What I've been reading this week

Today I finished reading Neil Gaiman's American Gods. It was pretty good. I guess.

Before that I read Anansi Boys, which I think was better. And just today I realized that the title is supposed to be a pun on "Nancy Boys". I think that's not fair. They don't even rhyme unless you have a British accent. Neil Gaiman's puns are anti-American.

Before that, I re-read Legions. Man, that cycle was weird. I mean, Sash and Waistcoat? And the whole thing with Sanctum/Averru? And Braids and Stonebrow converting to Ixidor-worship? And I still find pregnant Phage the Untouchable hard to believe. It's so crazy how there used to be all these absurd things going on in the novels that never showed up on the cards at all. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum, I also read Rath and Storm, which consisted of pretty much exclusively events that were depicted on the cards. I mean, damn! I'm not sure which is worse--cards that have nothing at all to do with the storyline, or cards that are so tied to the storyline that they make no sense unless you see them in exactly the correct order. Probably the second one is worse, although I'd snap-take either of them over Wintermute. Also, Rath and Storm uses this framing device of an old man telling the story of Gerrard & co. to a young apprentice, but with the benefit of hindsight, it makes no sense that he'd never once mention what they're most famous for, i.e. "Heroes of the Invasion". Like, the kid is all like, "Who's Gerrard?" and the old librarian is like, "Well my son, he was the heir to the Legacy who made a journey to Rath where he lost his friend and fought his foster brother and blah blah blah" and never bothers to mention "Oh BTW these are the guys who killed Yawgmoth and saved the entire world and have their own monument that's one of the biggest goddamn tourist attractions in all of Dominaria." That bothered me. (Yes, I know Tempest block came out years before the Invasion cycle, and they hadn't planned that far ahead. It still bothers me.)

Next on my list, I'm either reading Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, or Robert Shea & Robert Wilson's Illuminatus! trilogy. Haven't decided. Might just go for several at once--it worked with Dexter and The Dresden Files.