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So Write Night is upcoming tomorrow; musn't forget it. There are no excuses anymore, remember?
Currently I am reading "American Gods," which won about a gabillion recent awards (Hugo, Nebula, etc.) and which is pretty darned good so far. Very novel concept and excellent writing. It's a bit of a stretch to call it science fiction; I'd say it's more like fantastic suspense. Or something.
The basic concept is that the gods of the old world were imported to the New World by their erstwhile believers. These are the really old gods like Odin, Ibis, Bast, leprechauns, etc. They have since become sort of stranded. They roam around in plain view as taxicab drivers or swindlers or thieves, exerting minor influence on the mortals around them and just trying to survive. They are mostly forgotten and in competition with the new American Gods, which I am just beginning to learn about at this point in the book. They seem to be gods of credit cards and pop culture and things like that.
The main character's name is Shadow, and as the book goes on I'm getting the feeling more and more that he is of some cosmic significance in this world, though I don't yet know what it is. It's great, gradual character development - at the start of the book he's just a convict, newly released from prison, with hardly an identity at all.
Posted on January 20, 2004 10:08 AM | Entry Categories: Books
