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I've always liked Neil Gaiman's work. I first discovered him through my sister's Sandman collection. He is a wonderfully imaginative writer and you can't help but get hooked in his universe. Later on, I read his fiction and my initial impression was confirmed. He is also a generous artist. I remember his first visit in Manila. It was like a demi-god coming to town. He was going to do a book signing and the bookstore where he was slated to appear was mobbed with people. My friend and I braved the huge crowd and queued for hours. But it was well worth it when I finally got to meet him. I couldn't say much unfortunately, I was too tongue-tied. After his first visit, he was asked to come back to be the judge of a local comic book design contest, and I hear that its become an almost yearly thing. I'm sure its still a thrill for budding comic book artists and writers to meet him and to spend some time with him. I was thus super excited when I heard that he was coming up with a new book. And when we finally did get it, I was thrilled with the premise of the story. I thought that it was a very Gaiman-like story.

The Graveyard Book is the story of a young boy who survives the assassination of his family by a talented murderer. He finds sanctuary at a graveyard where its denizens decide to adopt him. They name him Nobody (Bod for short) and he is given a guardian to ensure that he will be fed and educated properly as the only living boy in the graveyard. But this is only the beginning of his story.

This is vintage Gaiman. In some ways, it reminded me of Kipling’s Jungle Book which I loved when I was a kid. Like Jungle Book, Gaiman’s tale has all the necessary elements to take away the reader from the mundane –a smart and loveable hero, exciting plot twists and turns and huge heapings of humor. It is also wonderfully inventive and I wonder how Gaiman comes up with all his ideas. And if that weren’t enough, the book is illustrated by the very talented Dave McKean and his illustrations capture perfectly the spirit of the story. How nice to discover that this writer's talents just get better with age. I hope he doesn't make us wait too long for the next one.