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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.
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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: If Stephen King wrote Superheroes
Review: From the first chapter, the things that struck me most about "American Gods" was the similarity to Stephen King's writing style in some of his more mediocre horror books. Like King, there are wonderful, creative ideas (old gods walking the Earth; new gods taking over for ideas like mass media and the Internet). Like King, there are diverse characters with layers of issues (the main character, Shadow, develops a rather unique relationship with his dead wife, a plot perhaps more interesting than the earth-shaking main device). Like King, there is a tendency toward adolescent melodrama (note especially how Shadow's wife dies). Like many of King's novels, the ending fizzles. Perhaps there was nowhere to go that would live up to the incredible ideas presented earlier in the book, or perhaps others were satisfied with the (thoroughly foreshadowed, yet still somewhat disappointing) "twist" at the end. (**SPOILER**: I would have loved to see the effect upon the world when some of the modern gods bought the farm--does the loss of the god of strategic arms limitation pacts immediately dissolve such pacts and ensure a new arms race? This would have given the events toward the end a more epic feel, though perhaps Gaiman wanted something closer in tone to the very last scene, which was somewhat reflective and more interesting than the entire second half of the book.) The book did get me to do some research on mythology, though: some of the "name that god" you will inevitably play while reading the book is very enjoyable, and the amount of research put into the characters is stunning. Don't expect the great American novel: expect an above-average action read.
Rating: 
Summary: So close to perfect
Review: It was difficult to not give this book 5 stars as I really enjoyed it and had trouble putting it down when I had to. The idea is a very original conception and I liked the main character and how he dealt with all the strange things that are happening. The imperfections are that its too long and wanders off story from time to time, and most importantly for me was the intimation for hundreds of pages that a big battle was brewing and then the ending instead was a pastiche of too many different elements and just kind of petered out. All in all though, a great read.
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Summary: American Epic
Review: Whatever happened to the gods of old? Gods like Odin, Loki, Thor, Horace, Ibis etc. What happens when the civilization that worshipped them no longer exists, or no longer believes in them? What happens when the gods of old become antiquated and are replaced with the gods of today, gods of commerce, technology, and media? That is the premise of "American Gods" and yet the book is so much more than the encapsulated sentences. As immigrants came to America with their beliefs, the gods of old found America a horrible place to plant roots of spirituality. The spiritual meccas and shrines of today can be found in monuments such as Mount Rushmore. So what happens if the gods of old decide to make a stand and force out the present gods? Or is it truly a stand they want to make? And how did one ex-convict become so important to this approaching storm? I found myself utterly compelled by this book. It was a novel that not only did I have a hard time putting down, but a hard time explaining. Part fiction, part fantasy, part religious treatise, "American Gods" is not an easily definable book, and for that I am glad. This is the first book I have read by Neil Gaiman, and it will not be the last.
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.
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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.
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Summary: Look a little deeper...
Review: Don't be thrown off by the random F-word in the first page of the book. (This, to me, is usually a signifier of poor writing, a way to spice up dry writing.) This book is a book that may or may not be worth your time. Many of the other reviews for this book merely talked about the plot and how one dimensional it was, but they were missing the whole point. Neil Geiman was really trying to say something about society with this allegory/satire of America. What exactly? i'm still not quite sure, but it was an interesting read.
Another warning; don't be turned off by the fact that the lead character is an X-convict. This very idea sort of made me reluctant to read it at first, I don't know why, I just thought maybe it would be a character you wouldn't be able to relate to at all. But the lead character is actually very interesting, in my opinion. Most of the story takes place as an AMerican road odyssey, and might not be what you think. This is not a fantastic, sexy, dark imagination fest like a Clive Barker book, or a historical plot with some magic thrown in like a Tim Powers book, this book is in itself what it is, and can't really be compared with writings of other authors. This book reminded me more of the type of thing they make you read in high school, with definate literary elements, obvious or not, and few characters that are easy to get to know.
While I liked the book and the sort of simple feel that Shadow created on his Journey of the situation, I found some points of the story to be dissapointing, however. First off, i hated Sam, (girl Sam). And I didn't understand what was going on between her and Shadow. She was such a creepy lesbian, but Shadow who you come to know and respect as a man of moral character in the book, has a thing for her or something. Second off, I didn't understand or see any purpose in all those little interludes between chapters that Geiman put it. He puts in these parts of the book where they explain what Gods are doing in America, or how they got there long ago, but then that's it. Characters are intruduced for one chapter that you never hear from again! For example, there is one chapter where the author takes you to New York where a Arab man is trying to get an interview. When he doesn't get the interview, he meets this cab-driver who happens to be a god. They have sex, and then the chapter is over. You never hear of either of these guys again! It just doesn't add up to anything at all. Not only that, but the ending had me, like another review stated, scratching my head. What happened to the war between the gods? Did i miss something? One minute, they were preparing for battle then they go back to Shadow discovering these secrets at one of the small towns he was at. Not only that, but whatever happened to his dead wife?
All in all, this was an interesting read. Given the downers of the book, this is probably a book you would want to read if you finish books fairly quickly. If you are the type of person that must really commit to a book and spend time on it, i wouldn't recommend this. And another thing, (...). There's bairly any sexual content in this book, just the forementioned scene i described and maybe one other brief one. Other than that, it's pretty non-sexual.
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.
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