Book Review: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

This is my first time reading Neil Gaiman, having decided to give him a try after his excellent episode of a recent Dr Who, where the Tardis become personified as a woman.

This particular story involves the premise the gods and mythical creatures from all major pantheons are alive and well and living as (mostly) people (except the Greek and Roman pantheons – they seem absent) in America – ostensibly because people from all across the world that believed in them migrated to America.  However, the old gods are fading as less and less people actively believe in them, whilst new gods (such as TV, the motorcar, etc) are rising.  The main protganist is a man who gets sucked into this by one of the old Gods to help gather the old gods into a coherent force, as this old god believes the new gods are trying to actively destroy the old gods.

He’s an efficient writer, keeping a good balance of dialogue, narrative drive, and interesting asides that inform and enrich the story. The story is twisty enough to not see the turns coming, and I thought I’d spotted the ending half-way through – and was completely wrong.  It takes an unexpected path and avoids what looks like the predictable ending, and keeps readable and engaging to the end.
Rating: ODD, 7.5/10
Suitable for older teens upwards