American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Summary:
"The central premise of the novel is that gods and mythological creatures exist because people believe in them. Immigrants to the United States, brought with them their beliefs in leprechauns, dwarves, and other spirits and gods. Over time, Americans' beliefs and allegiances have changed. Devotion to older gods have given way to devotion to newer more materialistic gods, reflecting America's obsession with the Internet, technology, and media. The power of the older gods has diminished as people's beliefs wane, and there is only so much belief to go around, which leads to a battle between the old gods and the new ones.

Leading us on this journey is Shadow, who upon his release from prison learns that his wife has just died in a car accident, leaving him without a job or anyone to come home to. On the plane ride home for her funeral, Shadow meets "Mr. Wednesday", who wants to hire Shadow to be his chauffeur, errand boy, and body guard. Being an ex-con without a job, Shadow reluctantly takes him up on the offer. The two depart on a road trip across America to assemble the old gods and prepare for the upcoming battle. "

Review:
There's definitely an epic feel to this book, it's a fantasy classic everyone should read, but like many classics, it's not an easy or fast read. There are some times where it drags a bit and the reader is struggling to figure out how all the pieces fit into the plot of the story. I think it's during this struggle that we realize what this book is really about. The gods and their desire to gain power is all there, but as Mr. Wednesday would say, that's just misdirection. While we're focused on the gods and their aforementioned battle, it's Shadow's journey that's the real point of the story.

Shadow is a guy whp sort of drifts through life. Life happens to him more than he makes things happen. Through the tasks and work he must do for Mr. Wednesday, Shadow learns about himself, and must examine who he really is and who he wants to become. It's about who he meets along the way and how they change him. By the end, we see Shadow's journey has just begun.

Gaiman is a master storyteller who brilliantly distracts us with one thing while surprising us with something totally different; a story we didn't even know we were looking for. Though I have unanswered questions, and am left wishing more explanation was given, I still feel satisfied because the book was so well written and the characters were so interesting.

The carousel at "House on the Rock" in Wisconsin, an attraction featured in the book.

Warning Spoilers:
Here is a list of a few unanswered questions that I and my fellow book club members had:

-Why do the gods want to fight? Wednesday needs deaths in his name, so his motivation is understandable, (as is Loki's) but why do the other gods want to fight? Is it for sport? Why is it a benefit to the gods themselves, it doesn't gain them followers or "belief", which is how they get power.

-Shadow "discovers" Wednesday's plot in the end, he just suddenly "knows" the truth. How?

-And after discovering the master plan, Shadow defuses the fight in 1/2 a page, and everyone is so uninvested in fighting in general that some dude saying "you know you shouldn't be fighting" is enough to make an army of age old gods stop without any questions or objections. It's just done.

-There's no epic battle at the end. It's sort of like the end of "Good Omens" where you have this build up and expectation of some action, but then nothing. The difference between the end of American Gods and Good Omens is that in American Gods you realize that the value of the story was all about getting to the battle.

-It would have been nice in this "battle" between the gods if it was explained how the gods "die". If the reason why the gods exist is because people believe in them, than how can Loki kill the god of the Internet? People still "believe" in the internet; killing "Internet" does nothing to solve the problem of belief, and seemingly has no impact on the old gods, or on the actual Internet.


Bottom Line: A story about a road trip through America and the strange beings met along the way. A unique study in humanity through the eyes of an ex-con, as he realizes that he merely drifts through life as a spectator, never going after what he wants. While not perfect, still an amazing book. Grade: B+.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Summery: "There is a distinct hint of Armageddon in the air. According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (recorded, thankfully, in 1655, before she blew up her entire village and all its inhabitants, who had gathered to watch her burn), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, the Four Bikers of the Apocalypse are revving up their mighty hogs and hitting the road, and the world's last two remaining witch-finders are getting ready to fight the good fight, armed with awkwardly antiquated instructions and stick pins. Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. . . . Right. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except that a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon -- each of whom has lived among Earth's mortals for many millennia and has grown rather fond of the lifestyle -- are not particularly looking forward to the coming Rapture. If Crowley and Aziraphale are going to stop it from happening, they've got to find and kill the Antichrist (which is a shame, as he's a really nice kid). There's just one glitch: someone seems to have misplaced him. . ." -From Gaiman's website.

Review: I feel bad writing a less then stellar review for this book. It seems like not loving this book will cost me my seat at the "cool kids table". This is the first satire I've read. And while it was funny I found myself so fixated on every line of the book, trying to tie together in my mind why every detail was included, that it took me three times as long to read as it should have. I was told I should "skim it", but I'm a terrible "skimmer". I read for detail and continued story, this book is full of digressions with a slow moving story weaved in. It feels almost like Gaiman and Pratchett got a little too clever for their own good. They took the wit and hilarity a couple steps too far, making the book way longer then it needed to be.

That being said, the book IS very clever. Gaiman and Pratchett obviously did their research and their take on the Apocalypse is original and funny. I particularly liked the interaction between Aziraphale and Crowley. And the hilarious take on the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. I really think this book would make a fantastic movie, that way some of the excess incidental stuff could be toned down and the basic story and humor could be seen.

Bottom line: If your looking for an action packed apocalypse, look somewhere else. If you're looking for a meandering, humorous story that takes it's time getting to the finish line, this is the book for you.