American Gods by Neil Gaiman

To say how huge and influential Neil Gaiman is, he hasn't written many novels (not true of comics of course or, latterly, children's books). I enjoyed Good Omens, which is how I first discovered Neil Gaiman as a teenage Terry Pratchett fan in the early 90s, and in the last 10 years I've read Stardust and Anansi Boys (a particular favourite) but somehow not got round to American Gods, despite there being not much else to go at in the way of prose.

Turns out it was worth the wait. One of those total immersion novels where you completely believe in the world that's created. And belief, when it comes down to it, is what the book is all about.

Shadow is in his early thirties, he's about to be released early from prison and he's looking forward to seeing his wife again. In the event, he's released a few days earlier than he was expecting, so he can make it to her funeral in time. Three years of aching to be back with the person you love most, and she dies in a car crash before you can get to her. You'd be lost, wouldn't you? Directionless. Ripe for being swept up into events beyond your control or comprehension. Something like, say, a war between gods.

It's a road trip, it's small town America, it's mythic and epic and reverent and irreverent at the same time. It's almost like Stephen King read The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, let it stew at the back of his mind for a few years then wrote a book haunted by it. Except it's also unmistakably Neil Gaiman. There are coin tricks and cons, magic that's misdirection and sleight of hand, and magic that is real and a lot less showy. It's about love, loyalty, remembering and believing - be it in religion or yourself or your family, and it's about what happens when the world moves on.

I very much doubt I'll be waiting a dozen years to read the new one, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.