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Summary: A Road Trip Across America
Review: American Gods by Neil Gaiman is a rollocking road trip through and American littered by Gods large and small that people have been bringing to America since they could get over on boat. Gaiman again takes material and mythologies that are familiar and but dated and brings them to the modern world.This fun fast read that takes detours, back roads, and fast highways that mimic the American Road Trip experience. It's a great book.
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Summary: Stunning scope and magnificent depth
Review: Neil Gaiman's AMERICAN GODS is simultaneously an epic, a treatise on religion, a road trip story, a coin trick instruction manual, a murder mystery, a war novel, a tale of self actualization, and a love story. At any given point in GODS, there are six or seven different plots occurring -- but Gaiman juggles them admirably and never lets anything drop. In Gaiman's previous works, GOOD OMENS (with Terry Pratchett), STARDUST, and NEVERWHERE, the reader knew exactly in which genre the book belonged. GOOD OMENS was an apocolyptic comedy, STARDUST was a fantasy/love story, and NEVERWHERE was a dark fantasy thriller. AMERICAN GODS is the first of Gaiman's novels in which the cliches of the genre are meaningless -- because AMERICAN GODS transcends the genres it encompasses. This makes for a novel of stunning scope, and Gaiman's talent makes for a story of magnificent depth. Our hero is Shadow, a man of indeterminate ethnic origin. He's big, and he can hold his own in a fight, but he'd rather not. His favorite book is Herodotus' HISTORIES. His life story is unfolded for us little by little, and we delight in every new revelation, because Shadow is truly our hero. The novel's structure is a bit like THE GRAPES OF WRATH, in that about every other chapter is not about the hero at all, but about a different storyline altogether. I admit that initially this structure irritated me, but then I realized that these "mini-plots" were just as fascinating as the "big plot." Although one reviewer complained of the "predictable" plot twists, in my mind there was nothing predictable about GODS. I found myself actually cringing with fear at some points because of what was happening to the hero -- and I had never suspected it. The host of supporting characters is simply awesome. From the most ordinary human being, the chief of Lakeside Police, to the most fun god, Mr. Nancy, Gaiman describes each new person or god just enough to let us know who s/he is, then plunges onward. The result is perhaps the largest cast of characters I can remember reading about, and yet the reader is satisfied with each and every character. One warning before you pick up this book: it is not a happy book. For those who are familiar with Gaiman's work, this revelation is no surprise. But for those who want just another summer reading book . . . death and disappointment abound in GODS. The murder mystery is solved (and solved well), but it leaves the reader with a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Shadow learns a lot about himself, but a lot of it is bad news. Some wonderful, seemingly good characters are (like Hunter in NEVERWHERE) actually very, very bad. Shadow never seems to catch a break in his personal life, either. These aren't drawbacks, mind you, but things to consider before starting the very, very *long,* addictive read. I feel as though I have not done the book justice with my rambling review. So here's my final statement: AMERICAN GODS is truly one of the finest novels I have ever read. If you have the time to invest, I strongly urge you to purchase AMERICAN GODS. You won't regret it.
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Summary: Quite impressive
Review: A friend of mine told me, more than once, that I had to read this book. He was quite insistent about the whole thing because he knows I have an abiding love for all things mythological, especially Norse. I had picked it up, put it down, you know the routine, but didn't acutally buy it till I had a long plane ride looming in front of me. Turns out I should have listened to my friend to begin with(and I liked the book enough to actually tell him that, too.) The thing that caught my attention, and held it as the book went on, was just how clever Gaiman was in terms of weaving bits of Norse mythology throughout the story. I sat there, shaking my head, smiling, as something familiar popped up, fell into place. This whole aspect of it was so wonderfully done that that would have been enough to sustain me, to keep me thinking about the book long after I reluctantly put it aside. But, the thing is, Gaiman created some really wonderful, compelling characters to popluate his America. Shadow was a wonderful protagonist. I liked being in his mind, following him around, waiting to see how he'd handle whatever was going to come at him next. He's never adequately described(except for everyone constantly pointing out that he's "big")and yet you get a picture perfect image of him in mind. And there is a score of secondary characters that, as long as they meant you no harm, you'd eagerly welcome into your life. There are some aspects of the novel that seem unfinished. One particularly that I would like to have seen more of was Shadow's encounter with Bast--it seemed like there should have been something more there and I would have ate it up if there had been. And there are other little tidbits/questions that are never assigned an answer or explanation. However, this doesn't take away from the novel, but instead compels you to come up with some explanation of your own. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, didn't want to put it down, and will definitely pick it up to read again. Plus, I just bought *Neverwhere*, so Gaiman must have left a favorable impression in my mind.
