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Anansi Boys

William Morrow, 2005, 336 pages



God is dead. Meet the kids.

When Fat Charlie's dad named something, it stuck. Like calling Fat Charlie "Fat Charlie." Even now, twenty years later, Charlie Nancy can't shake that name, one of the many embarrassing "gifts" his father bestowed, before he dropped dead on a karaoke stage and ruined Fat Charlie's life.

Mr. Nancy left Fat Charlie things. Things like the tall, good-looking stranger who appears on Charlie's doorstep, who appears to be the brother he never knew. A brother as different from Charlie as night is from day, a brother who's going to show Charlie how to lighten up and have a little fun, just like Dear Old Dad. And all of a sudden, life starts getting very interesting for Fat Charlie.

Because, you see, Charlie's dad wasn't just any dad. He was Anansi, a trickster god, the spider-god. Anansi is the spirit of rebellion, able to overturn the social order, create wealth out of thin air, and baffle the devil. Some said he could cheat even Death himself.


In which Neil Gaiman returns to very familiar territory. One might even say well-worn territory. Possibly territory that has been trodden and flattened underfoot. )

Verdict: A West African-by-way-of-London follow-up to American Gods, Anansi Boys is another well-told Gaiman tale that will not disappoint diehard Gaiman fans, and should appeal to any contemporary fantasy fan. It doesn't up his game at all and if you've read a lot of Gaiman's work, this book will have a very familiar, comfortable feel about it.

Also by Neil Gaiman: My reviews of American Gods and The Dream Hunters.




My complete list of book reviews.
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Ragnarok, American style.

American Gods

William Morrow, 2001, 480 pages

Publisher's Description:


Released from prison, Shadow finds his world turned upside down. His wife has been killed; a mysterious stranger offers him a job. But Mr. Wednesday, who knows more about Shadow than is possible, warns that a storm is coming -- a battle for the very soul of America . . . and they are in its direct path.

One of the most talked-about books of the new millennium, American Gods is a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth and across an American landscape at once eerily familiar and utterly alien. It is, quite simply, a contemporary masterpiece.


American Gods is as wide as North America and as deep as a two-lane highway. )

Verdict: I was expecting/hoping to love it, but I merely liked it; American Gods failed to recapture the epic sense of wonder of Gaiman's Sandman, and I wanted to kick the protagonist hard. Nonetheless, this treatment of gods in a contemporary American setting has flashes of brilliance, a few funny bits (also some skeevy bits) and a page-turning quality that made me glad I read it, but not hankering for a sequel as I would have had it lived up to expectations. Recommended for Gaiman fans and mythology buffs, and given all the accolades this book has received, my criticisms are probably very much of the YMMV variety.

Also by Neil Gaiman: My review of The Dream Hunters.
inverarity: (Default)
Ragnarok, American style.

American Gods

William Morrow, 2001, 480 pages

Publisher's Description:


Released from prison, Shadow finds his world turned upside down. His wife has been killed; a mysterious stranger offers him a job. But Mr. Wednesday, who knows more about Shadow than is possible, warns that a storm is coming -- a battle for the very soul of America . . . and they are in its direct path.

One of the most talked-about books of the new millennium, American Gods is a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth and across an American landscape at once eerily familiar and utterly alien. It is, quite simply, a contemporary masterpiece.


American Gods is as wide as North America and as deep as a two-lane highway. )

Verdict: I was expecting/hoping to love it, but I merely liked it; American Gods failed to recapture the epic sense of wonder of Gaiman's Sandman, and I wanted to kick the protagonist hard. Nonetheless, this treatment of gods in a contemporary American setting has flashes of brilliance, a few funny bits (also some skeevy bits) and a page-turning quality that made me glad I read it, but not hankering for a sequel as I would have had it lived up to expectations. Recommended for Gaiman fans and mythology buffs, and given all the accolades this book has received, my criticisms are probably very much of the YMMV variety.

Also by Neil Gaiman: My review of The Dream Hunters.
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One-line summary: A Japanese fairy tale retold with Neil Gaiman's Sandman playing a peripheral role.



Reviews:

Goodreads: Average: 4.27. Mode: 5 stars.
Amazon: Average: 4.7. Mode: 5 stars.


