Reviews

If you were one of those kids who drifted to the fat, dusty collections of fairy tales in the corner of the library, you'll love this story.

Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors because of his ability to work in the dark myths and fairy tales I read as a child. They aren't pretty. They make sense when they shouldn't, and that's incredibly disorienting. But we allow it because they're our first stories.

I actually read the "Monarch of the Glen" after reading "Black Dog" and it's interesting to see how this fits into Shadow's journey post-American Gods.

For one thing, we know a bit more about Shadow's true identity as "Baldr," the tragically slain son of Odin whose return was prophesied to signify the oncoming of Ragnorak.

In "The Monarch of the Glen" Shadow is once again pulled into an ancient struggle where he disrupts the pattern of things, throwing the fight and killing the mortals instead of perpetuating the slaying of the hero and the monster.

Man, Gaiman can write a scene. Imagine posh Londoners banging on old drums with human femurs and Shadow Moon grappling with a Lenny-like Grendel while a ghost ship of Viking giants sails through the night sky and–

Well, I don't want to give everything away. But you're going to love this. More gods and struggle and blood and firelit circles and powerful women and then Grendel's thin, four-foot tall mother tucking her giant son under one arm and her handbag under the other before walking off smartly into the center of the loch.

maggywaggy's review

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dark lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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