American Gods

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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

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: New genre for me
Review:

Fantasy is not my thing -- at least, it wasn't until I read "American Gods," drawn in by the excellent premise that immigrants brought their gods to America, then forgot them, leaving the gods to decline until they finally decide to do battle with Americans' new gods, such as technology.

This gets five stars despite a somewhat naff ending, where Gaiman seems to struggle to decide exactly how he wants to end the book. In spite of that, it's worth the read. This is a book with great characters (Shadow, Wednesday, Laura), great places (especially the roadside attractions) and a surprising sense of humor that saw me laugh out loud several times. I thoroughly enjoyed it.


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Summary: A Thought Provoking Allegory on American Spirituality
Review: Having been familiar with Gaiman through his efforts on The Sandman, it was no surprise to see many of the themes which populated that earlier work were evident in American Gods. What did surprise me was his ability to use these themes to create an original look at the nature of faith in America.

Gaiman once again utilizes his encyclopedic knowledge of ancient pantheons to explore the meaning and expression of belief. He performs this exploration by using his strong characterization skills to make each entity in the book seem alive and relevant to the reader. However, Gaiman's employment of these characters isn't just an attempt to demonstrate his talent. He shows that the gods brought over to America by immigrants are still alive, even though they have few, if any, worshippers. Gaiman implies that the reason why these gods survive is due to the strength of America's inherent spirituality. He talks about how the land itself is imbued with a spiritual presence. In Gaiman's opinion, this presence is strong enough to both sustain beliefs that would otherwise disappear and influence the people who live on the land.

Many American commentators have expressed surprise in the success of religious based entertainment like The Passion of The Christ and the Left Behind series. Leave it to a foreigner to bring forward a unique and entertaining perspective on why these forms of entertainment appeal to an American audience. By using strong characterization and engaging narrative, Gaiman makes a very powerful comment about the power of American spirituality. American Gods is essential reading for anyone who wants a different, yet engaging, perspective on religion in America.

Rating:
Summary: Ahem
Review: I would just like to say that Al Kitching's review is the most inane piece of tripe I have ever read. That is all.

Rating:
Summary: American Gods
Review: Read this if you're looking for something completely out of the ordinary, more occult than sci-fi or fantasy. Masterful descriptions bring this dark, morbid world to life. Gaiman crosses dimensions of life, the afterlife, and otherworlds like a camera cuts between scenes. You will be changed, long after you put the book down. Gaiman "shines."

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Summary: the god of tedious things
Review: With such a big book it's almost impossible to know where to begin. So let's go for page one: "Shadow had done three years in prison..."

So immediately, had I not known (from the title, the blurb, the hype and the simple self-awareness that comes with being a player in the whole reading 'thang') that what we were dealing with here was a fantasy-type novel, I'd imagine this to be some trashy crime housebrick of a read. Down-at-heel drifter falls out of clink and straight into complex plot involving lowlifes, hot women, guns and cash. The sort of thing Jim Thompson did with aplomb (and, heck, economically) and everyone else has been trying to copy for years.

I mean, 'Shadow', what's that? Shadow? My initial incredulity at that first line stayed with me for a long, long time and it's not until p261 (in my hardback version) that a half-hearted explanation comes along. It might appear a strange thing to get hung up on, but if you're going to call your main character Shadow, you better come up with something damned good with which to back it up and "I'd just find adults and follow them around" didn't do it for me. In my world that'd make your nickname Odd Boy, not Shadow. Shadow? No, there had to be more to it than that, not to mention all the strange things (a dead wife being the least of his worries) that happen to him, and before too long I'm afraid that any shocks and surprises concerning our man's past or destiny had been dissipated by putting the big fella in a pigeonhole marked 'big revelation coming up'.

Let's break away from him for a second.

The basic premise of the story, that the immigrants who came to America brought their gods with them is, I guess, an appealing one. Why not? You could imagine, say, Aldiss or Bradbury or Michael Coney getting some mileage out of a short story on that subject. But a 500 page hardback? 600+ softback? I began to wonder what it was Gaiman was hiding. Why all the detail, why the endless referencing of the scared ancients, why the tortuous details about bloody coin tricks? I'll admit I didn't get what it was, but I sensed a con coming along. I knew we'd have the rug pulled from under at some point. I spent most of the book waiting impatiently for the twist, muttering 'get on with it' at regular intervals.

It doesn't help when you're losing faith in something, for that faith to be stretched, but several times we're asked to suspend our disbelief ever higher: there're the gods of course, then we have zombies, talking ravens (Gaiman has clearly read MacDonald's Lilith), talking dogs, talking fire, talking bowls of chilli con carne. OK, so I made the last one up. Where were we? Oh, yes: a supposed clandestine agency; a murder mystery on Walton's Mountain; a protagonist who knows Herodotus, picks up council minutes as a casual read, gets access to a library and then never bothers to do a moment's research on his boss who happens to be the Norse god Odin (?!). Oh, and he dies and comes back to life too, did I not mention that? By the time we hit the revelatory segments, I was rolling my eyes to the heavens [sic] almost every five minutes.

It seems, all of it, completely aimless. It did me no good at all having zero sympathy or empathy for Shadow (Shadow?!). I simply didn't care about his plight, or Wednesday's, even. I couldn't drum up enthusiasm for the nearly dead gods, or the fully dead Laura, or anyone. Apart from Sam, who at least referenced the Onion, so is fairly likeable in that regard. Everyone else could go to hell in a handbasket as for as I was concerned. Oh, and hey, they do. Kinda.

As has been mentioned below, the battle/climax is woeful. You build up to something for what seems like an eternity (ho ho) and then say 'actually ...nah'? It's incredibly lazy, startlingly so. At the height of it he comes up with: "The paradigms were shifting. He could feel it. The old world, a world of infinite vastness and illimitable resources and future was being confronted by something else - a web of energy, of opinions, of gulfs."

What? Sorry, what? It means nothing. Like Stephen Fry in Room 101, I have to confess that I do not have the requisite reservoir of splenetic juices to summon up just why I despise the misuse of the word 'energy' so very much. The ending, the denouements of the separate story threads, the pat conclusions, they're all so frustrating, and they're all run through with this dreadfully woolly language. Gaiman actually puts together a workable and efficient set of action sequences in the first half of the book (the plane journey where he meets Wednesday, the deaths on the train car, etc) but then falls down by talking about bloody 'energy' and simply finding Laura 'in a side cavern' (and riding giant birds, how throwaway and blink-and-you'll-miss-it is that? Eh? Come again?) This is draft 1 stuff, isn't it?

I understand that Gaiman used to write comics. Well, it seems he still does, he just forgot to include any pictures in this one.

Did any aspects of the book hold my attention? Maybe, and like I said, the initial premise is an interesting one, but the forgotten gods in the end are presented to us so quick-fire and one dimensionally that it's impossible to take them seriously at all. Like, there was a minotaur in there for a whole sentence, or am I mistaken? It's tiresome and dreary and ultimately Gaiman came across to this reader as someone who read some really great books about gods and felt he just had to get 'em all in.

My last word is reserved for the missing kids sub-plot. Hinzelmann didn't have a neon arrow pointing at him with IT'S THIS GUY writ large upon it, but he may as well have done. Outrageously transparent. Please tell me no-one was taken in by that?