It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people.

He later became a fan of science fiction reading the works of authors as diverse as Alan MooreSamuel R. Gaiman has not written a direct sequel to American Gods but he has revisited the characters. In the late 1980s he wrote Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion in what he calls a "classic English humour" style.

His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust American Gods Coraline and The Graveyard Book. Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (pron.