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M代表魔法
在《M代表魔法》中,尼尔•盖曼坦率讲述短篇的魅力,它们能穷尽世界的尽头,却又须臾回到现实。《二十四只黑鸫案》,他以熟知的人物以及离奇的情节,向《鹅妈妈童谣》致敬;《别问杰克》,八音盒一样,会弹跳出来的杰克玩具,记住了每一个人的忧伤往事,月光一样淡,却不能忘怀;而《太阳鸟》,究竟是人所不能追的梦,要付出燃尽的代价。 《M代表魔法》,所有的字母都有魔力,你可以用它们创造魔法、梦想,甚至惊喜。 我们何其幸运,可以拥有盖曼这样一座现成的故事宝库……他的作品之丰富,文字之出色,读来叫人既感妙不可言,又觉悚然而惊。 ——斯蒂芬•金 当你全身心沉浸到尼尔•盖曼的世界里,你会发现,一切皆有可能……他拥有一流的创造力,他从不遵循一致的规则,他随心所欲,惟追随梦想而写作。 ——《娱乐周刊》 -
American Gods
American Gods is Neil Gaiman's best and most ambitious novel yet, a scary, strange, and hallucinogenic road-trip story wrapped around a deep examination of the American spirit. Gaiman tackles everything from the onslaught of the information age to the meaning of death, but he doesn't sacrifice the razor-sharp plotting and narrative style he's been delivering since his Sandman days. Shadow gets out of prison early when his wife is killed in a car crash. At a loss, he takes up with a mysterious character called Wednesday, who is much more than he appears. In fact, Wednesday is an old god, once known as Odin the All-father, who is roaming America rounding up his forgotten fellows in preparation for an epic battle against the upstart deities of the Internet, credit cards, television, and all that is wired. Shadow agrees to help Wednesday, and they whirl through a psycho-spiritual storm that becomes all too real in its manifestations. For instance, Shadow's dead wife Laura keeps showing up, and not just as a ghost--the difficulty of their continuing relationship is by turns grim and darkly funny, just like the rest of the book. Armed only with some coin tricks and a sense of purpose, Shadow travels through, around, and underneath the visible surface of things, digging up all the powerful myths Americans brought with them in their journeys to this land as well as the ones that were already here. Shadow's road story is the heart of the novel, and it's here that Gaiman offers up the details that make this such a cinematic book--the distinctly American foods and diversions, the bizarre roadside attractions, the decrepit gods reduced to shell games and prostitution. "This is a bad land for Gods," says Shadow. More than a tourist in America, but not a native, Neil Gaiman offers an outside-in and inside-out perspective on the soul and spirituality of the country--our obsessions with money and power, our jumbled religious heritage and its societal outcomes, and the millennial decisions we face about what's real and what's not. --Therese Littleton, Amazon.com -
Sandman
Written by Neil Gaiman; Art by Yoshitaka Amano Featuring striking painted artwork, this love story, set in ancient Japan, tells the story of a humble young monk and a magical, shape-changing fox who find themselves romantically drawn together. As their love blooms, the fox learns of a devilish plot by a group of demons to steal the monk's life. With the aid of Morpheus, the King of All Night's Dreamings, the fox must use all of her cunning and creative thinking to foil this evil scheme and save the man that she loves. This book also boasts an eight page section highlighting Yoshitaka Amano's amazing painted art. -
Good Omens
