Reviews with content warning for War - The Annotated American Gods

Reviews tagging 'War'

The Annotated American Gods by Neil Gaiman, Leslie S. Klinger

51 reviews

gemstonejasper's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I finally got around to reading this after it was recommended to me by my older sister. It was good. I enjoyed it. It's a big book, so I used it to try and work through my big book fear. I enjoyed the variety of gods that the book showed. I didn't always know which god it was talking about, but that's more so due to my lack of knowledge about these things. But there were a lot of interesting gods that I now want to learn more about. The audiobook was good. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to people who are into this kind of thing. But it's pretty slow at times, so it's not for everyone.

For me, this book seemed almost like a love letter to the US. The main character travels around (even coming to my city at one point and mentioning a tiny town just minutes from where I grew up). It showed the absolute majesty and beauty of America. But it still acknowledges the horrors, both past and present that America has done. The themes that this book explores are interesting. Neil Gaiman is a master in storytelling.

I wouldn't really call the ending "satisfying," but I don't think that was kind of the point, so I'm not going to hold it against the book.

Content warning that doesn't necessarily fit into any of the listed categories:

The main character, at one point, does have sex with a cat god, which some people may find strange. That scene made me a little uncomfortable.

Content Warnings

dramagnu's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

aqueezy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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joensign's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

ladydamonayde's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

shoshin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I enjoy Gaiman's stories most of the time, but misogyny slips out here and there when he's trying to be gritty. Ruins my enjoyment. I catch myself wishing a woman had written them instead.

I also find the "troubles" bit in the middle difficult to understand--doesn't seem to further Odin's/Loki's purposes that are central to the story. No real reason to kill some of the gods who were killed. If there had been some established enmity between them and Odin or Loki, sure, but I didn't see anything.

Encapsulating both these complaints: Balquis' character seems to exist completely for proposes that don't further the narrative: adding a sex(ist) scene and dying during the "troubles" part. I could be convinced there's narrative value there, but I'm not seeing it at the moment.

Content Warnings