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Summary: A fascinating journey through an alternative spiritual USA
Review: At 628 pages, 'American Gods' is a giant jellybean bag of a book with a tendency to sprawl all over the place. The premise of the book is fascinating: Every wave of settlers to America brought their own Gods with them, and when belief in these Gods died, the Gods lived on, making a living as best as they can. Shadow, a released convict, finds himself a pawn in a game played by the mightiest of the Norse pantheon, Mr Wednesday. He finds himself being dragged all over the USA, meeting the surviving Gods living in reduced circumstances, as Mr Wednesday tries to gather them all together to fight the new Gods of the Internet, the motor vehicle, and the rest of modern technology. Sadly, the end is a little anti-climatic. The apocalyptic war that is promised throughout the book peters out with a whimper rather than a bang. However, if the end disappoints, the telling of the story doesn't. Gaiman takes the reader on a fascinating journey, with lots of interesting asides that add to the narrative rather than deflect from it. The writing is both vivid and elusive. Gaiman is a one-off original. I'm off to check his other writings.
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Summary: The "Gods" must be thrilled.
Review: Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Neil Gaiman's Shadow, for one. Shadow is the hero of 2001's "American Gods," the latest from a contemporary favorite. Gaiman is the acclaimed creator of the "Sandman" comic book series, as well as the author of a short story collection, "Smoke and Mirrors," and another, equally enjoyable book entitled "Neverwhere." Violent and fantastic, erotic at times and hilarious at others, with a mystery (or two) to keep you hooked throughout, "Gods" is a fabulous addition to all of those other titles with the word "American" in them: "Pie," "Psycho," "Beauty" and "Rhapsody" among them. It holds its own. In "Gods," Shadow is a convict days away from his prison release. Before that can happen, however, he learns that his beloved wife, Laura, has been killed in a car crash. After his release, at her funeral, a woman spits on Laura's corpse. When confronted by Shadow, the woman reveals that Laura was having an affair with her husband, also killed in the crash. His world shattered, Shadow stumbles into the employment of the mysterious Mr. Wednesday, who asks him to take on the role of occasional bodyguard, in the interest of protecting some shady dealings and interests. From there, Shadow eventually comes to discover that his new employer and associates are long-forgotten gods, no longer worshipped by humankind and now doomed to live amongst their ranks. Even worse, the new gods of pop culture's worship, like technology, wood and mass media, to name a few, are out to bring down the gods of yore and claim dominance. Along the way, Shadow runs across a few familiar gods (very few - Gaiman has said in online interviews that one of his points was to use old mythological figures that are more obscure, so the use of Greek gods like Zeus is sort of pointless) and fantasy creatures, some of whom are given creepy new spins under Gaiman's imagination. He also finds himself tormented by his dead wife, literally, when a gold coin from a leprechaun proves enough to raise her from her grave. There's more to the story, of course, and Gaiman does a good job of telling it, even if things start off somewhat slow and it's hard to retain all the information he's giving. But Shadow is a great character for an audience to follow, likable enough to keep readers interested and cynical enough to give the fantastical goings-on an air of realism to them. It's a fabulous, fabulous concept in theory and Gaiman has got the goods to make it live up to its fullest potential. All the elements are there, and it proves to be a book where idea and creator are well in sync. The gods must be pleased.
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Summary: Gaiman Scores Big on This One! Score! Score! Score!
Review: There were several times early in the novel that I wanted to dislike the narrator. He waffled between vantage points and led me to one disjointed scene after another. The story, I felt, lacked polish. But by the half-way point I had gotten into the flow of the narrative and saw how these seemingly confusing literary devices worked toward an overall complete symmetry. Perhaps I can see the early pages as the climbing of a hill on a rollercoaster: loud and herky jerky. But once the ride --the story-- gets past a certain point there's no stopping it. It flowed like a rain-swelled river. The narrator had such a great command of language that even the most outlandish aspects of the story seemed natural to the process. I didn't notice many sharp edges in this tale. The only criticism I may have is that there are one or two instances where the narrator supplied me with a side story that I did not feel contributed to the overall landscape of the novel. Though I enjoyed them, I did not see them as necessary. But as a whole, I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of mythology and supernatural story-telling. I also think aspiring writers would do well to pay attention to Gaiman's style. Roland Petalver
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Summary: An amazing, addictive read
Review: I have a few levels of books... at the bottom there's the bad books, the ones you're forced to read or you start but which end up being so boring you fall asleep. Then there's mediocre books, which are okay, but more along the 'read once and put on the shelf' category. The next level is great books, which you'll read more than once, and will be rated among your favorites. Then there's 'novel heroin.' These are the books you can't put down, that you finish in one sitting, no matter how long the novel, the ones you think about long after you finish reading. That's where I put American Gods. Neil Gaiman has crafted a hypnotic work, one in which the prose itself literally sucks you into the novel and doesn't let go, even after the last page is read. It's that good. If you need a read for a rainy day, when you have nothing else to do, pick up this book. Make sure you have plenty of time on your hands, though. You won't be able to put it down.
