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crickedcactus's review against another edition
4.0
Nothing like I am used to reading from Neil Gaiman. I always enjoyed his YA books, and this is one of his more adult books, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out to be. It is definitely an entertaining book. I liked it but I expected more. The story proposed is interesting, with gods fueled by belief and the new gods representing modern concepts, but for some reasons I thought it would have more action, and it took me a long time to hook me.
Even so, I would recommend it, the story is very well written, and the ending is incredible.
Even so, I would recommend it, the story is very well written, and the ending is incredible.
aceinit's review against another edition
3.0
American Gods is something of a contradiction for me. It is a beautiful journey, but not necessarily an interesting story. I loved the mythology of it, seeing how deities from a variety of different pantheons ended up—and survive and try to thrive in—middle America. But as for the story of Shadow himself, and of Laura, I just never was quite able to care as much as I wanted to.
He was, as Laura described him, a character who wasn’t really there. A kind of oddly blank, nonexistent slate who was surrounded by a host of fascinating people and things, but who himself was never a character I grew to care about. I never cared for Laura either. Not when she was alive, because she obviously wasn’t a very good wife to Shadow, and not once she was dead for most of the same reasons.
There is the problem of the climax—a war between the old gods and new—that never actually comes to pass.
The gods, both old and new, were far more fascinating to interact with than Shadow and his wife. My particular favorites were the Zoryas and the entire Egyptian pantheon. But they were dragged down by Shadow’s meandering journey of a tale, appearing brightly and often briefly, only to be forgotten as the story progressed. There’s a metaphor there, I suppose, and probably an intentional one.
The entire book is like a road trip—where you drive past a lot of odd or interesting things and stop and visit for a while, but somehow never fully engage.
I hate that I am so indifferent to this book, because so many people sing its praises. I love Gaiman as a comic writer. His Sandman series remains one of the most fantastic things I have ever experienced on the page and, given the amount of overlap and similarities between the two projects, I feel like I should love American Gods far more than I actually did. For some reason, I can’t get the hang of Gaiman the novelist, and it frustrates me to no end.
He was, as Laura described him, a character who wasn’t really there. A kind of oddly blank, nonexistent slate who was surrounded by a host of fascinating people and things, but who himself was never a character I grew to care about. I never cared for Laura either. Not when she was alive, because she obviously wasn’t a very good wife to Shadow, and not once she was dead for most of the same reasons.
There is the problem of the climax—a war between the old gods and new—that never actually comes to pass.
The gods, both old and new, were far more fascinating to interact with than Shadow and his wife. My particular favorites were the Zoryas and the entire Egyptian pantheon. But they were dragged down by Shadow’s meandering journey of a tale, appearing brightly and often briefly, only to be forgotten as the story progressed. There’s a metaphor there, I suppose, and probably an intentional one.
The entire book is like a road trip—where you drive past a lot of odd or interesting things and stop and visit for a while, but somehow never fully engage.
I hate that I am so indifferent to this book, because so many people sing its praises. I love Gaiman as a comic writer. His Sandman series remains one of the most fantastic things I have ever experienced on the page and, given the amount of overlap and similarities between the two projects, I feel like I should love American Gods far more than I actually did. For some reason, I can’t get the hang of Gaiman the novelist, and it frustrates me to no end.
rlaybourn730's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? No
4.75
blogthatbook's review against another edition
3.0
I suppose I should start this review with the fact that I did not finish this book, sorry diehard Gaiman fans. Actually, the truth is, I couldn't finish it. I hit page 180, the beginning of part two and after trying my hardest to stick with it I simply had to call it a day. Honestly? I was just bored, and there are so many other books out there to try that it's crazy not to move on if a book isn't doing it for you.
Now, if you know my rating system (you can find it on my profile), you must be wondering why I gave a rating of three stars and not one for a DNF as my rating suggests. Well read on and I'll try to shed a little light.
This is my first foray into a Neil Gaiman book. I know he has a big following and a large body of work spanning a good many years so I really wanted to see what he was all about. I was sure his work would be something I'd enjoy, simply because of his past success and the amount of readers who rate him highly. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
American Gods meanders along with no real direction or premise, at least up until the point I read to. Gaiman just seems to pontificate. We just seem to be subjected to drawn-out descriptions of a variety of observations the author wanted to get down on paper. Now don't get me wrong, meandery prose can be something I love but the thing is the prose has to be good, mesmerizing, something that simply sweeps you away no matter what the premise. And yet I found Gaiman's prose to be bland at best, which was an absolute shock to me. I was actually expecting brilliance from the man, which I know he can produce because I've seen quotes and snippets, but certainly not in these pages. That's the way I see it anyway, and with that you'd definitely be expecting a one star review. But no, read on.
I closed the book yesterday and gave myself last night and all of today to contemplate. And what I realised was, there isn't anything wrong with this book at all, the problems I pick up from books I review tend to be what I think are technical issues, but here I don't think that's the case. There is no fault, there is simply a differing in tastes, it's just not my thing. But the thing is, after thinking on it, I can definitely see how this could be utterly absorbing for the type of reader with a certain mindset. I don't think this book is actually meant to be your usual beginning, middle and end story, I think it's meant to be an immersion into a seemingly normal world which regularly explodes with the fantastical. Perhaps Giaman's idea was to have the reader feel as bewildered and listless as Shadow, the main character, and I guess I like to have a defined premise, direction and complete explanations.
