Reviews

"Fiction allows us to look out through other eyes, to die vicariously and unharmed. And in the world beyond the tale, we turn the page or close the book, and we resume our lives. A life which is like any other, unlike any other..."

Fascinating read! Gaiman is our modern writer of myths and he is so good at it. He honours the classics, acknowledges the ones that came before him and shows how we are all delusional in thinking that times of worship are behind us. Our gods are no longer visited in their places of worship but instead are invited into our homes and our lives. Worship is now more purely self-serving than ever before, in a society that encourages the life of a self-serving individual.

This is giving me so much to think about. I enjoy Gaiman's surrealistic spins on stories but sometimes find them jarring or hard to understand. To be fair, this is very much his style. It is all quite weird and I like weird. I suppose there are some things that are just too weird. I also cannot help but read this with my academic hat on, thinking of all the close-reading I could unleash on this in a research project for a paper... Some day, maybe.

trayslays's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

thoroughlymodernreviewer's review against another edition

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4.0

American Gods: My Ainsel adapts the second part of the novel - also named "My Ainsel" - featuring Shadow's time in Lakeside as he and Wednesday continue to round up Old Gods for the war against the New Gods. Like the first volume, My Ainsel is extremely faithful to Gaiman's original novel. This volume, more than either of the others, has the hardest task: make the middle of the book - where not much happens - visually interesting. Thankfully, that's exactly what Rusell and Hampton are able to do. Much of the heavy lifting is done by Hampton's incredible artwork as he imbues each panel with a breath of life that isn't always found in the novel. This part of the story is, again, a lot more setup for the final, climactic battle and, as a result, much of it is just people sitting in rooms and talking. This works perfectly fine in a novel, but it's a bit harder to pull off in a more visual medium. Hampton is able to keep the energy flowing by frequently slipping in little fantastical elements into his artwork, even in scenes where there's nothing explicitly fantastical happening. This is also the part of the story where we're first introduced to the "Backstage" - a parallel dimension accessible to the Gods where they can travel great distances in short amounts of time - and Hampton's depiction of it is delightfully strange. He takes a much different approach than season 2 of the TV series does, and I kind of like his approach a bit better. It just feels... stranger. My Ainsel maintains the same level of quality that was established in Shadows and it continues to build on, and expand, the visual language of this world.

Dark Horse Comics' adaptation of American Gods is deeply enjoyable. While there's nothing new in the actual script of the story, the joy comes from how Hampton depicts the world of the story. A part of me wishes some changes were made to the script - like updating Tech Boy to be more reflective of the 21st century - but on the other hand, I am pretty happy that it's such a faithful adaptation. The style - both text and visual - of this series can take some getting used to, but once you get used to it, it's a thoroughly enjoyable read. It's a nice, quick way of refreshing the story of American Gods in your mind without having to devote a large amount of time to reread the book - though, there's nothing wrong with doing that. As the second season of the TV adaptation is just starting, it's nice to have a way of refreshing my memory of the novel quickly and efficiently, and this comic adaptation works wonderfully for that. Plus, the illustrations are gorgeous. I recommend it for anybody who's a fan of Gaiman or American Gods.

keishasliterarylabyrinth's review against another edition

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5.0

This volume is when things make sense…I loved it!

ddawgson0's review

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jgoins's review against another edition

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5.0

Is this art following the Starz show? Is the show following this illustrators concept of the book? They are very similar. However, these graphic novels are better than the show!

marti4's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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