Rodriguez, Robert, 226
Rose for Ecclesiastes, A (Zelazny), 29
Rosenthal, Becca, 487
Roshell, John, 261
Ross, Alex, 261
Rossetti, Christina, 425
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, 444
Rowling, J. K., 104
Rudyard Kipling’s Tales of Horror and Fantasy (Jones), Introduction To, 327–28
Russell, Eric Frank, 171
Russell, P. Craig, 243
Saberhagen, Fred, 323
Sailor’s Girl, The (movie), 215
“Samuel R. Delany and The Einstein Intersection,” 187–91
‘Salem’s Lot (King), 131–32, 137, 323
San Diego Comic Convention, 226
Sandman (Gaiman), 56–57, 58, 64, 67, 108, 238–39, 240, 398–99, 457
Sandman (movie project), 242
Sandman (Simon and Kirby), 278–79, 280
Satire, 104
Saturday Night Live (TV series), 114
Schmidt, Eric, 10
School of Visual Arts (New York City), 142, 284, 292
Schwartz, Lew Sayre, 263, 266
Science fiction, misconceptions about, 187–88
Scott, George C., 394
Screwtape Letters, The (Lewis), 27, 34
“Sea Raiders, The” (Wells), 335–36
Searle, Ronald, 354
Selby, Hubert, 403
Selected Stories (Leiber), Introduction to, 165–68
Self-censorship of children, 81–82, 85
Selick, Henry, 463–64, 467, 469
Sendak, Maurice, 480
Serious Man, A (movie), 464
Set, The (Newman), 145
Sexes and books, 67–72
SF12 (Merril, ed.), 165
Shadows over Innsmouth (Jones, ed.), 352
Shakespeare, William, 433
Shatterday (Ellison), 119–20, 122–23
Shawshank Redemption (King), 133
Sheen, Michael, 468
Shelf Life: Fantastic Stories Celebrating Bookstores (Ketter, ed.), 26–32
Shelley, Mary, 169, 202
Shining, The (King), 134–35
“Shoehorn with Teeth” (song), 395
Siegel, Jerry, 247, 260
Signal to Noise (Gaiman and McKean), 107
Signal to Noise (radio drama), 240
Silverberg, Robert, 350
Silver Locusts, The (Bradbury), 27, 181
Sim, Dave, 233, 244, 269, 305
Simak, Clifford D., 193
SimCity 2000, 154–55
Simon, Brett, 215
Simon, Joe, 276, 278–81
Simon and Kirby Superheroes, Introduction to, 278–81
Simont, Marc, 354
Simpson, M. J., Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams, 116
Sinatra, Nancy, 130
Sin City (movie), 226
Sinclair, Alex, 261
Sinclair, Iain, 107
“Sing” (song), 481
“Six to Six,” 156–61
Slade, David, 214
Sleeping Beauty, 45, 59
Slip of the Keyboard, A (Pratchett), Introduction to, 489–502
“Slip Under the Microscope, A” (Wells), 335
Smash!, 263
Smith, Cordwainer, 364
Smith, Jeff, 244, 267–73, 297, 305; Bone, 267–73, 305
Smoke and Mirrors (Gaiman), 61n
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 61–62
Soho (London), 158–60
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (Adams), Introduction to, 367–72
“So Many Ways to Die in Syria Now: 2014,” 491–97
“Some Reflections on Myth (With Several Digressions onto Gardening, Comics and Fairy Tales),” 54–63
“Some Strangeness in the Proportion: The Exquisite Beauties of Edgar Allan Poe,” 317–21
Sondheim, Stephen, 107, 490
Son of Dracula (movie), 323
Soundings (Gibbs), 122
Space Voyager (magazine), 100, 117
Speculative fiction, 104, 177–80, 184, 187, 195
Spiegelman, Art, 73, 74, 142, 222, 293, 296, 297
Spin (magazine), “The Dresden Dolls: Hallowe’en 2010,” 477–82
Spirit (comics), 282–89
Spirit, The (Eisner), 222, 286–89, 291, 292–93
Sprang, Dick, 263, 266
Stalking the Nightmare (Ellison), 123
“Star, The” (Wells), 336
Stardust (Gaiman), 67–68, 82–83, 426–29, 431
Stardust (movie), 428
“Star Pit, The” (Delany), 165
Stars My Destination, The (Bester), Introduction to, 183–86
Steel, Danielle, 134
Stein, Gertrude, 125
Steinmeyer, Jim, 380–82
Stern, Howard, 122
Stewart, Thomas, 473
Stine, R. L., 7, 8, 85
Stoker, Bram, Dracula, 322–26
Stooges, the, 275
Stoppard, Tom, 74
Storey, Margaret, 17, 83
Stormbringer (Moorcock), 165
Storm of Wings, A (Harrison), 364
“Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham, The” (Wells), 335
“Story of the Stone Age, A” (Wells), 336
Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein), 171
“Study in Scarlet, A” (Poe), 317
Sturgeon’s Law, 42
“Suede” (song), 391–92
Sundance, 212–16
Sunday Times, 233–34; “On Stephen King,” 129–40
Superfolks (Mayer), 258
Superheroes, lineage of, 257–60
Supreme (Moore), 259
Švankmajer, Jan, 107
