REVIEW: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

A storm is coming...

Shadow has spent the last three years in prison. All he wants it so finish his time, go back to his wife Laura and pick up the pieces of his life. 

But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow’s best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself.

Life in Wednesday's employ is far more interesting than Shadow could have ever predicted. His journey will lead him to discover that myth and legend are far more real than he ever imagined and that there is a brewing battle for America between the old and new gods of the lands. 

Can Shadow survive or will the storm prove too destructive?

Now touted a classic, American Gods has been on my "to-read" for a while now. I wasn't disappointed.  Like all of Gaiman's work, this narrative takes readers on a darkly cerebral journey filled will sex, death, mystery and intrigue while pushing the far reaches of the mind and asks us to consider what we as a society believe and value.

I'm convinced that Gaiman uses far more of his brain than just about any other human--I appreciate the way he pushes me as a reader to strive for more meaning than merely follow the narrative on the page.

Looking forward to the new STARZ series debuting this year!

Final rating: 4 out of 5 stars