Good Omens?

For a book entitled Good Omens, it has certainly been bad luck for me.... well... at least in the case that I hold it responsible for a rather nasty case of sunburn. But that is another story.

This was a text for my book club, and not one that I was that enthused about reading. However, it was a moderately entertaining story about how a seemingly inevitable apolcaypse came to be averted. It has some interesting characters - a demon not so much hellish, but just less than angelic - and a whole host of interesting character names. How does Anathema Device sit with you? Or Adam, the son of the Devil?

There are a few giggles along the way (check out the names of the four OTHER riders of the apocalypse) and while there was no real compulsion to keep reading, it was an easy enough time to do so. Read the interview at the front with the authors too, its kind of interesting.

Anansi Boys

I apologise for the length of time between entries. Strangely enough, I have not been in the reading mood. Or, more accurately, I have been too tired and busy to read for pleasure. In fact, this one is cheating - I listened to it on CD. It did make a lovely relaxing addition to my weekend though!

I wasn’t that impressed with the only other Neil Gaiman I read, finding American Gods over-rated. But I picked this up from the library and thought I might give it a go. I’m glad I did. Anansi Boys is a lot more fun than American Gods.

The two books share a lot of similarities, and it is clear that Gaiman loves to put old Gods in new world contexts. This time, the God is Anansi – the spider God inextricably bound with storytelling. “All the stories are Anansi’s”- and he usually ends up on top. With a few laughs, at someone else’s expense.

This novel is about Anansi’s sons, who are trying to come to terms with both their human and divine heritage. I enjoyed it much more and found it lighter than American Gods. It was a good weekend read. Worth a look.

American Gods

This book was a recommendation from my “book brother”, and also reinforced by a friend. Thus, there was a high set of expectations that accompanied my reading. And as in most of these cases, I could not help but be somewhat disappointed.

The premise of American Gods is that all the gods of all the cultures around the world, old (Odin, Thor, Easter) and new (the Internet, the Media etc) are alive and well and fighting for supremacy (and worship) in modern day America. Of course – America is the centre o

Shadow is our main protagonist – an outsider just released from jail whose initiation into this strange world allows us to enter it too. Shadow’s wife has just died in a car accident – so he has no strings attaching him to the “normal” world.

It is a somewhat intriguing story that will keep you guessing. But not entirely my cup of tea. Took me ages to read too, which is usually the sign that a book hasn’t really gotten under my skin. It was not bad though –I am glad I read it and did enjoy it. It just wont become one of my favourites.