Dreams and Schemes
Guest host Guest host Neil Gaiman introduces two American classics. In Ray Bradbury’s futuristic “The Veldt,” a virtual reality nursery turns on its owners. The reader is Stephen Colbert. In James Thurber’s “The Catbird Seat,” a mild-mannered employee plots revenge. Leonard Nimoy performs.
In a panel discussion entitled “Worlds of Wonder?”, recorded at the British Library as part of their events season to support the exhibition ‘Out of this World’, authors Neil Gaiman and Peter F. Hamilton, scientist Rachel Armstrong and critics Kari Sperring and Farah Mendlesohn (chair) discuss the current state of science fiction around the world and its relationship with the latest advances in science fact.
The prolific and multi-talented fantasy writer Neil Gaiman reads his modern fairy tale “Troll Bridge” and Broadway star Boyd Gaines performs a mystical tale by Jorge Luis Borges, “The Circular Ruins.” And the SELECTED SHORTS contest-winning story "Tender," by Carly Sachs, is read by Mary Brienza.
It’s 10 years since Neil Gaiman’s cult novel American Gods was published. The story centres on the adventures of Shadow, a prisoner let out a few days early due to the mysterious death of his wife, Laura.
Shadow embarks on a strange, scary, hallucinogenic road trip across the United States with the enigmatic Mr Wednesday.
The book reveals Mr Wednesday as an incarnation of Odin the All-Father, who is recruiting American manifestations of the Old Gods of ancient mythology.
The Guardian’s book club brought Neil Gaiman to the Edinburgh International Books festival to talk to John Mullan, and take questions from a lively audience
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/audio/2011/aug/24/neilgaiman-edinburgh-book-festival
From the short story collection With A Little Help.
Alluding to both the Sherlock Holmes canon and the Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos, this Hugo Award winning short story will delight fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.P. Lovecraft, and of course, Neil Gaiman. A Study in Emerald draws listeners in through carefully revealed details as a consulting detective and his narrator friend solve the mystery of a murdered German noble. But with its subtle allusions and surprise ending, this mystery hints that the real fun in solving this case lies in imagining all the details that Gaiman doesn’t reveal, and challenges listeners to be detectives themselves.
Story as PDF: http://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf