American Gods

Neil Gaiman

i am a big fan of neil gaiman and his graphic novel the sandman, and so i gave this novel a read. i...more

i am a big fan of neil gaiman and his graphic novel the sandman, and so i gave this novel a read. i found it to be engrossing and well written. shadow makes a good protagonist; as someone who doesn't develop a whole lot a character, someone who must use alternate identities regularly and finds his own redefined eventually, he is a good vantage point from which to observe the events of the novel, which is a panorama of modern society and a reflection of human nature as much as it is a fantasy story about new and old gods warring in the most powerful nation of modern times. the personification of modern advances into new gods makes for a good metaphor of the culture clash between old and new, the attempts by people to retain tradition and/or phase out the obsolete; in having a war (of sorts, of course) they act out the nature of people to resolve things through conflict, before shadow steps in of course, his role realised. the gods, defined quite specifically many times as ideas, are diverse and interesting beings, and although the dialogue and writing style isn't particularly eloquent or definitive stylistically, i found it to be catchy and easy to follow, and it flowed well. the details he picks up on may be convoluted at times but add to the narrative and give it depth, and immerse the reader into shadows perspective of it all. another thing i picked up on was the way every character mentioned and every scene had some importance to the story. this gave it a providential theme, considering what shadow actually is, and is something that gaiman does in the sandman as well. it was satisfying to see how and why the klunker competition was relevant at the end, for example. in conclusion, while it may not be the best novel of the modern age, it is all the same a long and enjoyable read, that has enough thematic depth and interesting characters and well developed and exposed plot to give the reader (me) a thoroughly satisfying experience. bare in mind, however, that a familiarity with many of the characters from my prior reading of the sandman helped a little. still, i recommend this   hide

I was a little disappointed with this book. It seemed to me like Gaiman tried to work too many...more

I was a little disappointed with this book. It seemed to me like Gaiman tried to work too many ideas into one story. There are a lot of neat concepts (for example, the idea of roadside attractions being places of power) that are introduced but, in my opinion, don't get fully explored. Even at nearly 600 pages, it doesn't feel quite like Gaiman got to tell the whole story he wanted to tell. The "twists" in the book were also a bit too telegraphed. There are basically four--a main character twist, a plot twist, a supporting character twist, and a mystery. The supporting character twist and the plot twist are handled relatively well. You can tell they're coming up, but I didn't figure out the details until I was supposed to (I think). The main character twist and the mystery, on the other hand, were REALLY obvious. He basically comes right out and tells you "this is the main character's big secret," if you know what you're looking for. The two clues you need to solve the mystery are within a page of each other almost as soon as the mystery is introduced, which makes the connection a bit too easy. To be fair, both of these twists were of the magical/metaphorical variety, so there's a good chance that people who don't read too many Tim Powers and Alan Moore books might not notice them as easily as I did. In spite of these problems, Amercian Gods is a very good book. While none of the characters are outstanding, for the most part they're well-written. The basic plot and writing are what you expect from Gaiman. As I said before, there are a lot of interesting ideas introduced, though some of them don't get as much space as they really need. The thing that most impressed me about the book is how Neil managed to capture the feel of Cairo, Illinois--a town I grew up within a few miles of. Gaimain perfectly communicated the kind of desperate, desolate feel of the town. I can only assume that he did an equally good job on the other locations featured in the book (I can't say, since I haven't been to most of them--though I've been told his description of Rock City is flawless as well). Overall, American Gods is a good read, and I recommend it. While it didn't quite live up to my expectations based on Gaimain's previous work, I suspect it's still much better than at least 95% of the modern-day fantasy genre.    hide

American Gods is the kind of book that would be perfect for a long airplane ride, the beach, a stay...more

American Gods is the kind of book that would be perfect for a long airplane ride, the beach, a stay in the hospital, etc. Neil Gaiman is a marvelous storyteller and weaves a fantastic tale here involving an American mythology of sorts - a war involving the gods that American immigrants brought with them vs. the gods that contemporary Americans have created. It's a compelling story and well told but unfortunately American Gods feels a bit empty once you put it down. The novel comes close to exploring some of the ideas it raises, but fails to do so as it seems uninterested in rising above its fantasy-for-the-masses station. As well, while Mr. Gaiman is a gifted storyteller, his prose and dialog are pedestrian at best. He is good at creating vivid characters, but oddly enough the main character in the novel, Shadow, is flat, lifeless and the book's least interesting character. These are somewhat minor criticisms, however. The real reason to read this is for the awesome mythology it creates and the story it weaves. If you read books for these reasons, order away. If you're more concerned about character, stylish prose and having a better understanding of the world or human condition when you put down a book, save this for the layover in Minneapolis.   hide

An entertaining tale, creatively told, with a great premise, I felt a little underwhelmed by the...more

An entertaining tale, creatively told, with a great premise, I felt a little underwhelmed by the end. Part of that is definitely the hype effect as I'd heard so much about Neil Gaiman being this amazing writer that it was next to impossible for him to blow me away. The stakes were too high for that. The book does suffer from a bit of self-indulgence as Gaiman throws everything he can into the 588-page...epic? Road trip? Love story? That's another part of the problem. The book is ostensibly one man's story being told against the backdrop of some rather grandiose events, but at times it feels like it's actually a patchwork of random short stories that couldn't quite stand on their own. And the ending falls somewhere between cheap bait-and-switch and outright letdown. Getting there is fun, though, not unlike a two-week relationship full of good sex, drunken philosophizing and a clean, no-strings-attached parting of ways, self-respect still intact. I'd hesistantly recommend it for those looking for something - different? - but with a hearty caveat emptor.   hide

Wow! I have to admit to being a long time Neil Gaiman fan from Sandman days. What I loved about...more

Wow! I have to admit to being a long time Neil Gaiman fan from Sandman days. What I loved about this book is that he returned to his habit from those days of taking our common mythological lexicon, expanding it with things we heard of and others we recognize but don't really know from where and then mixing it up with a human element. I find that Neil Gaiman make the magical seem so real in it's mundane details that I am sad when the book is done because I know I have to go back to a less-magical world now. The climax is a little less satisfying in how it plays out, but I don't think the point of this story is it's plot development. Don't get me wrong, it's still there, just not the best part of the book. It is how this book blends cultures and myth into our human experience that I find it a truly worthwhile read.   hide