American Gods

Rating:
Summary: Clive Barker and Stephen King fans - check this out!
Review: There are only a handful of authors that consistently push the boundary of "imaginative" fiction, that every time I hear of the emergence of a "truly new talent" I'm really skeptical. Neil Gaiman, however, has completely won me over, and American Gods was a real eye opener in many ways.

It's the story of a completely rootless, and emotionally impoverished "regular guy," freshly paroled from prison only to discover that the life he's longed for in the joint has been totally annihilated with the unexpected death of his wife. At loose ends, he meets a mysterious, burly traveler who offers him a job on the spot, which Shadow (our hero) declines. As Shadow discovers not only that his wife is dead, but was killed during a sexual liason with his best friend and former employer, the tiny flame of emotion, so carefully guarded and cared for in prison, is snuffed out. The mystery employer, introducing himself as Mr. Wednesday, reappears to press his case once again, and this time Shadow takes him up on it.

Shadow is brought into a weird, orbiting subculture of seemingly everyday people, living on the fringes of American life. Each seems oddly familiar to him - as they will seem to you. And slowly, Shadow begins to realize the scale and scope of what he has become involved in - an impending battle between the scattered, ancient gods of immigrants and slaves, and the emerging gods of the American cultural and technological revolution.

For me, simply the amount of creativity put into the plot makes this a terrific read; but add to that Gaiman's craft of description and narrative - very stylish and stark - that combination makes American Gods a real treat. Ordinarily, I might observe that a hero with only a hole for a heart is hard to identify with, but Shadow isn't really heartless, you discover as the story progresses, and Gaiman does a great job of slowly bringing the reader along for the ride, with a boatload of creative plotwork along the way.

Neil Gaiman has placed himself outside of the current state of fantasy or horror - forgoing Clive Barker's tendency for cheap thrills, and Stephen King's dense description for a more economical style that describes in shadows and light, with occasional vivid color. American Gods is a well-crafted and imaginative trip behind the scenes in a land whose gods are as vulnerable as the people themselves.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!! My first Gaiman experience, but not my last.
Review: What a great book. I had heard and read so much ABOUT Neil Gaiman, but never read anything by him. So I decided to give American Gods a chance. I was blown away, literally. Shadow is such a likable character, with a good heart, strong, but full of flaws. This goes along with all the supporting roles. Every one is wholly unique and perfect in their designated areas, from Wednesday to Easter, to Mr. World and Mad Sweeney. Anybody looking for a really good book to read over a couple of days or a weekend, I highly recommend this. Beware, you may not be able to put it down, so if you are supposed to be keeping an eye on small children, don't read this. It will keep your undivided attention from start to finish. Now, onto the next Neil Gaiman book I can lay my hands on....

Rating:
Summary: Overwhelming
Review: This book completely blew me away, right from the beginning. This wan't the "can't put it down" kind of good book, this was the "put it down but spend the next few hours churning it over in your mind" kind of good book, you cared about the characters right up to the point where they betrayed you, you fell right into the traps Gaiman set and then curse yourself for not seeing it before. The image of the young girl at the end stayed with me for days after I finished the book, I've never felt anything quite like it.

My first brush with Neil Gaiman was in Good Omens with Terry Pratchett and after reading American Gods, it's easy to pick out the Gaiman dark grace of Gaiman from the bubbly but clever humour of Pratchett. I can't praise American Gods highly enough, it really was an amaising experience.

Rating:
Summary: Gripping. Disturbing. Compelling. Haunting. Engaging.
Review: It is hard to find the words with which to accurately describe this unique novel. I was at times charmed by the beautiful way in which the lead character comes to life. That said I was disturbed from the outset at the strange and tragic turn of events. Rarely does a novel set you up so well with the first few pages.

I would love to describe the story, and will attempt to, although this book may just be one which has to be experienced to be believed. It is somewhat a tale of a man caught in a battle of ancient gods from mythology like Odin, and includes bar brawls with leprechauns and such. The lead character is hired to be an "errand man" for a forgotten "god" trying to battle American society's new "gods" of television, technology, and the Internet, which are brought to life as actual beings. The author does such a tremendous job of weaving the story from the viewpoint of a man so deeply haunted by a recent loss and betrayal that what he experiences in the supernatural is almost taken with a calm disinterest. The story weaves back and forth with lightning speed between dream, reality and the supernatural, leaving a dreamy feeling while reading.

Also dispersed throughout the book are, out of nowhere, brief description of other "gods" and events, which read like a rich tapestry of history to a degree where I was looking for footnotes. I will say this; Mr. Gaiman has an incredible imagination!

This is a rather strange book, it is at times a page-turning, stay up all night to finish novel, and at other times goes a bit too far into the horror and graphic depictions of a Stephen King. Some of the more graphic depictions seemed to be unnecessary to the storyline. This should serve as a warning for those who cringe easily. Despite these drawbacks, I was hooked into the story from the start, and wanted to finish it as fast as I could. That is itself high praise for a novel. Well done, strange and overly graphic, but a well written and compelling story.

Rating:
Summary: Original Fantasy
Review: American Gods is the rarest of creatures: a literate, witty, mordant, and moving contemporary fantasy novel. Yes, its pace is studied rather than frantic, its tone cool and thoughtful rather than histrionic, but the patient reader will be amply rewarded by Gaiman's carefully plotted and beautifully written tale of Old World dieties struggling for survival and relevance in 21st century America.