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Summary: Good dark fantasy
Review: American Gods is the story of an ex-con with the single name of Shadow who is reluctantly recruited to participate in a war of the gods. The ancient gods are fading as they are being forgotten, and new gods, representing television, computers and other modern objects of worship, are coming into power. Gaiman, more well-known for his critically acclaimed comic book writing does a good job here. At times the story does drag a little and at other times he is a little unclear, but overall, he has written a good novel. The obvious influence for this novel seemed to be Harlan Ellison's Deathbird Stories (with its tales of the gods of modern life), and I was pleased to see Gaiman acknowledge this influence in the afterword. In style, however, this book is more reminiscent of Clive Barker at his peak. As dark fantasy, this is a good work, and although there is some room for improvement, I'd be willing to read more by Gaiman.
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Summary: The Gods Must Be Crazy...
Review: The Gods Must Be Crazy.... When I picked this up, I vaguely thought it was some kind of murder mystery -- I read the back, which said something about man just released from prison finding out his wife has been murdered. That's only the beginning of a long and delicious story told by a master storyteller. A mixture of a hip road trip across America, along with magical rides with mystical creatures, the eternal external and internal battle 'twixt good and evil, Christlike sacrifice and suffering, human and godly greed, wit, trickery, violence, poetry and much more. Set in the US in our time, the main character, Shadow, looks forward to reuniting with his wife Laura after serving 3 years in prison. Instead, he finds out she's been killed in an accident. He's released early and flies home next to a man named Wednesday, who knows everything about Shadow and shows up in the most unexpected places until Shadow agrees to be sort of a bodyguard to Wednesday. He has dark and mystical dreams; the lovely, but slowly decaying Laura, pays him wistful visits. He meets some ancient foreigners as well as some younger and more stylish folks on separate sides of an escalating disagreement. This is the classic story with a contemporary twist. The old Gods men used to worship and sacrifice for (virgins and the innocent) are battling the new gods humans worship and sacrifice for (time, original thinking and more) -- TV, consumerism and technology. Gaiman's satire runs deep. How about a modern goddess named Media -- 'isn't she the one who killed her children?' one god asks. Another answers "Different woman. Same story.") Though it doesn't always help to compare one writer's style with another, there are shades of Stephen King's The Stand with a touch of Bukowski and Kerouac. Since reading this book, I've read two more of his and am searching for more. All were excellent, managing to be similar, but very different. Gaiman is clearly a gifted storyteller -- whatever I read by him leaves me wanting to read more. Thought provoking, riveting, humorous, wonderfully written.
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Summary: Ragnarok Around the Clock Tonight!
Review: Shadow is released after three years of his assault sentence for good behavior, only to find his wife and best friend died in the same car accident immediately before his release. His friend's widow tells Shadow that the two of them were engaged in flagrante delicto, at the time. Shadow can't ponder his losses, however, because an enigmatic con-man named Mr. Wednesday has hired him to be his personal driver and bodyguard on an unstated mission for an unstated duration. It isn't long before Shadow is surrounded by former gods now down on their luck, who Mr. Wednesday is busy recruiting for an all-out final showdown with the new gods who supplanted them - the gods of Media, Fast Food, Shopping Malls, Computers, and the like. Shadow's dead wife keeps coming back to him, gradually looking and smelling less pleasant, and he gets abducted and beat-up a lot by Men In Black with names like "Mr. Wood" and "Mr. Stone," who are out to vanquish Wednesday. If any of this sounds intriguing or amusing, then this is the book for you, because technically, that's about all that happens in this novel. It has a story with a reasonable conclusion, but - like Lord of the Rings - its destination is the journey itself, and it never really arrives anywhere. What this book is, essentially, is a Jack Kerouac road trip across America, filled with bizarre characters, humorous perceptions and anecdotal stories. It has less of a plot than a point, and as such is pretty much a one-joke show with variations on a central theme. The characters are entertaining, but pretty superficial. But, most importantly, it's just plain fun. It tells numerous funny stories and jokes, with the familiarity of an old friend. It isn't really deep at all, despite appearances to the contrary, though it might sufficiently lull you with laughter to accidentally slip an interesting idea or two into your head for later mulling-over. Most recommended for travelers - especially those undertaking a long road trip.
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