<P><B>Neil Gaiman introduces three classic novels of modern fantasy</B></P><P>In the second century AD, a Greek nobleman is traveling and living abroad in Germany while carrying on an affair with a military man's wife. When discovered, he takes an emergency business trip to save his life and packs among his belongings certain items that lead the people he encounters to think him a Norse God, a fortuitous point of view which he does little to dispel. Forced to keep up the pretense of being a god while staying one step ahead of his lover's jealous husband, Photinus must juggle the severity of his situation with the enjoyment of being a God. Published here with its sequel, <I>Not for All the Gold in Ireland</I> and companion volume <I>Men Went to Cattreath</I>, <I>Votan </I>is one of the highpoints of modern fantasy.