Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Listened via Audible. This book was good. I didn't think it was anything special, but it also wasn't anything bad. The whole book was build up of a war, and in order to not spoil anything, let's just say that the pinnacle of all of it was kind of disappointing. There were a couple unexpected twists I didn't see coming in other aspects of the storyline. I'm glad I listened! Looking forward to checking out the TV adaptation.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The last 30% or so saved this from being a 3-star book. I like how things wrapped up, but this book was somewhat of a slog at the beginning.
I really hated it. All the sex stuff made me uncomfortable doubled with the fact that it’s hard to read anything by Gaiman now that all the stuff about him happened. I’m sure it’s a great book, but not right now.
There's no denying how great of an author Neil Gaiman has. He has a way with words, and I have loved everything he has produced. American Gods was a great read, but it took me so damn long. It's actually been awhile since I've read a book that's taken me months to finish. I flew through the first 3/4, immersed in the ups and downs of Shadow's journey and found the mythology involved so interesting. But then it hit a point in the book that I had to drag myself through, hence finishing this 2-3 months after I started it. There is A LOT to grasp from American Gods, a lot that I still cannot wrap my head around yet. But hey, it's still worth the read.
FULL REVIEW SOON.
FULL REVIEW SOON.
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So fair warning, there is a LOT of weird sexual sh*t in the first five chapters or so of this book. We have . There's also the later . BUT if you can get through the pile of weird sexual stuff, this is a really solid read with really fascinating implications and some unusual but provocative concepts - what DO we, as Americans, worship? What specifically entails worship?
The characters are interesting and the gods are in many cases familiar but still unique and memorable. I also was impressed, because I thought I'd nailed the twist long ahead of time, but it was actually different than what I'd figured out.
Overall a very solid read, though I'd be reluctant to recommend it to everyone, because, once again, so much weird sexual shit.
Spoiler
a woman dying from roadhead, a man being literally absorbed into a woman's vagina, and the implication that our protagonist will eventually fuck his dead wife whilst she's still deadSpoiler
sex scene through which two men literally switch species and the fact that our protagonist is raped (?) by a goddess, possibly while she's still in cat formThe characters are interesting and the gods are in many cases familiar but still unique and memorable. I also was impressed, because I thought I'd nailed the twist long ahead of time, but it was actually different than what I'd figured out.
Overall a very solid read, though I'd be reluctant to recommend it to everyone, because, once again, so much weird sexual shit.
I'm so sick of this book, and I just found out there's a part 3(!!) with another 6 hours!!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I found this book disappointing. It seemed like such a good idea and I felt confident that Gaiman could deliver. I enjoyed the young adults books of his that I've read (The Graveyard Book and Coraline), and his fairy tales for adults (Stardust and Neverwhere), but I'm not sure that a novel is really his thing. It was too complicated and rambling, too self-indulgent. I can tell which characters he loves to write because they won't shut up! I found the language trite and uninspired, which I guess has a certain power when in a fairy tale, but is a real drawback in a novel and is really apparent when you're listening to an audiobook. I would still like to read the Sandman series, because I've heard so much about it, but I don't think I'll be reading Anansi Boys anytime soon.
A note about this audio edition. I didn't particularly love the reader. I think I might have liked him in a non-fiction book because he has a very nice voice, but I hated the way he did the dialogue, especially the female characters. I much preferred The Graveyard Book audiobook, which was read by Gaiman himself.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I found this book disappointing. It seemed like such a good idea and I felt confident that Gaiman could deliver. I enjoyed the young adults books of his that I've read (The Graveyard Book and Coraline), and his fairy tales for adults (Stardust and Neverwhere), but I'm not sure that a novel is really his thing. It was too complicated and rambling, too self-indulgent. I can tell which characters he loves to write because they won't shut up! I found the language trite and uninspired, which I guess has a certain power when in a fairy tale, but is a real drawback in a novel and is really apparent when you're listening to an audiobook. I would still like to read the Sandman series, because I've heard so much about it, but I don't think I'll be reading Anansi Boys anytime soon.
A note about this audio edition. I didn't particularly love the reader. I think I might have liked him in a non-fiction book because he has a very nice voice, but I hated the way he did the dialogue, especially the female characters. I much preferred The Graveyard Book audiobook, which was read by Gaiman himself.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i love this book. it hurts to rate it this low, when a year or two ago i would’ve rated it 5 stars. but i will never be able to read it the same again, not after everything has come out about Neil Gaiman.
This really should have been three books, or three volumes. The lives of gods currently, the impending war and the Midwestern showdown. Each plot or arc tends to be interrupted by the other arcs and it is really distracting. Everytime I would finally get into a portion of the book it would end for some random parallel part to begin and this was really irritating.
The premise of the book is actually really interesting and I felt like there was so much left on the table with what could have been done in this idea of old vs new gods. What I read here was mid, lackluster, mediocre perhaps (again, could have been remedied in a proportional volume).
There are some odd romance scenes that just seemed unnecessary and really made for a more awkward reading experience, This leads to my last thought.
Lastly, this book is in a style of writing that I really am not a fan of. There would be pages that would ramble on about driving somewhere, but then truly important information would be mentioned in passing. This book should be a TV show on TBS or HBO, for 500+ pages of writing there's really not a great deal of analysis one has to put into understanding the plot. This book is not a grand piece of literature that reveals something about the human condition. This seems like a notch above Dean Koontz but maybe not much better than Stephen King, no offense to either author.
The premise of the book is actually really interesting and I felt like there was so much left on the table with what could have been done in this idea of old vs new gods. What I read here was mid, lackluster, mediocre perhaps (again, could have been remedied in a proportional volume).
There are some odd romance scenes that just seemed unnecessary and really made for a more awkward reading experience, This leads to my last thought.
Lastly, this book is in a style of writing that I really am not a fan of. There would be pages that would ramble on about driving somewhere, but then truly important information would be mentioned in passing. This book should be a TV show on TBS or HBO, for 500+ pages of writing there's really not a great deal of analysis one has to put into understanding the plot. This book is not a grand piece of literature that reveals something about the human condition. This seems like a notch above Dean Koontz but maybe not much better than Stephen King, no offense to either author.