American Gods is a fascinating look at the United States. This story has a thrilling premise (

Gods walk the Earth powered by belief. Old gods from world cultures are struggling to exist in the realm of modern gods, like TV and radio, and want to fight back. And there's something particular about America that has both drawn gods and now sucks the life out of them.

), well executed characters, and such a mysterious set up. American Gods uses its magical devices to frame the American experience from Gaiman's perspective as he traveled the United States himself.

A lot of this book acts as setup for the world our protagonist inhabits. While interesting initially, American Gods struggled to hold my interest at about the two thirds mark. A prime reason I slowed down  is that its protagonist, Shadow, despite having a great name, is fairly bland. As is revealed later in the book, Gaiman established Shadow this way intentionally, but it is sometimes challenging to read through the view of a character who has a lot happen to him and doesn't react to much of it.

As an early jumpstart to the Halloween season, this book surprised me. While not my favorite of Gaiman's works, there's a lot to love here.