Swamp Thing, 265, 279
Swift, Jonathan, 68
Sword of Sorcery (Leiber), 166
Swords of Lankhmar, The (Leiber), 166
Syria, 491–97
Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Poe), 321
Tan, Amy, 130
Tate Gallery, 443–46
“Telling Lies for a Living . . . And Why We Do It,” 16–25
“Tell-Tale Heart, The” (Poe), 318, 320
Tennyson, Alfred, 474
“Terry Pratchett: An Appreciation,” 100–105
Thatcher, Margaret, 365
Theatre Is Evil (album), 484
“These Are Not Our Faces,” 93–94
Thesiger, Ernest, 202–3
Thespis, 253–54
They Might Be Giants, 394–96
They Might Be Giants (movie), 394
“Thing of It Is, The: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell,” 438–42
13 Clocks, The (Thurber), 353–55
Thomas, Theodore, 193
Thompson, Jim, 379
Thompson, Josiah, Gumshoe, 150–53
“Three Authors: On Lewis, Tolkien and Chesterton,” 33–38
Thurber, James, The 13 Clocks, 353–55
Tiger! Tiger! (Bester), 184, 187
Time Bandits (movie), 207
Time Machine, The (Wells), 330
Time Out (magazine): “Six to Six,” 156–61; “Waiting for the Man: Lou Reed,” 402–14
Tolkien, Christopher, 36
Tolkien, J.R.R., xvi, 35–37, 38, 83, 97, 104, 423; The Lord of the Rings, xvi, 35–37, 440–41
“Tolkien’s Magic Ring” (Beagle), xv–xvi, 35–36
Torchia, Joseph, 258
To Venus and Back (tour book), 391–93
Tragedy, 253–55
Transformer (album), 398, 399, 405, 411
Trevino, Rose, 19
Trillion Year Spree (Aldiss), 169
Trouble on Triton (Delany), 188
Troughton, Patrick, 218–19
Truffaut, Francois, 180
“Truth About Pyecraft, The” (Wells), 337
Tulip mania, 230–32, 294
“Twisting” (song), 395
“Under the Knife” (Wells), 335
Under the Pink (tour book), 389–90
University of the Arts Commencement Speech (2012), 451–59
UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 491–97
Up (movie), 464, 466
“Usher II” (Bradbury), 317–18
Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book (Adams), 115
Vance, Jack, 30, 364
Vaughn, Matthew, 212–13, 428
Velvet Underground, 143, 398–99, 411
Verne, Jules, 329
Vess, Charles, 243, 428, 430–32
Vess, Karen, 432
V for Vendetta (movie), 225
Victorians, 7, 98, 325
Victor/Victoria (musical), 139
“View from the Cheap Seats, The,” 463–69
Viglione, Brian, 478–82
Violent Cases (Gaiman and McKean), 106–7
Viriconium (Harrison), Introduction to, 361–66
Voice of the Fire (Moore), Introduction to, 377–79
Von Buhler, Cynthia, 417, 418
Vonnegut, Kurt, 139
Votan (James), 356–60
Votan and Other Novels (James), Introduction to, 356–60
Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The (Lewis), 33–34
Wagner, Karl Edward, 350, 351
“Waiting for the Man: Lou Reed,” 402–14
“Walk on the Wild Side” (song), 399–400
Wallace, Edgar, 37, 83
Wandrei, Donald, 349
Ware, Chris, 296
War Games, The (TV series), 218–19
Warhol, Andy, 399, 400
“War Pigs” (song), 482
Warrior (magazine), 225
Watchmen (movie), 222, 258, 289
Webley, Jason, 415–18, 480
Webster, John, 319
Webster, Miss, 118–19, 122
Wein, Len, 265
Weinstein, Harvey, 467, 495
Weird Tales, 348
Weller, Mr., 40
Welles, Orson, 222, 223
Wellman, Manly Wade, 348
Wells, H. G., 170, 329–39
“We Want a Rock” (song), 395–96
W.H. Smith Bookshop, 26
Whale, James, 204
“What’s Good” (song), 405, 409–10
“What the [Very Bad Swearword] Is a Children’s Book, Anyway?”, 77–90
Wheatley, Dennis, 27, 37, 83
“When the World Screamed” (Doyle), 333
“Whistling in the Dark” (song), 396
White, James, 193
Whitgift (school), 77–78
Who Killed Amanda Palmer (album), 419–20, 487–88
“Why Our Future Depends on Libraries, Reading and Daydreaming,” 5–15
“Wild Asses of the Devil, The” (Wells), 338
Wild Cards (Martin, ed.), 258
Wilde, Oscar, 325
“Wilderness of Mirrors, A,” 470–76
Wilhelm, Kate, 193
Wilkins’ Tooth (Jones), 373–74
Will Eisner’s New York: Life in the Big City, Introduction to, 290–93
William (Crompton), 102
Williams, Alan D., 133
Williams, Linda, Hard Core, 43–44
Williams, Ralph, 340
Wilmington Bookshop, 28–29
Wilson, Colin, 351
Windsor-Smith, Barry, 444
Wind Through the Keyhole, The (King), 134, 137
“Winter Flies, The” (Leiber), 165–66
“Witch’s Headstone, The” (Gaiman), 22–23
Wodehouse, P. G., 103
Wolfe, Gene, 72, 93, 193, 350; “How to Read Gene Wolfe,” 111–13
