willbybee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
4.0
riccii's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
sorman0110's review against another edition
5.0
The first book I read by Neil Gaiman was, "The Ocean at the End of the Lane," and unfortunately, I wasn't a big fan. I seriously thought that would be the last book I read by Gaiman. Luckily, my son convinced me to read American Gods, and I am glad he did. I loved the story line, characters, theme; everything about this book is excellently written!
I love it when an author that I hadn't given much thought to, surprises me with a piece of literature that truly inspires me!
I love it when an author that I hadn't given much thought to, surprises me with a piece of literature that truly inspires me!
aleksito's review against another edition
4.0
Most of this book was pretty mid. Didn’t love it or hate it (besides the stuff that needs skipping). 3 stars.
BUT the last 130 or so pages were superb. It went a direction I was not expecting at all. 5 stars.
So that evens out to 4 stars.
BUT the last 130 or so pages were superb. It went a direction I was not expecting at all. 5 stars.
So that evens out to 4 stars.
dkpalmer13's review against another edition
4.0
Great read. As with all Neil Gaiman books, this was great (and occasionally gruesome) fun and thought-provoking. I love that he always seems to draw me out of the well-worn grooves of my thought patterns to consider other perspectives--and makes it fun.
This is one of those books where as many allusions as you notice, you know you're missing so many more--more to discover the next time through.
This is one of those books where as many allusions as you notice, you know you're missing so many more--more to discover the next time through.
daniel_macdougall's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
ravenousrose's review against another edition
2.0
In general, I adore Neil Gaiman’s work. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this one. I couldn’t get attached to the characters and some of the disturbing scenes were too disturbing for me to move past. The “reverse birth” scene in particular was just… messed up. Maybe I’m wimpy, but it is what it is.
itzami's review against another edition
5.0
If you want characters with personality, make them gods and they’ll put everything out there!
Honestly, that was my favourite part of the book: the personalities; although the gods do like their metaphors, they also enjoy their sharp sense of humour and I think is so ‘easy’ to read thanks to their heavy lifting!
Pros:
- getting to read about all the gods you know of and geek about is like going to a high school reunion but just with the people that you like!
- the story has a good pace to it and although it throws a lot of stuff to you, it doesn’t feel that overwhelming
- the narrator: the type of narrative is just my type of thing - kinda rambling, kinda pointing out the obvious, kinda describing everything that it sees
Cons:
- Part 4 was a bit rough for me; I felt like some conclusions fell into place from nowhere and I think that that’s a common issue with large books - you want to refer to something that happened at the beginning of the story but you need to lean on the chance of the reader to remember it
Definitely gonna read more stuff from Neil Gaiman!
Honestly, that was my favourite part of the book: the personalities; although the gods do like their metaphors, they also enjoy their sharp sense of humour and I think is so ‘easy’ to read thanks to their heavy lifting!
Pros:
- getting to read about all the gods you know of and geek about is like going to a high school reunion but just with the people that you like!
- the story has a good pace to it and although it throws a lot of stuff to you, it doesn’t feel that overwhelming
- the narrator: the type of narrative is just my type of thing - kinda rambling, kinda pointing out the obvious, kinda describing everything that it sees
Cons:
- Part 4 was a bit rough for me; I felt like some conclusions fell into place from nowhere and I think that that’s a common issue with large books - you want to refer to something that happened at the beginning of the story but you need to lean on the chance of the reader to remember it
Definitely gonna read more stuff from Neil Gaiman!