Neil Gaiman’s American Gods

You know all those old ancient Gods that humanity used to worship back in the day? Well, they’re still hanging around. The only problem is that without that constant devotion from the general public, they’re powers aren’t as strong as they used to be. Bring in the newly worshiped! The new Gods of media, technology and celebrity. They want to wipe out the Gods of old. Oh, there’s a storm on the horizon alright and it’s time to see who will win in a battle between the old guard and the new. 

I had a lot of trouble with this book. I flip-flopped back and forth on whether I liked it more than well, a pair of flip-flops. The concept is brilliant, I loved it more than I can probably describe here. It’s just Gaiman’s execution that had me struggling with the material. 

I found the content so boring at times which made it beyond frustrating given how much I adored the ideas presented by the author. I did enjoy the banter and blossoming relationship between Wednesday and Shadow, with Shadow developing into a pretty interesting character. His subplot with his wife kept me interested throughout and those he encounters in Lakeside fit in nicely as a strong supporting cast. 

I really dug what Gaiman presented here. The idea alone is saving the overall score but everything felt like such a mess at times I found myself unable to really focus. I’ll probably get some serious backlash for not loving this one but this is just one man’s experience in the face of many positive reviews. 

I’m not ready to form an opinion on Gaiman as a writer yet, I just don’t know where to go from here.


3/5