There is a distinct hint of Armageddon in the air. According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (recorded, thankfully, in 1655, before she blew up her entire village and all its inhabitants, who had gathered to watch her burn), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, the Four Bikers of the Apocalypse are revving up their mighty hogs and hitting the road, and the world's last two remaining witch-finders are getting ready to fight the good fight, armed with awkwardly antiquated instructions and stick pins. Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. . . . Right. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except that a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon -- each of whom has lived among Earth's mortals for many millennia and has grown rather fond of the lifestyle -- are not particularly looking forward to the coming Rapture. If Crowley and Aziraphale are going to stop it from happening, they've got to find and kill the Antichrist (which is a shame, as he's a really nice kid). There's just one glitch: someone seems to have misplaced him. . . . First published in 1990, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's brilliantly dark and screamingly funny take on humankind's final judgment is back -- and just in time -- in a new hardcover edition (which includes an introduction by the authors, comments by each about the other, and answers to some still-burning questions about their wildly popular collaborative effort) that the devout and the damned alike will surely cherish until the end of all things. -
魔是魔法的魔
小說界的達文西,當代奇幻大師! 連續數年攻佔英、美、德、法、西班牙、以色列各大獎項和暢銷榜! 適合闔家觀賞的精采都會神話集! 這是尼爾.蓋曼第一部針對青少年讀者所編選的短篇故事集。但是不要誤會,尼爾.蓋曼迷人的寫作題材,像是恐怖、失落、死亡、孤獨、成長的迷惘、生活的奇想、還有騙術!這本裡面都有,只是調味剛剛好,不太鹹也不太淡,所以大人小孩都可以一起欣賞! 蓋曼最驚人之處在於,他總是能善用古老的神話傳說、民間故事或日常生活習以為常的規則中變出新鮮的故事,彷彿魔術師般神奇。在〈二十四隻畫眉鳥事件〉中,他大量運用了鵝媽媽童謠中熟悉的童話角色與趣味典故,串成一個冷硬派推理故事;〈騎士精神〉中,引用了「亞瑟王傳奇」中尋找聖杯的梗,讓可愛的老太太與神祕陌生人來一段精采的過招;〈十月當主席〉則是有趣的「戲中戲」,故事中的人在講故事,究竟十月會發生什麼樣的故事? 蓋曼自己曾說: 「你若在對的年紀閱讀對的故事,那些故事永遠不會離你而去,雖然你可能會忘記作者或故事名字,但是如果故事讓你感動,它就會永遠伴隨著你,盤旋在你心智裡鮮少回憶起的區塊。 「短篇故事是進入其它世界和其它心智和其它夢的小窗戶,是你可以進行的旅途,讓你到宇宙遙遠的一端,又能即時趕回來吃晚餐。 「如果你把字母排列適當,每個字母都是神奇的,你可以用字母創造魔法,還有夢,我希望還能創造出一些驚奇……」(摘自《魔是魔法的魔》前言) 為他的短篇小說創作下了最佳的注腳。 -
易碎品
易碎品比比皆是,人与心如此,故事也不例外! 当代幻想文学大师尼尔•盖曼经典之作 《易碎品》收录了尼尔•盖曼包括雨果奖获奖作品《绿字的研究》在内的多部诗歌、散文及故事作品,展现了他天马行空的想象力和写作才华。他就像个魔术师,用不可思议的手法营造出绚丽惊奇的幻象,让读者惊喜连连,目不暇给。他既将怪诞恐怖的想象融入现实(《纪念与珍宝》、《饲者与食者》),又不乏未泯的童心(《大家都爱好孩子》),还把现实与虚幻天衣无缝地结合起来(《记忆小径拾零》、《打烊时分》),更用想象为童话度上了一层全新的色彩(《椅中的十月》)。在他的故事里,地狱与天堂只有一线之隔,真实与想象就在一念之间。逗趣、阴郁、诡谲、优雅、感伤、冷硬,不同的气质、跳跃的思维与充满灵气的文字背后,有对生活的爱,对失去的害怕,以及对情感细致入微的观察,让人紧张到后背发凉、温柔到心生暖意、兴奋到心跳加速,情不自禁地跟着他一起在真实的凡间做一场永无止境的梦。 《易碎品》曾获2007年《轨迹杂志》年度最佳短篇小说集奖。其中收录的《给男生的派对搭讪指南》获得“轨迹”年度最佳短篇奖以及雨果奖的提名;而另外一篇《绿字的研究》更是成绩斐然,一举获得2004年雨果奖最佳短篇奖、2005年“轨迹”年度最佳短篇奖以及2006年星云奖翻译奖。 盖曼是一座现成的故事宝库,而我们又何其幸运可以通过各种媒介去靠近他。——斯蒂芬•金 盖曼堪称作家中的摇滚明星。他的作品,简单说来,就是关于神话与故事、众神与力量。而阅读它们的首要准则就是,你必须完全相信。——《多伦多星报》 当你全身心沉浸到尼尔•盖曼的世界里,你会发现,一切皆有可能……他拥有一流的创造力,他从不遵循一致的规则,他随心所欲,惟追随梦想而写作。——《娱乐周刊》 盖曼的作品将赫伯特•乔治•威尔斯的想象、H.P.洛夫克莱夫特的诡异氛围以及佩勒姆•G.伍德豪斯的幽默智慧结合在一起,他既能让我们的血液凝固,也能让我们仰天大笑。——《明尼阿波利斯星论坛》 阅读盖曼,其中一半乐趣来自他令人轻松愉快的美文,另一半乐趣则来自他匪夷所思的创造力。他的作品无法分类,因为他不仅仅深入了我们共同的无意识领域,还重新构造了我们的神话。——《休斯顿纪事报》