Wolves in the Walls, The (Gaiman and McKean), 109–10
“Women and Men” (song), 396
Woodlawn, Holly, 399–400
World Fantasy Award (1991), 431–32
World Fantasy Convention program book (2002), 106–10
World Horror Convention program book (2002), 111–13
World Science Fiction Convention speech (2004), 100–105
Wrightson, Bernie, 250, 265–66
Wrinkle in Time, A (L’Engle), 20
Writing exercises, 249–50
Written contracts, 246–48
Wyndham, John, The Day of the Triffids, 27, 175
YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association), 85
Young Frankenstein (movie), 203
“Your Racist Friend” (song), 395
Zelazny, Roger, 28, 29, 30, 121, 194
Zemeckis, Robert, 223
Zena Sutherland Lecture (2012), 77–90
Zulli, Michael, 241
About the Author
NEIL GAIMAN is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Neverwhere, Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, Anansi Boys, The Graveyard Book, Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett), and The Ocean at the End of the Lane; the Sandman series of graphic novels; and the story collections Smoke and Mirrors, Fragile Things, and Trigger Warning. He is the winner of numerous literary honors, including the Hugo, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy awards, and the Newbery and Carnegie Medals. Originally from England, he now lives mostly in the United States with his wife, performer and writer Amanda Palmer. He is Professor in the Arts at Bard College.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Also by Neil Gaiman
NOVELS
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
The Graveyard Book
Anansi Boys
Coraline
American Gods
Stardust
Neverwhere
Good Omens with Terry Pratchett
COLLECTIONS
Trigger Warning
Fragile Things
Smoke and Mirrors
ILLUSTRATED STORIES
The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains illustrated by Eddie Campbell
The Sleeper and the Spindle illustrated by Chris Riddell
FOR YOUNGER READERS
Fortunately, the Milk illustrated by Skottie Young
Hansel and Gretel illustrated by Lorenzo Mattotti
Instructions illustrated by Charles Vess
Odd and the Frost Giants illustrated by Brett Helquist
Crazy Hair illustrated by Dave McKean
Blueberry Girl illustrated by Charles Vess
The Dangerous Alphabet illustrated by Gris Grimly
M Is for Magic illustrated by Teddy Kristiansen
Copyright
Photograph in the piece “The View from the Cheap Seats” by Bryan Chan. Copyright © 2014 Los Angeles Times. Reprinted with permission.
The Credits constitute an extension of this copyright page.
Cover design by Adam Johnson
Cover photographs © Allan Amato
THE VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS. Copyright © 2016 by Neil Gaiman. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
ISBN 978-0-06-226226-4 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-06-245962-6 (international edition)
EPub Edition May 2016 ISBN 9780062262288
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* “Then said Joseph to St. Mary, Henceforth we will not allow Him to go out of the house; for everyone who displeases him is killed.” The First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ, chapter 20, verse 16.
* Actually, it’s me paraphrasing Chesterton.
* The story is called “Snow, Glass, Apples.” You can find it in my collection of stories Smoke and Mirrors.
* It would be published as The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
* Author of legal-based thrillers, popular in the early 1990s.
† British Conservative member of Parliament. Succeeded Margaret Thatcher as prime minister of England in 1991.
* I’m not quite sure. I think he’s something on the radio.
* 2016 note: It hasn’t been irritating for fifteen years.
* Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
* 2016 Note: One of the people at that retreat was Danny Hillis, whom I wouldn’t become friends with for another two decades. Hi, Danny.
* I’m not saying she was born with it. She may have done something nasty to some otherwise innocent fairies in order to obtain it.
* All names of refugees have been changed.