American Gods

by Neil Gaiman

Ebook, 2003

Library's rating

Description

Shadow is a man with a past. But now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his wife and stay out of trouble. Until he learns that she's been killed in a terrible accident. Flying home for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane, a strange man in the seat next to him introduces himself. The man calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he knows more about Shadow than is possible. He warns Shadow that a far bigger storm is coming. And from that moment on, nothing will ever he the same.

Media reviews

The Independent

This is a fantastic novel, as obsessed with the minutiae of life on the road as it is with a catalogue of doomed and half-forgotten deities. In the course of the protagonist Shadow's adventures as the bodyguard and fixer of the one-eyed Mr Wednesday, he visits a famous museum of junk and the motel

at the centre of the US, as well as eating more sorts of good and bad diner food than one wants especially to think about.

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The Independent

Part of the joy of American Gods is that its inventions all find a place in a well-organised structure. The book runs as precisely as clockwork, but reads as smoothly as silk or warm chocolate.

Entertainment Weekly

Gaiman's stories are always overstuffed experiences, and ''American Gods'' has more than enough to earn its redemption, including a hero who deserves further adventures.

Salon.com

"American Gods" is a juicily original melding of archaic myth with the slangy, gritty, melancholy voice of one of America's great cultural inventions -- the hard-boiled detective; call it Wagnerian noir. The melting pot has produced stranger cocktails, but few that are as tasty.

Richmond Review

Sadly, American Gods promises more than it delivers. The premise is brilliant; the execution is vague, pedestrian and deeply disappointing. It's not bad, but it's not nearly as good as it could be. There are wonderful moments, but they are few and far between. This should be a massive, complex

story, a clash of the old world and the new, a real opportunity to examine what drives America and what it lacks. Instead, it is an enjoyable stroll across a big country, populated by an entertaining sequence of "spot the god" contests.

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SF Site

American Gods is easily Gaiman's most amusing and entertaining work since Good Omens, his brilliant collaboration with Terry Pratchett. Interestingly, there are some plot points in common between the two novels -- here is clearly a theme that Gaiman tackles with glee and aplomb. If his name is not

a household word yet, this book could well be the one that lands him that status.

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January Magazine

It is not an easy task, but Gaiman, in his best and most ambitious work since The Sandman, is equal to it.

PopMatters

With brilliance, Gaiman has painted a portrait of the American, as well as of America itself, and, in so doing, created a tale worthy to be placed alongside the finest of American literature. He has presented a mirror whereby, perhaps, Americans can better understand themselves.