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American Gods
 

American Gods

by Neil Gaiman

American Gods is Neil Gaiman's best and most ambitious novel yet, a scary, strange, and hallucinogenic road-trip story wrapped around a deep examination of the American spirit. Gaiman tackles everything from the onslaught of the information age to the meaning of death, but he doesn't sacrifice the razor-sharp plotting and narrative style he's been delivering since his Sandman days.
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Top tags: fantasy,  mythology,  fiction,  neil gaiman,  urban fantasy (all tags)

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Other Reviews

Amazon Reviews (5)
 

Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It

2 of 2 members found this review helpful.
James R
  • Rated 5 stars

“Brilliant, exciting and captulating a variety of different mythologies, American Gods is a wonderous adventure in which the Neil Gaiman brings the main scharacter, Shadow, on a vast journey across America as a storm approaches when the new and old gods are set to come into conflict. With several twists and shock turns, it i not revelant to the story that you must know all the characters in the story,, but makes the piece more enjoyable if you researched them. Great for fans of Mythology.”

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Didn’t Like It

3 of 3 members found this review helpful.
Super K
  • Rated 2 stars

“Neil Gaiman's concepts are far more interesting than his execution. He writes far better graphic novels than prose. As someone who loves reading about mythology, I enjoyed the synergy of the different pantheons. If mythology doesn’t rock your boat, though, skip his clunky writing.”

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Community:
  • Rated 4.129265 stars
Amazon:
  • Rated 4.230769 stars
  

Newest Comments

  • Andrea G

    andrea g said:

    “Loved this one. Follow my thoughts, here (as they may seem a bit discombobulated):

    I think Gaiman is touching on the fact that since America is so "new", and did not possess any original gods itself, the people that came and brought the gods with them needed these said gods to help them begin anew. What happened was as America began its adolescent and teen years, so to speak, and began experiencing growing pains, the gods were no longer needed (thus contributing to the battle in the novel).

    I am not sure if this is stretching it, but I think Gaiman may be reflecting on America's sense of identity here: we come, we take what we need, we use, we throw away--much like how the gods are represented in the novel.

    Peter E, I like what you have to say about the decision making. You make a good point.”

    posted Sunday, July 6 2008
  • Monica R

    monica r said:

    “Another journey for those who understand Gaiman. A little more complex, don't recommend it for first time Gaiman readers.”

    posted Sunday, July 6 2008
  • Harvey Booth

    harvey booth said:

    “For anyone who likes to talk about different mythology fo this this group,
    http://www.shelfari.com/groups/26139/about”

    posted Wednesday, June 25 2008
  • James R

    james r said:

    “Has anyone read both- the authors preferred text and other version? I've read preferred text and would like to know which is better and whether there are significant differences.”

    posted Sunday, June 8 2008
  • Peter E

    peter e said:

    “Heres my two cents:

    American Gods was not a suspenseful book. Although it dealt with romance, murder, betrayal, and power, there was little emotion drawn as swaying decision making. This is very much intentional, although having only read the one book I don't know if it is characteristic of Gaiman's writing. Throughout the entire book, the characters seem to follow the one path open to them, as geese following migration, without difficult consideration or abstract thought. Shadow's own wife describes him as "dead," emotionally speaking. This leads to an interesting read, but less so a gripping one. It is odd that Gaiman wrote it the way he did, because without emotional side engaging the mind of the reader, the topic becomes much less meaningful.

    Thoughts?”

    posted Sunday, June 1 2008
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