Title: American Gods
Author: Neil Gaiman
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 624

Summary
Shadow is released from prison after finding out his wife has died. Unsure of what to do with himself, he joins up with a mysterious man and launches into a journey of self discovery which eventually expands outwards into a journey examining the very fabric of spirituality (not religion, exactly) in the united states.

Notes (Some Spoilers)
This is a fantastic book, and the second book by Neil Gaiman that I’ve read. He’s quickly becoming one of my favorite authors for his ability to entwine multiple plot-lines into one cohesive unit and add hooks and twists to early parts of the book that don’t immediately call attention to themselves (“Oh, so the cat likes to eat tofu. That was random…I bet that’ll be used later”)

But it has the feel of more than just a good work of fiction. Through his story, Mr. Gaiman also casts a critical eye over the spirituality of the entire nation, offering an outsiders perspective on the way our spirituality has changed from the time our ancestors arrived in various ways bringing with them their gods from the old world and how, as time went on people began to lose sight of where they came from, caught up in the next big thing.

The last…oh, half of this book just snared me and I basically couldn’t put the book down. I sometimes zone out when characters engage in dreams and wacky spiritual trips through their own subconscious but that wasn’t the case here. I was glued to the story and left wondering what would happen next. Everything is intertwined from the beginning of the book all the way through to the end in a way that you don’t see coming and yet is believable once all is revealed.

My one small complaint is that some of the interludes between chapters, explaining how various gods arrived in the new world were a bit rough to get through. They tended to happen right as the book was getting good and I was more interested in continuing the story than being diverted.

But overall, I highly, highly recommend this book.

Next Book
The newest Sword and Laser book has been announced, so I think that’s what I’ll be reading next. The book: The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. Headed back into Sci-fi land for this one. I know nothing about the author or the book, so I’m hoping this’ll be a fun ride.