What a sheltered world I live in. One writer who is a guilty pleasure of mine; Neil Gaiman, is, unbeknownst to me, also a fan of the Inklings. Neil is best known for his graphic novels, especially Sandman, and his work on the current Beowulf film. I have been meaning to get around to Mr. Gaiman’s work for some time, along with that of Tim Powers, whose Declare was nominated for best work of Adult Fantasy by the Mythopetic Society the same year that Mr. Gaiman’s American Gods won.
This is from Mr. Gaiman’s online journal:
I was thrilled — partly I think because I was really surprised — to learn that American Gods has been nominated for a Mythopoeic Award by the Mythopoeic Society.
(The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature is given to the fantasy novel, multi-volume, or single-author story collection for adults published during the previous year that best exemplifies “the spirit of the Inklings.”)
Several years ago Charles Vess and I won the Best Novel award for the illustrated version of Stardust.. The award is a statue of a Lion — Aslan, I assume.
The candidates this year are:
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, Adult Literature
Lois McMaster Bujold, The Curse of Chalion (Morrow/Avon)
Neil Gaiman, American Gods (William Morrow)
Sarah A. Hoyt, Ill Met by Moonlight (Ace)
Ursula K. Le Guin, The Other Wind (Harcourt Brace)
Tim Powers, Declare (William Morrow)
(My favourite for the award — of the books I’ve read so far — would be The Other Wind. At least, I think it’s the one that C.S. Lewis and Tolkien would have liked best. Although, on reflection, I like to think that Charles Williams might have preferred Declare or American Gods.)
Of course, anybody who knows anything about any of these works is invited to comment:
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December 6, 2007 at 10:39 pm
Nance
Well, Mr. Gaiman’s comments here and long-standing, hardy recommendation of a friend of mine’s led me to pick up a copy of American Gods today. I’m very much looking forward to it, but one of C.W.’s own works still has priority on the ‘read-me-next’ list.
January 11, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Nance
Thanks again for this post–I read American Gods on vacation last week and the book was phenomenal. It lacked the punch that C.W. gives on account of the sheer substance of the message, but it was still very good and nearly as complex as the other’s writings.