It goes without saying then, that I couldn’t wait to get home and sink my teeth into the Starz TV version, which i was yet to watch. I enjoyed it so much that I consider American Gods to be one of my absolute favourite novels of all time. I could not have been less disappointed, devouring all 640 pages plus the bonus novella The Monarch of the Glen, way before I had to get back on the plane and head home. I had seen some of the hype on the internet surrounding the show and, having known of Neil through other writers I am a fan of, I decided that sitting by a pool for 10 days was probably the ideal opportunity to give him a go.

I first read the book sitting primarily by a pool in Cuba on my honeymoon in the summer of 2017. Anyone who has read the book will understand this completely. It would seem Neil succeeded so valiantly in his vision for the novel, nobody could decide which genre to slot it into, instead accepting it into all. He certainly succeeded in that judging by the book’s accolades, winning itself the Nebula award, the Hugo, the Bram Stoker award, and the Locus award, covering science fiction, horror, and fantasy. Originally written between 19, Neil set out to write a novel that “was big and odd and meandering,” he says in his introduction to the uncut edition. On April 30th 2017, the world was graced by the premiere of Bryan Fuller and Michael Green’s TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed novel, American Gods.

American gods book series