Essential Neil Gaiman and A.I. Book Freakout

Are you ready to dive in to the work of the prolific and inventive fantasy writer Neil Gaiman? On this week’s episode, the longtime Gaiman fan J.D. Biersdorfer, an editor at the Book Review, talks with the host Gilbert Cruz about Gaiman’s work, which she recently wrote about for our continuing “Essentials” series.Also this week, Cruz talks with the Times critic Dwight Garner about “The Death of the Author,” a murder mystery that the novelist Stephen Marche wrote with the assistance of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence programs. Is A.I. in fact a harbinger of doom for creative writers?Here are the books discussed in this week’s episode:“American Gods,” by Neil Gaiman“Good Omens,” by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett“Stardust,” by Neil Gaiman“Coraline,” by Neil Gaiman“The Ocean at the End of the Lane,” by Neil Gaiman“The Sandman,” by Neil Gaiman“The Hyphenated Family,” by Hermann Hagedorn“Monsters,” by Claire Dederer“The Death of the Novel,” by Aidan MarchineWe would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, and about the Book Review’s podcast in general. You can send them to books@nytimes.com.