Sorry Fred, I really did try.
Now, if you know my rating system (you can find it on my profile), you must be wondering why I gave a rating of three stars and not one for a DNF as my rating suggests. Well read on and I'll try to shed a little light.
This is my first foray into a Neil Gaiman book. I know he has a big following and a large body of work spanning a good many years so I really wanted to see what he was all about. I was sure his work would be something I'd enjoy, simply because of his past success and the amount of readers who rate him highly. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
American Gods meanders along with no real direction or premise, at least up until the point I read to. Gaiman just seems to pontificate. We just seem to be subjected to drawn-out descriptions of a variety of observations the author wanted to get down on paper. Now don't get me wrong, meandery prose can be something I love but the thing is the prose has to be good, mesmerizing, something that simply sweeps you away no matter what the premise. And yet I found Gaiman's prose to be bland at best, which was an absolute shock to me. I was actually expecting brilliance from the man, which I know he can produce because I've seen quotes and snippets, but certainly not in these pages. That's the way I see it anyway, and with that you'd definitely be expecting a one star review. But no, read on.
I closed the book yesterday and gave myself last night and all of today to contemplate. And what I realised was, there isn't anything wrong with this book at all, the problems I pick up from books I review tend to be what I think are technical issues, but here I don't think that's the case. There is no fault, there is simply a differing in tastes, it's just not my thing. But the thing is, after thinking on it, I can definitely see how this could be utterly absorbing for the type of reader with a certain mindset. I don't think this book is actually meant to be your usual beginning, middle and end story, I think it's meant to be an immersion into a seemingly normal world which regularly explodes with the fantastical. Perhaps Giaman's idea was to have the reader feel as bewildered and listless as Shadow, the main character, and I guess I like to have a defined premise, direction and complete explanations.
Sorry Fred, I really did try.
shanayaareads's review against another edition
5.0
I’m finally finished with this novel and I am literally at a loss for words.
American Gods is hands down one of the best novels I have ever read and has definitely solidified itself amongst some of my favorites. Neil Gaiman is such a phenomenal writer, I can’t even begin to explain how invested I was in this novel from the start to the finish. There’s an almost cinematic quality to the way he writes; the entire time it was as if a movie was playing in my head as I read. (I think this is one of the identifying factors of a good writer—how cinematically the words translate)
I can wax poetic for an age about how good this book was (well not really. I’m not nearly an eloquent writer or reviewer as I would like to be) but you get the point.
Every character introduced in this story was so interesting and I had a hell of a time trying to identify them; I got most of them. The ones I didn’t get; I wanted to smack myself for. The most obvious one came with the biggest plot twist and I almost threw the book because I hadn’t seen it. I took too much at face value.
Even still, that characters reveal wasn’t nearly as shocking as the revelation of Shadow’s parentage and I should have seen that from the start. But everything subsequently fell into place for me when it became clear who his father was. But at every turn this novel was a ride i loved.
Shadow truly has to be one of my favorite heroes in a novel and at every turn I was invested in his story. He was funny without trying to be and so insightful, despite the fact that everyone around him believed him to be without sense. I think that’s what made him such a great character; not being able to predict his next move or his next thought.
I wish that I could eloquently talk about the metaphors or whatever, in the new gods vs old gods and all that; but I can’t. I’m not nearly smart enough to do that, but I think American Gods is just one of those books that everybody has to read at least once and I can’t believe it took me this long to do it.
American Gods is hands down one of the best novels I have ever read and has definitely solidified itself amongst some of my favorites. Neil Gaiman is such a phenomenal writer, I can’t even begin to explain how invested I was in this novel from the start to the finish. There’s an almost cinematic quality to the way he writes; the entire time it was as if a movie was playing in my head as I read. (I think this is one of the identifying factors of a good writer—how cinematically the words translate)
I can wax poetic for an age about how good this book was (well not really. I’m not nearly an eloquent writer or reviewer as I would like to be) but you get the point.
Every character introduced in this story was so interesting and I had a hell of a time trying to identify them; I got most of them. The ones I didn’t get; I wanted to smack myself for. The most obvious one came with the biggest plot twist and I almost threw the book because I hadn’t seen it. I took too much at face value.
Even still, that characters reveal wasn’t nearly as shocking as the revelation of Shadow’s parentage and I should have seen that from the start. But everything subsequently fell into place for me when it became clear who his father was. But at every turn this novel was a ride i loved.
Shadow truly has to be one of my favorite heroes in a novel and at every turn I was invested in his story. He was funny without trying to be and so insightful, despite the fact that everyone around him believed him to be without sense. I think that’s what made him such a great character; not being able to predict his next move or his next thought.
I wish that I could eloquently talk about the metaphors or whatever, in the new gods vs old gods and all that; but I can’t. I’m not nearly smart enough to do that, but I think American Gods is just one of those books that everybody has to read at least once and I can’t believe it took me this long to do it.
balladyna's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
bebe_elise's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
daniiuniverse's review against another edition
1/1/24...trying to watch the show while reading the book.
sydgolt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0