fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #533 ]

⌈ Secret Post #533 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

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146. I can't hate on the fans because, y'know, to each their own. But I'd like to give Gaiman a slap with a wet mackerel. Those Sandman comics sitting on my shelf could actually have been something good! Blech. I hate his writing with a fiery passion. (I like Good Omens, but I think that's just some weird, flukey chemical reaction with Pratchett.)

Morpheus is one of the worst fictional characters ever created and American Gods was hilariously bad. Like, 'I-have-to-rant-about-it-when-I-see-a-copy-bad'. Oh well, at least he sorta inspired Carey to write Lucifer.

Edited 2008-06-21 21:50 (UTC)

If you don't mind, can you tell me all about how bad American Gods is? I have at least six people trying to convince me that it's the best thing since sliced Watchmen and I've yet to hear a balancing oppositional opinion. :D

Edited 2008-06-21 22:22 (UTC)

I don't mind, I guess I can be oppositional!

I'm sure how much you'd enjoy it depends on what kind of thing you like to read in general. It is definitely a huge step down from Watchmen. I'm pretty sure if you read Watchmen and then switched right on over to AG you'd be even more disappointed because the difference in quality would be so obvious. I know AG won a lot of awards. This honestly baffles me.

The protagonist is this gruff, ex-convict named Shadow Moon. Gaiman is horrible at writing this guy. Very unconvincing. It feels like he's way out of his comfort zone trying to find this character's voice.

Without spoiling you, the book gets off to a rough start with a tediously foreshadowed turn of events that you can pretty much predict once you're past the second page. This sets the tone for the rest of the book. I have to believe that Gaiman is doing this on purpose, maybe he wants to create an air of destiny or predestination or show that his character is starting down a path well worn by mythical tropes. I do know that it's boring as hell because everything is spelled out to a degree that it's very hard to be surprised by anything that goes on.

You know the 'Chekhov's gun' principle? Where it's said that if you're going to introduce a gun in the start of a story then it should go off later on? Well AG is filled with guns. Guns with big neon signs pointing to them. And they all go off.

If you know anything about mythology then it gets worse. It's like Gaiman is smugly pleased with all this research he's done and is patting himself on the back throughout the story. He has no reason to. Most of these mythological characters have corny, unsubtle little nicknames. Or corny, unsubtle little character traits that point to what mythological being they are. They're not interesting interpretations of the characters mind you, it's like bad mythological fan fiction and this is quite possibly the worst thing (and the most important thing) about the book.

E.g For Loki's alias we have this piece of brilliance: Luke Lyesmith! But he's so easy going that all his friends call him "Low Key" as a nickname.

Yes, well done Neil. I have had fans of the book tell me that they thought this was subtle.

The book travels from place to place with no real sense of location. The towns and roads they travel on are not very well drawn out at all. Given the nature of the book, the supporting characters are not very realistic, but then, they are not very realistic for what they are supposed to be either. The internal logic of the universe feels patchy a lot of the times. It feels like it would be fun to write, but this comes across as self-indulgence rather than the kind of joy the reader can participate in too.

I have to say, I love the idea for this book! There are some good little moments in there and some clever ideas. I found it very disappointing because I simply do not think that the writing lives up to the idea. I think it's popularity stems from the fact that the idea is quite original (though I would say the execution bogs down a lot of it in ASTOUNDING cliché and a real lack of wit or charm) and so it's easy to forgive a lot.

It's the kind of book I wanted to like, because of the subject material and all the great things I'd heard. I think compared to a lot of fantasy writing it might even be okay. But just because the genre can be threadbare at times does not make AG a good book.

Heh, well, ask and ye shall receive! See? What did I say about the ranting? Obviously YMMV, no ill will to people who did enjoy the book, etc. etc. :D One good thing, it probably won’t take you long to realize if you’re going to like it or not. It has a very distinct…taste.

For American Gods, you really might just have to read a little bit of it to see if you'll like it. Of all the people I've talked to, there are plenty who love it and think it's the greatest thing ever, and a nice chunk of people who hate it with a passion. I guess it just depends on your tastes or something.

Seconding this. If you don't like it within the first five pages, there's zero reason to press on. It doesn't really change.

Good Omens was definitely a different experience from any other Gaiman. I laugh and laugh when people tell others that they "have" to read all of the rest of Gaiman's works because said others liked GO.

Then again, I do enjoy a lot of the rest of his stuff, soo. ::shrugs::

Seconded.

I agree; Good Omens is very different in tone from most of his stuff. I tend to suggest to friends, if they like Good Omens, to try the Discworld novels- which I find to be more like that book than most of Neil Gaiman's stuff- but also to try Neverwhere, which while different, I think comes closest to being a similar feel. And if they like Neverwhere, I feel safe suggesting Stardust, etc.

I really have no idea where American Gods came from- I actually liked it, but it's totally different from most of his other stuff (it's most similar to Sandman, actually, which I did really like, a lot more than AG)- and no matter what people like I find myself recommending Interworld to them simply because no one has ever read this book ever and it needs more fans. XD

This is very true. I think GO feels way more like Pratchett than Gaiman, but Gaiman adds a special something to it. I wish they'd write another together. Something there works.

[ SECRET POST #533 ]

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