I originally intended for this post to be a review of the entirety of American Gods by Neil Gaiman, but unfortunately I fell behind schedule and am currently only halfway through the book. I should also mention that I'm reading the 10th anniversary edition of the book, which is twelve thousand words longer than the original text. However, I still wanted to give my impressions of the book so far, before the television series premieres this weekend. I was introduced to American Gods at the Nerdist Conival last summer where I saw the panel for the upcoming show which included Ricky Whittle from The 100, Ian McShane from Game of Thrones, and the author Neil Gaiman himself! I wasn't familiar with the source material at the time, but I was a fan of Gaiman's other works (Stardust, Coraline) and I find him to be an incredibly inspiring writer. The panel itself was fairly short, but the cast was charismatic and entertaining and I was intrigued by the subject of gods and goddesses.
"There's never been a true war that wasn't fought between two sets of people who were certain they were in the right. The really dangerous people believe they are doing whatever they are doing solely and only because it is without question the right thing to do. And that is what makes them dangerous."
Shadow Moon is an ex-con reentering society with a completely blank slate. Immediately upon his release from prison he finds himself caught on the precipice of a war between the old gods and the new gods living in America. The old gods are becoming extinct as Americans continue to worship the new gods and forget about the old gods. I've always been fascinated with mythology and the gods and goddesses of different cultures, as that was my main appeal for reading this book. But with that said, I found the overall story to be rather slow paced for my liking as Shadow travelled across America and I struggled to read through chapters in an attempt to stay on schedule. To me the most interesting parts of the story were whenever Shadow met a new god and all of his scenes with Laura, his very lovely but very dead wife. The book was written over a decade ago and although some of the references are dated, it has very poignant and powerful themes of worship, religion, and media. It is true now more than ever that society worships technology and the media above all, and the old gods of lore are all but history. They're dying. Because the gods only exist through belief. And the gods only gain power through worship. It's like Tinkerbell when her light starts to go out or whenever a child says they don't believe in fairies... she needs you to clap for her. She needs you to believe.
"Tell him that we have fucking reprogrammed reality. Tell him that language is a virus and that religion is an operating system and that prayers are just so much fucking spam."
It is the fear of a lack of faith which is tied to the struggle for power that drives the war between the old gods and the new. It's Mr. Wednesday vs. Technical Boy in the war to come, with Shadow as witness to all the calamity. Although the book may be a slow burn for me, I can see this story translating into a compelling television series that will introduce a wide range of gods with rich histories. And now that the show is set to premiere and this post is written, I feel less pressured to rush through finishing the book. I am content with taking my time reading through the second half of the story and enjoying Shadow's road trip through America. Based on the trailer the show looks amazing, the cast is spot on, and the visuals are stunning. American Gods premieres this Sunday, April 30, 2017 on STARZ and I have high hopes. Who else is tuning in?!