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Has anybody read American Gods?

S

Samurai Chicken

New Member
It's a very different type of modern fantasy, by Neil Gaiman, dealing with mythology. One of the best books I've ever read, so give it a look on amazon.

To those who have read it: what did you think of it?
 
nope

Nope haven't read it but I love Greek mythology. I read alot of fantasy but haven't found much as good as the old school...Drangonlance Chronicles/Legends Trilogy...etc
 
Have you read the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin? Those are spectacular fantasy books set in a medieval setting. They're much darker, and more adult books. Filled with politics, intrigue, assassination, battles, and more...

It's another awesome book!
 
Yes I have! I agree those books were awesome. I wish they wouldn't have killed off as many wolves as they did in "Game of Thrones". Murder and compiracy in a fantasy setting was fantastic.
 
I read American Gods a few months ago and really enjoyed it. I've picked up a copy of "Neverwhere", also by Neil Gaiman, to read this summer while on vacation.

Ell
 
I've read American Gods as well. I must say: there's not much Gaiman does that I don't like.
 
I just finished American Gods. It was great. But I was a little confused at the end. When Shadow is talking to the real Odin (I'm guessing he's the real one that's part of why I'm confused), Shadow asked who Wednesday was and Odin Replies..."YOU"...is this just referring to the fact that Shawdow is Wednesday son or is there something more there???
 
I loved American Gods, it was suggested by a friend and had a good review in SFX (SciFi magazine) so i picked up a copy at Waterstones - its a genuinly excellent book, disturbing and thought provoking, especially as i love mythology :)

As to your question kasstorr, i have no idea, i may have to go read the last pages again now!
 
American Gods is one of my favourite books! Neil Gaiman rocks :)

Did wonder why Jesus wasn't in it though...not that I missed him lol
 
Well, that would bring us to another discussion, wouldn't it: is Jesus God, or is he son of God?
 
I'm not exactly an expert but I thought they were meant to be one & the same thing? And Gaiman, as far as I noticed, hasn't included either of them, seperately or as a single entity. Just musing if he's making a point...I've been an English student too long methinks! :rolleyes:
 
Well, i dont know about making a point, but the book doesnt feature any Monotheistic religions, just polytheistic pantheons such as the Norse, Egyptians and various folk races and heroes from around the globe - i have to say that it is a meticulously researched piece of work :)
 
Originally posted by SpiderMouse
I'm not exactly an expert but I thought they were meant to be one & the same thing?
Click to expand...
That depends on whoever's answering your question I guess.

For instance, Arians don't think Jesus is God: he is the instrument of God, a prophet, and the most perfect human being. There's no mention of the holy trinity in Arian religion. Nestorianism on the other hand states that Christ was both human and divine, in which case Mary is the mother of the human aspect of Jesus, and God is the father of the divine aspect. Monophysites disagree with that as well: in their view, Jesus has but one "nature": the divine one.

All these "religions" have been accused of heresy at one point or other through time, but although they're old, they still show how the subject of Christ being God (or not) has always been a sensitive one.

--

For anyone who's interested: here's a page someone made about American Gods: it has the gods mapped, and you get to see a couple of pictures of the House on the Rock. It's not the prettiest page ever made, but let's just look at the content here, right?

http://www.frowl.org/gods/

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Phil, I'd never even thought of that. I wonder why he didn't use monotheïstic religions. Maybe because there wouldn't be a war going on if it was only one god?
 
I ended up making notes of stuff to look up later the whole time I was reading it! Bits of poems and obscure gods, I ended up reading pages and pages.

The war's goin on between the old gods and the new ones though isn't it? Though I suppose that God in the Christian sense wouldn't really feel the need to join in, specially in America! And I can't see Buddha steaming in with an AK47...
 
Thread I command you: arise and live again!!

Anyway, I finished this book recently and loved it. In reference to the above question about Shadow, I believe the consensus on who Shadow really is, is
Baldur or Baldr.
According to the message boards at Gaiman's site, he has actually admitted this to more than one fan.The question that burns me is who is the 'forgotten god'? There are a number of ideas floating about, if anyone wants me to compile them here I'll do it because the thread at Gaiman's site is like 13 pages long.

And for Buddha not being invited because he's not a god, there are numerous instances of non-gods being involved in the battle, such as Anansi, Medusa, Johnny Appleseed and 'Whiskey Jack', and the Ifrit among others.
 
One other thing, even though Jesus wasn't technically in the book, they did mention him. I don't remember who it was, maybe Whiskey Jack? He said Jesus was doing pretty well in America, but in Afghanistan he saw him hitchhiking on the side of the road and no one would give him a lift.
 
I thought that this book was absolutely brilliant.
spoilerish:
The way I understood it, was that America for whatever reason, is a land whose people cannot sustain gods. And although this book concerns itself a lot with the struggle between old gods and new gods, it seems to me that perhaps America is a land where also the new gods are struggling to survive.
 
I too, enjoyed the book very much. As with lies, I'm a big fan of Gaiman, and I'm pretty familiar with his work.

One thing I did think of while reading American Gods was how he recycled his ideas from the Sandman into the book. Sure, not everything made it to the novel, and the Endless wasn't in sight, but it was familiar territory. This is one reason why I wasn't totally blown away, as many who aren't familiar with Gaiman's work are.

That said, he's a pretty stylish writer, and the novel was pretty damn cool.

I say, if you like American Gods, read his Sandman stuff.

ds
 
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