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A review by lanternatomika
The Monarch of the Glen by Neil Gaiman
4.0
Sometimes you just can't escape the shadow of who you are, amirite?
The Monarch of the Glen is a sequel novella to Neil Gaiman's epic American Gods. Side-stepping the note that the novel ended on, sadly, this book finds Shadow in Scotland. He's been backpacking across Europe for the last two years, wondering when he'll return to America. One night, sitting at a bar, Dr Gaskell recruits him to be a bouncer at a mysterious party going down at an abandoned old building, and Shadow really should've known better than to accept a job like that
Much like American Gods, The Monarch of the Glen essentially translates a mythological trope into a real-ish world setting. This is not Scottish Gods, and there's only one god in this book (to tell you who that is would spoil American Gods, but I can tell you it's not who you're thinking it is); rather, this book is more about the stories of monsters fighting men and how a history of such battles might lead to some interesting traditions in the present
This is a pretty short book that stays on point with the plot and I can't say much for spoiler reasons. It's a nice return to life with Shadow Moon, the man who doesn't like to talk but attracts conversation with every single person that passes him by. While I enjoyed the read, I wouldn't even say it's a must-read, but if you got through all of American Gods, you can stay on Shadow's journey for a bit longer
I also want to give props to Daniel Egneus for this gorgeous illustrations. They're a bit abstract and caught me off guard at first, but I came to dig this style a lot. Thumbs up for that
(Also, thanks to Headline for including a ribbon bookmark with this book, even though most people are gonna read through this in a single sitting)
The Monarch of the Glen is a sequel novella to Neil Gaiman's epic American Gods. Side-stepping the note that the novel ended on, sadly, this book finds Shadow in Scotland. He's been backpacking across Europe for the last two years, wondering when he'll return to America. One night, sitting at a bar, Dr Gaskell recruits him to be a bouncer at a mysterious party going down at an abandoned old building, and Shadow really should've known better than to accept a job like that
Much like American Gods, The Monarch of the Glen essentially translates a mythological trope into a real-ish world setting. This is not Scottish Gods, and there's only one god in this book (to tell you who that is would spoil American Gods, but I can tell you it's not who you're thinking it is); rather, this book is more about the stories of monsters fighting men and how a history of such battles might lead to some interesting traditions in the present
This is a pretty short book that stays on point with the plot and I can't say much for spoiler reasons. It's a nice return to life with Shadow Moon, the man who doesn't like to talk but attracts conversation with every single person that passes him by. While I enjoyed the read, I wouldn't even say it's a must-read, but if you got through all of American Gods, you can stay on Shadow's journey for a bit longer
I also want to give props to Daniel Egneus for this gorgeous illustrations. They're a bit abstract and caught me off guard at first, but I came to dig this style a lot. Thumbs up for that
(Also, thanks to Headline for including a ribbon bookmark with this book, even though most people are gonna read through this in a single sitting)