Sandman fans should feel lucky that master fantasy writer Neil Gaiman discovered the mythical world of Japanese fables while researching his translation of Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke. At the same time, while preparing for the Sandman 10th anniversary, he met Yoshitaka Amano, his artist for the 11th Sandman book. Amano is the famed designer of the Final Fantasy game series. The product of Gaiman's immersion in Japanese art, culture, and history, Sandman: Dream Hunters is a classic Japanese tale (adapted from "The Fox, the Monk, and the Mikado of All Night's Dreaming") that he has subtly morphed into his Sandman universe.

Like most fables, the story begins with a wager between two jealous animals, a fox and a badger: which of them can drive a young monk from his solitary temple? The winner will make the temple into a new fox or badger home. But as the fox adopts the form of a woman to woo the monk from his hermitage, she falls in love with him. Meanwhile, in far away Kyoto, the wealthy Master of Yin-Yang, the onmyoji, is plagued by his fears and seeks tranquility in his command of sorcery. He learns of the monk and his inner peace; he dispatches demons to plague the monk in his dreams and eventually kill him to bring his peace to the onmyoji. The fox overhears the demons on their way to the monk and begins her struggle to save the man whom at first she so envied.

Dream Hunters is a beautiful package. From the ink-brush painted endpapers to the luminous page layouts--including Amano's gate-fold painting of Morpheus in a sea of reds, oranges, and violets--this book has been crafted for a sensuous reading experience. Gaiman has developed as a prose stylist in the last several years with novels and stories such as Neverwhere and Stardust, and his narrative rings with a sense of timelessness and magic that gently sustains this adult fairy tale. The only disappointment here is that the book is so brief. One could imagine this creative team being even better suited to a longer story of more epic proportions. On the final page of Dream Hunters, in fact, Amano suggest that he will collaborate further with Mr. Gaiman in the future. Readers of Dream Hunters will hope that Amano's dream comes true.


A bishounen Sandman appears in a Japanese fairy tale )

Verdict: A beautifully-illustrated novella which will be appreciated by Sandman fans, but needs no familiarity with the series.
inverarity: (Default)
One-line summary: A Japanese fairy tale retold with Neil Gaiman's Sandman playing a peripheral role.



Reviews:

Goodreads: Average: 4.27. Mode: 5 stars.
Amazon: Average: 4.7. Mode: 5 stars.


Sandman fans should feel lucky that master fantasy writer Neil Gaiman discovered the mythical world of Japanese fables while researching his translation of Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke. At the same time, while preparing for the Sandman 10th anniversary, he met Yoshitaka Amano, his artist for the 11th Sandman book. Amano is the famed designer of the Final Fantasy game series. The product of Gaiman's immersion in Japanese art, culture, and history, Sandman: Dream Hunters is a classic Japanese tale (adapted from "The Fox, the Monk, and the Mikado of All Night's Dreaming") that he has subtly morphed into his Sandman universe.

Like most fables, the story begins with a wager between two jealous animals, a fox and a badger: which of them can drive a young monk from his solitary temple? The winner will make the temple into a new fox or badger home. But as the fox adopts the form of a woman to woo the monk from his hermitage, she falls in love with him. Meanwhile, in far away Kyoto, the wealthy Master of Yin-Yang, the onmyoji, is plagued by his fears and seeks tranquility in his command of sorcery. He learns of the monk and his inner peace; he dispatches demons to plague the monk in his dreams and eventually kill him to bring his peace to the onmyoji. The fox overhears the demons on their way to the monk and begins her struggle to save the man whom at first she so envied.

Dream Hunters is a beautiful package. From the ink-brush painted endpapers to the luminous page layouts--including Amano's gate-fold painting of Morpheus in a sea of reds, oranges, and violets--this book has been crafted for a sensuous reading experience. Gaiman has developed as a prose stylist in the last several years with novels and stories such as Neverwhere and Stardust, and his narrative rings with a sense of timelessness and magic that gently sustains this adult fairy tale. The only disappointment here is that the book is so brief. One could imagine this creative team being even better suited to a longer story of more epic proportions. On the final page of Dream Hunters, in fact, Amano suggest that he will collaborate further with Mr. Gaiman in the future. Readers of Dream Hunters will hope that Amano's dream comes true.


A bishounen Sandman appears in a Japanese fairy tale )

Verdict: A beautifully-illustrated novella which will be appreciated by Sandman fans, but needs no familiarity with the series.

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