Finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

There is so much stuff in this book that I will (very simply) summarize it by saying the book focues on Shadow, an ex-con who gets caught up in a war between the “old” gods (Odin, Easter, etc.) and the “new” American gods (Media, Technology, Credit Cards, etc.). It appears the new gods want to knock off the old folks, but nothing is really as it seems.

Shadow takes a job working for Odin, and the two of them basically go from city to city, old god to old god, recruiting them for the upcoming war. There’s a lot of talk about blood and power and what sacrifices mean, interspersed with some stories about how immigrants brought the old gods to America simply by believing in them — and how those gods are all but forgotten.

My significant other and I had a long discussion about this book. He absolutely loved it. I was a bit more ambivalent. My SO said Gaiman thinks differently from any other writer he’s read. I agree with him there. Gaiman sees the world in a unique way, which really flavors his writing.

My main quibble is that there was too much of some things and not enough of others. Gaiman had some really wonderful descriptions (like comparing veins in a woman’s breast to those in blue cheese). But there are just so many dream sequences that meander here and there, they lose their impact after a while. Pages and pages go by, and nothing much seems to happen (except the dream sequences). I wanted him to pick up the pace.

I also wanted to see more of the “new” gods. The book is called American Gods, but we really only get the perspective of the old folks.

Gaiman also spends a lot of the book on characters that don’t seem to have anything to do with the main plot (the war between the gods). This really annoyed me until I got to the last 50 pages — and then he tied it all together with a big red bow in a clever twist I didn’t see coming at the end.

I liked Gaiman’s short story collection, Fragile Things better, but American Gods is one of those books that will make you stretch your mind. And it’s always good to do that. 😀

So, thumbs up.

Up next: Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward.

What about you? What are you reading now? Inquiring minds want to know …