Gaiman has taken the essence of his gemlike short stories and blown it up into a genuine epic. Much more so than the entertaining but somewhat sparse Neverwhere, American Gods uses the novel's length and format to build power, even as its structure allows Gaiman to deploy a handful of strking short tales within it.

Anyone who has enjoyed Gaiman's previous work, or the contemporary fantasy of Clive Barker, Tim Powers, Roger Zelazny, or Kim Newman, is likely to enjoy this excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: I was actually disappointed
Review: This is not Neil Gaiman's best. That does not mean it is bad - quite the contrary, it is pretty good. I just got the feeling when I read it that after the well-deserved success of Neverwhere he felt he had to write something similar for the US market. Neverwhere dealing with London, UK.
It was kind of obvious to me that he is not as familiar with the mystic and magic of the US as he is of London.
The American Gods of the book are surprisingly poorly developed, and he chooses Odin as one of the main protagonists, which gives a bit of a tired feeling to me. On the other hand, the description of the restless wife and the protected American small-town are truly chilling and up there with his best.

Rating:
Summary: Book Review of American Gods
Review: British writer Neil Gaiman seems an unlikely candidate as one who would attempt a novel that seeks out the heart of America because he is not from here. In American Gods, he introduces us to old gods and the modern technological gods of modern life.
Gaiman is experienced in the field of mythology as he has already written several novels pertaining to the topic. He wrote The Sandman, a comic-book series, along with Good Omens, the dark fantasy Neverwhere, Smoke and Mirrors, a collection of short stories and poems, and Stardust.
American Gods revolves around Shadow on an adventure across America. Shadow's name describes his character in that while he is likable, kind, and motivated by compassion, he is also troubled. In effect he is a ghost, wondering without purpose.
After serving three years in prison for aggravated assault, Shadow is released to mourn the death of his wife, Laura, and best friend. Homeless, wifeless, friendless, and jobless, Shadow finds his life nonexistent. When a strange old man calling himself Wednesday offers Shadow a job as an errand boy, he has no reason not to accept. Shadow spends much of his time wondering about his role in all this. Laura's ghost comes to him several times and bails him out of trouble.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mystery in the form of fantasy. And people who are interested in mythical gods can appreciate how they are represented in modern form in American Gods

Rating:
Summary: A Modern Classic (excuse the cliché!)
Review: This has to be one of the best books I have ever read. It is a very dark tale that draws equally dark parallels with modern society. It has a strong moral background which helps to renforce the sci-fi/fantasy side of the book. All of the characters were extremely well develloped and the plot was deep enough to keep me reading until my boss threatened me with redundancy! Its a good book and well worth a read!

Rating:
Summary: I was dissapointed.
Review: Considering the awards and positive reviews Gaiman received for American Gods, I was dissapointed by the quality of the story. Though he has some creative ideas, and has solid prose, there is very little depth here either in the plot, or the characters. I'm not spoiling anything by saying that the basis for this story is that people's beliefs of gods and mythical creatures throughout time has caused these beings to actually manifest themselves within human society - why not? It's an interesting idea with alot of potential for social commentary on the state of American culture, religion, philosophy, etc. Unfortunately, this rambling mess makes no effort to realize this potential. The story is a mindless, poorly thought out struggle between a handfull of legends and avatars representing various technologies (e.g. TV, the internet, the media, etc.). You would think that there would be some mention of modern religion (Chistianity, Islam, Judaism), but no, it's conspicuously absent. In fact the plot really doesn't make alot of sense - it's not clear why the gods are fighting, nor what is to be obtained by fighting (the ending left me scratching my head). The legends picked for the story are in my opinion eclectic and obscure. The main characters are in general two dimensional, and create zero emotional resonance. The plot is a slow tour of mundane, mid-West America, which I have to believe will bore most people out of their minds. It seemed like the main character, Shadow, spends half the book in a small Wisconsin farm town, where we learn about all the local town personalities, for no particular reason. Finally, the gratuitous sex in this book exemplifies how dumbed-down this story is. I'm fine with sex and violence, as long as they're tastefully done, and make sense in context of the story. It seems like the sex here was purely thrown in for shock value. Don't waste your time or money on this book.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been great
Review: When I began reading this book, the premise seemed promising; I thought this would be a real page-turner. A man finds himself in the midst of a battle between old gods long forgotten and new gods. Whoa! Seemed like heavy stuff. The narrative is good. Shadow's whimsical sarcastic sense of humor had me laughing out loud at times (most memorable was the scene where he meets the raven). The book reminded me of Clive Barker's early fantastique novels (Weaveworld, Great and Secret Show, Imajica) where ordinary people became embroiled in matters involving other worlds. The problem with American Gods was there really was no plot so much as a pattern: 1.) Hear about the upcoming storm 2.) Move to a new location 3.) Hide 4.) Get discovered. 5.) Repeat.
So, along the way, we meet interesting characters (human and non-human), but nothing happens to propel the story forward. The only reason that I didn't quit the book early is because Shadow is a likable character and you do want to know how certain relationships end, if they do at all.

3/4's of the way, Gaiman finally writes "And so the storm began." I won't say anything about the storm, other than "That's it!?" But Mr. Gaiman could have turned a great premise into a cool book