay on the bed and lost myself in the stories.  I liked that.

Books were safer than other people anyway.”

This pretty much explains so much about the narrator’s timid nature as he enjoys reading books, but he was always afraid to make friends with the other kids.  But, probably my most favorite character in this story was none other than Lettie Hempstock, who was indeed a strange and unusual little girl who befriended the boy. I loved the way that Lettie Hempstock was willing to put her life on the line to save the boy from the disturbing occurrences that happens at his home, like meeting up with various monsters that seem to come from another world.  It really shows what a strong and loyal heroine Lettie really is and I loved the fact that she shows the boy the true meaning of friendship!  I loved the way that Neil Gaiman handled the mystery surrounding the “ocean” at the end of the lane, which actually looks like a pond from another person’s point of view as I keep wondering throughout the story about why Lettie was so obsessed with the “ocean” at the end of the lane. When I finally found out what the secret about the “ocean” really is, I was truly mesmerized and surprised at the reveal!

For anyone who does not like frightening moments in any novel, there were some genuinely frightening moments in this book, especially concerning the little boy who was only seven years old!

*SPOILER ALERT!*

Probably the moment that really scared me and even upset me in this book was the scene where the boy’s father nearly drowns the little boy in the bathtub after the boy was trying to warn his father about their new nanny, Ursula Monkton.  The reason for this is because the new nanny, who was actually a monster who was made out of old cloth, started controlling the father to the point that the father would hurt the little boy if he was disrespectful towards Ursula. This scene was quite unnerving because I easily get uncomfortable whenever the subject of child abuse rises up and even though I knew that the boy’s father was being controlled, it was still disturbing to see the boy nearly drown in the bathtub by his own father.

*SPOILER OVER!*

Overall, “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” is truly one of the greatest fantasy novels I had ever read in this decade! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a huge fan of Neil Gaiman’s works and love reading novels full of fantasy and horror!

[BOOK REVIEW] Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

 

Title:  Neverwhere

Author:  Neil Gaiman

Genre: Fantasy / Horror

Year Published: 1996

Number of Pages: 370 pages

Date Read:  10/20/2013

Publisher:  William Morrow Paperbacks

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Some Scary Situations and Strong Language)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Imagine living in a world where you think that everything has become familiar to you, but then you realize that there is a different world far beyond the one you know.”

I have not read much of Neil Gaiman’s books geared towards adults, until I first read “American Gods,” which was a book that I enjoyed intensely.  But now, I have a new favorite from Neil Gaiman’s books geared towards adults and that is “Neverwhere!”  Full of adventure, horror and romance, “Neverwhere” is certainly one of Neil Gaiman’s greatest works yet!

Richard Mayhew was an average young man who lived a normal life and had a fiancée named Jessica.  One night however, Richard meets up with a young girl named Door who he found bleeding on the London sidewalk and he immediately goes and try to tend to her wounds.  But, once Richard performs this heroic act, he will soon discover that his life will change forever when he seems to have vanished from the face of the earth and ends up in an alternative world of London, London Below.  Now, Richard must help Door from being killed by the murderous Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar or London Below will be in great danger!

Wow!  This book was simply amazing!  What made this book such a joy to read was the fact that Richard ends up in an alternative universe of London and he realizes that London Below is far more dangerous and different than the London he knew from above! I loved the way that Neil Gaiman made this story so intense and even scary at times, especially whenever the scenes involving Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar showed up in the story.  I was seriously scared of Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar as they were hired by a mysterious person to kill Door at all costs and they are certainly professionals in that field!  But, what was the most chilling aspect of Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar’s characters was that they would just calmly tell their victims about how they will torture them and their torturing methods were truly graphic and disturbing to say the least!  I really loved the characters featured in this book, especially Richard Mayhew and Door as they were truly interesting characters and they brought so much depth and intensity to the story. I did find it heartbreaking that Richard could not get back to his real home in London and all the other characters telling him that it would be impossible to get back to London Above definitely made me feel even worse for Richard.  At the same time, I loved the fact that Richard was such a caring and curious person as I completely sympathize with his confusion in understanding the strange cultures of London Below.  I loved the way that Neil Gaiman went into so much detail about the different cultures of London Below from London Above and I also loved the fact that Neil Gaiman included some historical notes about London’s history and weaved them into the story with such clarity.  Door was another character that I really enjoyed as she was such a strange yet interesting character. I loved the fact that Door just plunges into a situation because of her knowledge of London Below as it proves that she is a truly brave character!  I really loved the Marquis de Carabas, even though at first, he annoyed me a bit at the beginning.  But, once the story starts progressing, I found myself loving the Marquis de Carabas more and more as he proves to be quite a surprising character. I loved the eerie atmosphere of this story as I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat, wondering if Richard, Door, Hunter and the Marquis de Carabas will ever find their destination and try to survive London Below without being killed by Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar.  What really stood out for me in this story was the fact that it was like a darker version of “Alice in Wonderland” and I really liked that dark and gritty aspect to this story.

The only problems with this book are that it has some strong language, although it does not occur frequently and some scary situations involving the characters being placed in great peril. Some readers might find some parts of this book a bit too dark and creepy, such as the scenes involving Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar.

Overall, “Neverwhere” is a truly brilliant book that deals with deciding what you really want out of life and is probably one of the best books that use dark fantasy in its finest!  I would strongly recommend this book to any fan of Neil Gaiman’s works!