Peter Jones

It took a while to get going, but once it moves, American Gods is a fun, intriguing romp through the varied beliefs that make this “melting pot” such a great place to live. Shadow, the main character, is an intriguing main character. Stoic, yet still surprisingly vulnerable throughout. The climax was interesting, but not quite as fulfilling as I had hoped. Nevertheless, a fine read.

A decent first novel. The idea is fun and engaging. I think it will be a particularly enjoyable read if you have an understanding of 80s pop-culture and an appreciation of gaming. The references come fast and furious, perhaps a bit too fast. At times it seems the references are just being thrown out there to show how many can be crammed in there. I think I would have enjoyed the book more had there been some restraint in that regard.

Also, given the author had an entire virtual universe to create, the story felt rather predictable. Enjoyable, but not really much in terms of surprise along the way.

I have been an avid fan of Jack McDevitt since reading Omega years ago. I have been in love with his work, particularly the Alex Benedict/Chase Kolpath novels. Very few of his books have disappointed me (Ancient Shores and Eternity Road being my least favorite). Time Travelers Never Die is one of his latest, and actually is one that I don't plan on reading again. It is a fascinating, fictional look at some historic events and figures. That aspect is well done. However, there was little tension in the events. The ability to instantly jump out of whatever situation the characters were in hindered the building of meaningful tension and conflict. I also found that the novel didn't really address the idea of the paradoxes of time travel satisfactorily. Enjoyable and worth reading, but only once. Not one I will go back to again.

Touted as the “American Tolkien” George Martin's epic tale begins well enough, with ominous portents that “Winter is coming”. A rich world with a deep history is created with care. Families, feuds, and intrigue abound. But, it just ends up being too much. The book begins to crumble under the weight of the complexity. There just end up being too many people, with too many betrayals, and, for me at least, too many bad things that happen. At the end of the first book I felt fairly hopeless that anything good was going to happen to any of the characters I cared for. By the end, I was ready to be done, and had no desire to read the rest of the series as published to this point. Perhaps I will revisit it some day, but I may have to forget the slightly bitter aftertaste this epic volume left behind.