American Gods by Neil Gaiman

[Guynemer]

Has anyone else read this? This is one of the most amazing novels I have ever read. Intense, funny, frightening, shocking, hallucinatory... just plain ****ing awesome.

[Lorizael]

American Gods was a thoroughly enjoyable novel with a thoroughly disappointing ending.

[GePap]

I remember liking it when I read it, but I have forgotten much of the plot by now. Of course, I own it, so I guess I can refresh myself at any time.

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by Lorizael
American Gods was a thoroughly enjoyable novel with a thoroughly disappointing ending.

How so?

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by Guynemer
How so?

It's been awhile for me, too, so I don't quite remember why I hold this opinion. I think it has to do with the fact that at the end, the whole plot is just a random power struggle. I was expecting some greater revelation about what the gods were, and it wasn't there.

[snoopy369]

Quite amazing indeed I'm waiting for someone to make a movie out of this ... the problem is, who would make it decently. (Perhaps the Coen brothers?) It's just so ... weird, I'd be sure any movie made out of it would fail to grasp the essential Gaiman quality.

Anansi Boys was pretty decent also, but not nearly as good. Coraline was probably my second favorite of his ... which is being made into a (3D) movie coming out sometime this year I believe.

[Agathon]

My wife has this book. I suppose I could try reading it.

[snoopy369]

Be warned, Gaiman is very brutal to preformed philosophy...

There's every chance you might come out of the experience a PC-loving engineer

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by Lorizael
It's been awhile for me, too, so I don't quite remember why I hold this opinion. I think it has to do with the fact that at the end, the whole plot is just a random power struggle.

At the end it is revealed that this is not just a random power struggle at all...



I certainly hope it does NOT get made into a movie, snoop, for the reason you described. However, I think it might just make a total kick-ass HBO series.

[snoopy369]

That's even scarier ... HBO would do all sorts of weird things to it.

[Imran Siddiqui]

It's pretty good. I liked the twist in the ending, but for some reason I felt they could have done more with it.

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by Guynemer
At the end it is revealed that this is not just a random power struggle at all...

I find it amusing that we disagree so fundamentally on this. Why do you believe it was not just a random power struggle?

[Guynemer]

Well, at risk of spoiling the book for those who have not read it... all novel long a "random power stuggle" is set up between old gods and modern gods; at the end, it is shown to be an elaborate long-con for the benefit of two old gods, and not a random power stuggle at all.

[Lorizael]

Yes. Poor word choice on my part, due at least a little bit to me not remembering the plot quite right. What Loki and Wednesday were engaged in wasn't really a power struggle, no, since no one was even aware enough to struggle with them. It was just a gambit for more power.

And that's my fundamental problem with the novel. You have this god war brewing the whole time, but there's the sense that there's more going on beneath the surface. But at the end you find out that it's all surface - all just gods vying for power, but not quite the way you thought it was happening.

Two ancient and terrible gods, and they're just con artists? Disappointing.

*shrug* Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the novel quite a bit.

[Tuberski]

I read it, enjoyed it and have forgotten it.
It wasn't a great book, but well worth the read.

ACK!