American Gods is both well written and well conceived. Mr. Gaiman doesn’t seem to feel any particular need to beat you over the head with unnecessary minutiae – he’s quite content to let you think on the matters he presents. Furthermore, when he introduces a character, you aren’t forced to read a detailed history ad-nauseam. While being a thoroughly entertaining read it leaves you the mystery of finding out more about the characters on your own, should you feel so inclined, and in this way he involves the reader more then most authors. It’s a book you will miss when you’re done – it’s one of those books that is a pleasure to read more then once.