I'm always intrigued by Neil Gaiman's work. He's a big name in the world of comic books, with some pretty big-name titles like Sandman under his belt. He's also one of the biggest fantasy writers out there, giving us both Stardust and American Gods. I recognize that he's written some darn good stuff, so I give everything he writes a try. I wind up hating almost all of it.
Except his children's literature. I LOVE that stuff.
I picked up Odd and the Frost Giants from the library while on my lunch break, and had the book finished by the end of the hour. Odd is about 100 pages long, with about as much plot to fit in there. It's about the simplest read I've indulged in since reading The Boxcar Children back in grade school.
Thing is, it was a pretty rewarding read.
Odd is a crippled boy living in a viking village. He happens to meet a trio of enchanted animals and offers to help them reclaim their kingdom from the frost giant that cast them out. Then... he does it. The end.
What impressed me most about this little book is just how much Gaiman is able to do in those quick 100 pages. Not a single plot element introduced in the first twenty pages or so is ignored - the story is tight and well crafted. True, the language is simple (it IS a children's book, after all), but I felt pretty well-rewarded for reading it.
So, yeah, if you ever have an hour to spare, pick up Odd and the Frost Giants.
No comments:
Post a Comment