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I read this book about 1-Jul-2001. This is the first time I've read this book. The book is copyright 2001. This note was last modified Monday, 01-Mar-2004 11:34:06 PST.
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This note contains spoilers for the book.
Neil, if you ever run into this poking around the web, maybe you shouldn't read it.
One of the risks of reading books by friends is that you may have to remember to not tell them you read it (because you certainly shouldn't tell them you didn't like it very well; unless you have a specific agreement with that specific friend). This causes trouble especially when you start publishing reviews, or even just talking in searchable, relatively permanent places about the books. (With every author friend I have, it's okay to tell them I did like the book.)
So, with that out of the way, I read American Gods last week. Fantasy isn't my first love in literature, and I don't like "dark" books in general, so I knew it was a risk reading this. Well, it didn't work out too well for me.
This is a book about "gods"; beings corresponding to various old myths and folktales, and beings from new ones as well. The old gods came over with the immigrants, and have been losing power ever since; this isn't a country friendly to gods, it says here. It's a mystic view, to my mind, so that's another strike against it for me.
None of the characters in the book struck me as particularly sympathetic, people I'd like to know, good people. The main character was supposed to be, I think, but it didn't take for me.
Interestingly, I don't remember anything about any gods in any way related to christianity or islam. There ought to be enough people around to believe in them (we meet Odin, and Whiskey Jack, after all).