Sunday, 23 May 2010  American Gods (by Neil Gaiman)  I finally
finished American Gods, having started it nearly a year ago! For
anyone who hasn't read it, there are major spoilers ahead.  The
basic premise of American Gods is that, as in the Discworld and,
apparently (according to Clash of the Titans) in Ancient Greece,
the gods are brought into existence by the force of people's
belief, and that the millions of immigrants to America brought
their gods (and leprechauns, and pixies, and kobolds, whatever
they are, and various other assorted supernatural or divine
creatures) with them.  Now, obviously, none of the main
characters are Classical gods because by the time Greeks and
Italians made it to America they were Christian. Many of the
central characters are Norse gods, since it is generally
believed that Vikings travelled across to America in the Dark
Ages. Gaiman also includes several Egyptian deities (primarily
Horus, Bast, Anubis and Thoth) on the grounds that Egyptians
were travelling to America in anci