The 10 Best Neil Gaiman Books

An all-time classic of doom and enlightenment, American Gods (appx. $14) launches the reader on a journey through the United States with a man who leaves jail and finds a gig with a tricky stranger named Mr. Wednesday, a con artist who takes him on a dangerous road trip.

A landmark collaboration with Terry Pratchett, Good Omens (appx. $11) is about two unlikely pals, an angel and a demon who control the fate of the world. It features inventive wit, grisly violence, and sharp observations about religion and human nature.

In Coraline: 10th Anniversary Edition (around $6), a girl walks into another world where she finds a home that at first seems like a perfect version of her own, but it's too good to be true. She soon learns she must escape this nightmare or remain trapped forever.

The introductory volume of the Sandman comic series, Preludes & Nocturnes (around $14) begins when a man who longs for immortality tries to kidnap Death. He finds himself instead with her brother, Dream, who embodies and controls all that is unreal.

Consisting of works that can mostly be read in one sitting, highlights of Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders (about $7) include "How to Talk to Girls at Parties," a sci-fi romantic comedy, and "October in the Chair," a chiller in the tradition of Henry James.

A fantastical and melancholy novel about memory and growing up, The Ocean at the End of the Lane (appx. $10) uses horrific events to explore themes like our need for love, the meaning of safety, and the narratives we rely on to explain our world.

Norse Mythology (about $20) retells the legends of Odin, Thor, and Loki in the manner of an oral narrator. Though there is a strong sense of the author's unique style, this is a faithful rendering of the classic tales without significant embellishment.

A half-faerie and half-human boy in Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess's Stardust (appx. $16) attempts to please a beautiful woman by embarking on a foolhardy quest. He leaves his tranquil English village in search of a fallen star, which turns out to be a living being named Yvaine.

Anansi Boys (about $6) begins with a timid workaholic learning that he's the son of an African trickster god and the brother of a troublesome demigod who inherited some of their father's godlike abilities and brings chaos wherever he goes.

A fantasy geared toward young readers, The Graveyard Book (around $8) is about a boy who is raised in a cemetery by ghosts. It won the Newbury Award, the Carnegie Medal, and the Hugo, and this edition includes sketches, handwritten drafts, and an introduction by Margaret Atwood.