His beard was all colors, a grove of trees in autumn, deep brown and fire-orange and wine-red, an untrimmed tangle across the lower half of his face. His cheeks were apple-red. He looked like a friend; like someone you had known all your life.

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.