Reviews

American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman

babythunder7's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

readingwithstardust's review against another edition

I've had this book on my shelf for the better part of 10 years.  Bad Time to finally get around to reading it but I needed to know before I decide if I'm going to purge my small collection of his books on principle.  I'm almost grateful the allegations came out before I read it so I could keep an appropriate distance, because unfortunately this book was very to my taste.  The only Gaiman book I had liked better than this on first read was Neverwhere (Sandman notwithstanding).

That said, the recent exposure of Gaiman's personal actions definitely colored my reading of.. literally every female character in this book.. in a way I almost definitely wouldn't have picked up on had I read it when I bought it so long ago, which made for a fair bit of necessary discomfort.

ryleighjosephine's review against another edition

4.0

“America is not a good land for gods.”
4.25

thedigitaldash_'s review against another edition

4.0

this book was published in 2001 so i want to account for that. however, i think it brings up a great question about appropriations in literature. there’s a section in this book that’s essentially a tale about transatlantic slavery, and it times it felt self-indulgent as written from the perspective of a white man. i know it was written in a different time but, it was very questionable to me. another issue i had is that occasionally, gaiman overexplained plot points as if he didn’t trust his audience to understand what happened. it killed the cleverness and momentum of the plot and his writing.

i know i just complained but despite that, i loved this book. i really did fall in love with the atmosphere and the characters. it definitely felt dated, but i can’t say i didn’t enjoy it.

miaaajo's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

artistsallie's review against another edition

1.0

Percy Jackson, Noragami, and other properties have used similar premises with better results. I almost DNF'd the book multiple times because of the explicit scenes and lack of direction for 80% of the novel. Because the main character (Shadow) is a blank canvas throughout, things just seem to happen to him without any interesting discussion. While I can see the empty space being helpful for a a reader thinking through American Nationalism and the roles of legends, myths, and folktales in modern society, the actual plot of the book was all over the place.
Even when things finally happen/are revealed, it doesn't give closure to the various characters that have been introduced throughout the journey. I was honestly bored at times in the midst of death, war, and sacred rituals.
Altogether I simply just did not enjoy this novel. I'll likely try other of Gaiman's works to see if any of them grab me, but I felt that this book did not fully explore its own world enough to make the read worth the time.

adalove's review against another edition

5.0

A very good read. I picked up the annotated edition, and though, as warned, some of the annotations inevitably contained spoilers, those spoilers didn't sully my experience with this novel, and in fact left me feeling like I got a lot more from the book, with regards to an interest in mythology and what not. Perhaps some would prefer to read without any spoilers, in which case I'd highly recommend the annotated version only on a second reading, but nevertheless, this was a very thought provoking and captivating book.

crhistoph's review against another edition

3.0

I thought that the vignettes were the strongest parts of the book (the cab-driving Ifrit, the Queen of Sheba as prostitute) and would gladly have taken more of them at the expense of the main plot which I felt I got the point of long before it wrapped up.

annaloveshedgehogs's review against another edition

3.0

Really 3.5 or even 3.75. I liked it a lot, but it just was too long and either it or I ran out of steam. I did really like the main character.

bobsmegdorf's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad 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? Yes

5.0

Incredibly written book, great characters, intriguing plot, and a pretty relaxing read as well. It truly is a shame about the author.