Rating: 
Summary: INCREDIBLE... my second favorite Gaiman novel.
Review: Whereas this novel is different in concept and theme than Neil Gaiman's past (Neverwhere & Stardust), it is equally as magaical and transporting.It tells the story of a man, Shadow, that was just released from prison. He meets Wednesday, who offers him employment - which seems like a streak of good luck... or is it? Shadow is sent on a series of adventures all over America... risks danger, meets ghosts, and of course... gods. Like all of Gaiman's novels, this is a fantasy novel with language so rich, you can step into the story. But unlike the others, this is the first one to take place in America (Gaiman himself is British), which makes it kind of fun for American readers. In story form, he reminds readers what happens when people start forgetting the past and their heritage and allow for technology to take over. With personified gods and an outrageous, yet incredible story... this book gets the point across delicately. "Neverwhere" was the first Gaiman book i ever read... and still remains my favortite. It was so enthralling, i couldn't even put it down.
"Stardust" was the second i read... and was a fairy tale told for adults... which was uplifting and beautiful.
But "American Gods," is like a whole new sophistication for Gaiman.... i was shocked at the intensity and complexity... but pleasantly surprised... and i can't wait for more.
Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: Simply put, this story is amazing. The characters are likable, the situations are both extreme and believable and the concept is unique. If you are a fan of Gaiman, pick this up. If you are not, pick this book up, it will change your feelings. I don't want to write about the concept of the story, because IMO it could easily ruin the surprises this book will give you. BUY THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: A bad land for gods
Review: A wonderful modern fantasy, Neil Gaiman turns the genre on its head with this book. No false heroics or quests for rings or captive maidens. This story is about today's values and how they impact tradition. Gaiman adds a further novel touch by locating this tale in America's Midwest, the final stop for countless immigrants. Small towns, flat country, constrained people, far from the rush and bustle of cities. A perfect site for a cosmic battle. Gaiman has written before of the last battle - Armageddon. Good Omens, written with Terry Pratchett, pictured an angel [good] and a demon [evil] reassessing their roles before the final confrontation. American Gods is likewise a departure from the traditional, with ancient gods rising to confront the new American god - Technology. Odin, whose believers brought him across the Atlantic, conscripts Shadow, an ex-con, into acting as a cup-bearer. Having lost his wife and the possibility of employment in a stroke, Shadow takes on the role. He's not a believer, for him it's bed and board. He grows attached to the idea that there may be something in helping the old duffer - a near-faith hardened by encounters with acolytes of the modern creed. Odin, known to Shadow as Wednesday, is hardly the epitome of "good." Technology's adherents, while not evil, are cold, harsh and power driven. As it turns out, they are typically American - practical. Shadow's role grows from mere go-fer for Wednesday to something more significant. After all, why does Shadow's wife Laura return from the grave [and are there ever some grim scenes in that regard!]? Why sequester a go-fer to a "perfect town" in northern Wisconsin for his protection? Why do the Technology deities, especially the Media Goddess, work so hard to woo him to their cause? Shadow dreams with such intensity it would put a normal person in a room with soft walls. What keeps him sane? What keeps him going against what appear to be insurmountable odds? The answers aren't readily anticipated with Gaiman's skillful plot, darting and weaving as it builds. It's not obscure, but neither is it predictable. Gaiman's prose holds the reader's attention throughout. With many threads of story line kept under tight discipline, Gaiman weaves a tapestry incorporating the real and the fantastic, the mundane and the bizarre. The emerging picture makes compelling reading. Gaiman's research for this book stands out everywhere. The gods standing with Odin are nearly all Norse deities, but there's a sprinkling of others. The Greek and Roman pantheons are ignored, perhaps because their adherents were suborned by the Eastern Mediterranean Mob, J.C. and The Boys. Norse mythology has a comforting appeal, and "good" and "evil," "sin" and "grace" had no place. Besides, in the confrontation with technology, there seems little room for compromise, and a warrior deity to lead the host seems fitting. Shadow, who has no religion, is gently educated in these northern gods as he encounters them. They are his collective mentors, helping and encouraging him. The reason for this attention is finally revealed at the end. It's worth going there to find out.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing concept... an amazing novel
Review: This was the firs Neil Gaiman book I've ever read. In fact, I confess I'd never heard of him before I picked this up, but I liked the opening chapter enough to buy it for way more than I should have. Oh, well. I enjoyed "American Gods" immensely. Neil Gaiman makes many terrific observations and jabs on a myriad of subjects, and with a menagerie of characters that are well-fleshed and not too one-sided. I enjoyed Czernobog more than anyone else in the book; his ongoing "deal" with Shadow was brilliantly conceived. The one plot point I was uncomfortable with was the fate of Shadow's wife... but no spoilers. "Uncomfortable with" doesn't mean "didn't enjoy", however, and I enjoyed every sentence. Packed with romance, mystery, religion, action, and an odd little gold coin, this book is truly a modern epic. Gaiman delivers wonderfully.
Rating: 
Summary: Well Written, but ....
Review: This is a well written story but I feel that he coped out. I like the premise of the story, but how can he talk about gods in America and not mention the Judeo / Christian God. Yeah these other gods, Odin, Loki, ..... have been forgotten and not worshipped, but what about the God that is. No matter if you are a Christian, Jew or atheist, this country is built on those Judeo Christian beliefs. Yet not even a page dedicated to God. Too controversial? Too much heat from people who would object to the idea that gods are created by man and not man created by god. I've never been one to think that man is the center of the universe (God help the universe if we are), but I feel Neil could have taken the next step and talk about all the American gods and GOD in general. None the less, it was a good read, just not a great read. My two cents worth.
