A Storm is Coming
- S.J Link
- Sep 5, 2017
- 3 min read
Is there anything better than sitting down and being completely lost within a book? Forgetting where you are and find yourself suddenly walking along side that of a fictional character created by a distant author? I don't believe there is.
Neil Gaiman has the ability to take you from your living room, or library and drop you into a world he's created as easily as flipping a coin. He's written so many novels that I could go on and on about but I'm here to talk about American Gods!
I've waited a long time to get into this book, mostly of my own fault. I go to the bookstore with a plan and always set it down time, after time. But finally I was given the book (by Aaron bless his soul) and I was on cloud nine. I took this book with my to Alberta which honestly was a dumb idea because I had absolutely no time to actually sit down and give it the proper attention it deserved.
Once I did, I was glad to have waited until I could. The book is so beautifully written, every single chapter holds a purpose in propelling the book forward in such an elegant way.
Gaiman has such a way with words. Shadow Moon is a character unlike most, he's a big guy, a quiet guy and on top of all of that he still has so much to say. We meet Shadow for the first time in prison, which automatically makes you assume he's going to be some rude mouthed, dumb asshole with a "I didn't do it" persona. But that's not what you get.
Gaiman presents a character that at first we believe to be plain, uninteresting and completely disconnected from the world. The character we know at the end of the book is entirely different from that man, or perhaps was inside of Shadow all along.
All plot points lead to Shadow being a shaman, he controls the snow, has conversations with a buffalo while dreaming and at many times in the book is inside someone's head listening to their thoughts. Although never directly confirmed in the book, I believe it to be true considering how many people in the book tell him he looks Native American.
The book focuses around a war of sorts. A war of belief. We meet several old gods in our time reading, and some new ones which are forcefully taking over the country. Each god in the story has their own tales and stories which really helps shape the book, and helps you understand exactly how each one thinks.
Out of all the gods we meet, Odin, Anansi, Chernobog, Ibis and Anubis, Thoth, Bast, Wisakedjak, Shiva, Zorya, Easter, and Kobold. My favorites had to be Ibis and Anubis. From the way they are brought into the novel to the way they interact with Shadow through out, I truly loved every single time they showed back up in the book.
This book was good from beginning to start, at times it was confusing and weirdly written but as soon as I slowed down and came back to the confusion it became clear. The book also has a bit of an underlying story line with some missing children which I really liked, because it added a break from the gods.
The ending of the book was by far one of my favorite endings in a long time. It wrapped up any questions you had, about Shadow, Mr. Wednesday and the rest of the war. It's not a fast read, but it's certainly a good one if you have the time to dedicate to reading it.
9/10 is my review for this, a definite read.
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