I’ve been waiting for this to drop literally since the 1990s. I’ve always hated the man because I knew what he was and was powerless to do anything about it. He treated Conventions and book signings as a way to exploit barely legal (and sometimes not quite legal) teenage girls.
I’m not pulling a “knew it all along” (nope won’t sing it) because I didn’t and still don’t. I only read maybe 2 of his books (barely… okay I read the cliffsnotes) and with the exception of Sandman don’t really know much more. So I don’t follow him like others do, but with that said, yeah I know I heard the conventions thing get brought up a lot (keeping in mind they are message boards so take that as you will)
He is a massively huge figure in science fiction and fantasy. “Neil Gaiman who?” is on the level of “Stephen king who?” and “George Lucas who?”. To use this site as a metric, he is mentioned by name in more than 500 threads here. So many that Discourse won’t even list them all, ending the list with “There are more results. Please narrow your search criteria.”.
I didn’t know he was either. The name seemed familiar and I musta seen it in some comic book world discussion but otherwise knew nothing before reading that wiki. I might have walked by him on the streets of Cambridge or in the local eateries and drinkeries.
I think it’s pretty likely that a long time Doper has had contact with him.
He may be better known in the UK, but he is a famous novelist, especially in certain genres. It is not a secret that he is into open marriage and who knows what kinky stuff— with which there is nothing wrong if that is all it was, hence the significance of the new accusations.
I think you’ve been in Big Bang Theory discussions - he was mentioned a few times in the series (and did a cameo - he visited the comic book store, but the guys were too busy arguing to notice him).
He also was in one of the better late-era Simpsons episodes.
Yeah, the name rang a bell but not a tone I could identify. Now these accusations will be the first thing that comes to mind if I hear his name again. I may have read something of his without realizing it.
Gonna have to go with @Darren_Garrison on this one. Even if you do not read sci-fi/fantasy Neil Gaiman is hard to have missed. Many of his works have been made into TV series/movies (and not obscure ones).
They effortlessly capture the magical complexity of Gaiman’s oeuvre, ranking among their respective genre’s best efforts.
I have NO idea whether the accusations are true about his sexual predations. I am nowhere close to his #1 fan so do not follow him closely but I like him as an author and this would be disappointing (to say the least) if true.
I know who he is but I’m not surprised that many people don’t and wouldn’t consider him in the same public knowledge sphere of Stephen King. My first knowledge of him came via a college girlfriend who was into his graphic novel and my cousin who was made that he married the singer from Dresden Dolls and was working less on writing (the divorced in 2022 says Google). If I had dated a less gothy coed and had a less obsessed cousin, I probably wouldn’t have paid attention to the name until years later.
I know OF Coraline but had no idea who was the genesis and once listened to the audiobook of American Gods but had to doublecheck to make sure it was the same guy.
King and Lucas have culturally defining stuff. Gaiman is undoubtedly popular but within more of a niche. (YouGov’s rank of famous people has King at #49, Lucas at #249 and Gaiman at #2,668)
I absolutely love Good Omens. Though the thing I love most about it was screwed up in the video version, and apparently Gaiman was fine with that.
But the even bigger thing is – if this is true, wouldn’t Pratchett have known? I have a lot of trouble imagining that Terry Pratchett wouldn’t have cared.
Of those, the only one I have read was American Gods, which I did not watch, nor have I watched any of the others. That sort of thing doesn’t interest me much in the SF vein, and I really didn’t remember who wrote it. I have heard his name mentioned by fans now and then, but I’ve never thought he was all that.
Are these accusations intended to lead to legal repercussions, or are they a public outcry for the sake of making him a pariah? It’s hard to tell from the article, but it seems like one of each. In either case it probably mostly means trial by publicity. Considering his likely audience, I doubt this kind of accusation, by itself, will hurt his sales much,
That seems a backhanded insult to those who like sci-fi/fantasy.
And while I get he is not as famous as George Lucas he is also not some obscure pulp sci-fi writer either. He has plenty of mainstream success.
Again, to be clear, I am taking no stance on whether he did the things he is accused of here. I really have no idea and, if he did, I will not defend him. I’m not that big of a fan.
I had breakfast at the next table from him once at a convention. Does that count?
Gaiman was a superstar from his comic book work and then just got more famous. King is at bottom a horror writer rather than f&sf, so Gaiman may be the most famous f&sf writer not in captivity. I had never heard these accusations, though.
For the record, Gaiman has a pretty left-leaning fanbase, and his known for actively participating in various left-leaning causes, so I imagine if this turns out to be true, it is going to probably hurt him. Hypocrisy sucks, and all that.
ETA: Do two instances, 19 years apart, really qualify as “serial sexual abuse”? Granted, perhaps more will come to light, but that seems rather… sensationalized.
Not in my world. I may have heard the name before, but if pressed I might have guess that he was the inventor of the leisure suit or one of Zsa Zsa Gabor’s husbands.