Rating:
Summary: Good, could have been great
Review: What can I say about this book. Its good, but I can't help but feel it could have been so much better. I have no problem with the mechanics of the writing, those are all top notch. But the story itself could have been so much better. There are glimmers of what it could have been, but they fade quickly. Gaimen incorrectly thinks that Shadow is the most interesting character of the book. The real interesting characters are the gods. Gaimen should have let us into their existence more. What does a god feel when he is no longer believed in? How does he react? What are the motivations of these new gods? These are questions that are never truly answered. We get half hearted attempts, but nothing concrete. I'd recommend this book to someone to read. But I can't help but feel its missing something.
Rating: 
Summary: Horrific and beautiful
Review: Shadow is released after three years in prison, only to find that his wife has died in a car accident. On his way to the funeral, he meets a man who calls himself Wednesday and offers him employment. Shadow, his life shattered, accepts. This brings him into an ever more mysterious world, for Wednesday turns out to be one of the old gods in the New World. There is a battle coming between them and the new gods, the gods of the Internet and the television, and Wednesday is endeavoring to rally his side for this armageddon, with Shadow's help. Caught up in this conflict and being played as a pawn by both sides, Shadow tries to figure out right and wrong, and what his role should be-as contrasted with what Wednesday and the others want it to be. Saying much more would be giving too much away (and I may have gone too far already). Gaiman evokes this world with superb craftsmanship and skill, creating images that are sometimes horrific and sometimes hauntingly beautiful.
Rating: 
Summary: Just kept on waiting for the brilliance I expected...
Review: I know I am going to get railed with a 2 out of 133 or something for my unpopular opinon, but I think that Gaiman's novel was high on concept and potential but never took off.
I find all kinds of mythology interesting, and that is exactly what made me purchase this book and I think Gaiman did a good job of incorporating competeing mythologies into the novel. However, and I know that this is not the most eloquent way to put it, but the book just didn't do it for me. It really just felt like an airport book of the week, like Sidney Sheldon's "Doomsday Conspiracy" which took an interesting topic (at the time) and made an episode of All My Children out of it.
I think what it came down to for me was that I never beleived in any of the characters, especially Shadow, and I saw the twists coming from a mile away. I hate saying that, but it is true, the story was transparent.
I am not an avid fantasy reader, though I dabble in Sci Fi, so take that into account with my review, but over all, I was just waiting for a bang that never came.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful and involving story of old gods on American soil
Review: American Gods is Neil Gaiman's big 2001 "American" fantasy. The central idea is an old chestnut -- that gods only live as long as they are believed in. Gaiman modifies this by tying gods to the land, in a sense, such that gods, or a version of them, move to America when people move there. But most of these old gods are near death -- few people believe in them anymore. They live on in rather diminished circumstances. The central character is a man named Shadow. The book opens as he is about to be released after three years in prison. Just days before his release, he learns that his wife has died in an automobile accident, and the prison authorities let him go early. On his way home, he meets a strange man called Mr. Wednesday (the significance of the name, and the man's glass eye, won't escape many people, I trust), who offers him a job. Shadow thinks he has a job waiting, but he soon finds out that his prospective employer has died. Shadow finds himself more or less pushed to taking Wednesday's job offer. Mostly this job consists of driving around while Wednesday tries to recruit other old gods to join him. It seems a battle for control of America is coming, between the old gods and the "new gods": the media, the internet, and suchlike. So we meet a number of nicely depicted gods from the various old countries: Anansi from Africa, Bast and Osiris and Anubis from Egypt, Czernobog from Russia; and so on. Some of the new gods begin to harass Wednesday and his associates, managing to capture Shadow a couple of times. And Shadow meets his dead wife as well, in the corrupting flesh, and she begs him to find a way to bring her back to life. We also get some interludes depicting the lives of some of the immigrants to America, as they bring their gods with them. A long middle section finds Shadow hanging out in an idyllic Wisconsin town, in the dead of winter. Though even there a dark mystery may lie behind the town's peacefulness. Finally the battle nears, and Shadow finds himself pushed to test his loyalty to Wednesday to the utmost, even into the land of the dead. He learns some important truths about his own identity, and he learns the real secret behind the coming battle. The story is resolved both cleverly and movingly. Shadow is both a character who grows during the action, and a character who pays a great price for his knowledge. The end manages to surprise, as well. I think this is one of the best SF/Fantasy books of the year. There may be a few structural loose ends, and also Gaiman pretty much entirely avoids confronting any of the Abrahamic faiths, which seems to me to leave a conceptual hole, but the book is still powerful and involving.
Rating:
Summary: A contender in many rings, for many reasons
Review: Where to start, is the pressing question. The mythology is superb. I'd recommend this novel most to someone with some versing in the classics and folklore, some basic ability to play a rousing good game of Spot the God. One of the coolest little moments was discovering that Mr. Wednesday had a glass eye ... You can see echoes in American Gods of a grand hero tale, an epic journey to an 'Other World', and you can see the grubby corners and edgy soul of a great American road novel. Not Kerouac or Nabokov; Gaiman grasps his own voice, and with success. It feels natural to have yellowing motels, small towns & trailer parks alongside ancient deities, divine trickery, and a grand battle. (Though I feel rather shortchanged in the way Gaiman concluded the whole climactic god-battle scene. It's more a book about the journey than the destination, one supposes.) Having read some of his previous work, I think that with this novel he has reached this point where his curious, sharp prose, peculiar and rich bits of humor, and breezes of mortal insight come to a balance even more fruitful than his other material. No wonder I finished this in less than two days. Even Harlan Ellison liked it. Read Smoke & Mirrors, his short fiction collection, and if you enjoyed it, then eat this up with ... /divine/ pleasure.
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