American Gods by Neil Gaiman

When immigrants traveled to the new world, they brought with them the foods, traditions, and beliefs of their homelands. Unfortunately, America as a land is not kind to gods and goddesses.

In this sweeping saga, a newly released felon gets hired to act as driver and bodyguard for a mysterious older businessman. Things are odd from the start, and pretty quickly Shadow discovers that gods live among us - but many are worn down at the heels by a lack of belief and waning worship.

It's basically a roadtrip book, although there are periods of inaction, along with side trips into another realm. Shadow's a guy with a heart of gold and a huge capacity to believe the unlikely.

The more old-world gods and goddess stories you know, the more this book will entertain. That said, Gaiman connects legends of Egypt, Romania, Norse, Native American and more - you'll inevitably want to step away to look up a new character's backstory.

I love everything Gaiman produces, and this is no exception. Exceptionally good!

The Twelve by Justin Cronin

What a giant, sweeping saga of life after the apocalypse! Skipping across three generations of Americans during and after a virus changes the world. (The beginning of the story was told in The Passage.)

My only problem is, I keep losing track of all the seven quintrillion characters Cronin has given us. Across three generations! And I should at least be able to keep track of the viral vampires, right? Except most of them haven't been talked about for what seems like a thousand pages, so they feel a little distant. And while they're referred to as the Twelve - there are really 11 now ... except there's also Zero who's not in the count, nor is Amy who's something else entirely.

So perhaps I should have had a graph or a map or something. Cronin gives us a few outlines and character lists in the back, but I didn't find it wildly helpful. (And I know it seems bad that I found that list only because I was peeking ahead to see how many pages I had left. The book is 568 pages, but seems a lot longer.)

It's an interesting idea of the future, and I appreciate the religious and moral implications he presents. He's got some great characters with true, human flaws and drives.

Honestly, I did enjoy the book - but maybe, it was due to the fact I so loved the first book and that bled over. I'm curious to see where Cronin takes us in the next book (it's supposed to be a trilogy).

The Passage by Justin Cronin

Sorry I haven't posted any new books in a while ... I was reading this 800-page giant. I'd like to tell you I just sat down and read it in a sitting, but that would be a lie. :) Actually, I took it in about 100-page chunks at a time. And loved every one of them.

I've read reviews that say, essentially, if you dismiss this as a vampire book, you're missing the point. I'd agree. I actually thought the vampire element was diminished in importance by the "epic quest" element of the story (and decided that most vampire lovers would be disappointed if that's why they picked up this book). But in honesty, I also didn't realize this is the first book in a trilogy until I got to the end; maybe the other books will be all chock-full-o'-vampire-goodness.

The government is trying to build a super soldier. Sound familiar? This time, they're working with a virus that makes biological changes, including slowing the aging process (it also makes those infected kill to drink blood). Just as the military thinks they've got things perfected, the test-patients take over and the world's in trouble.

Jump ahead 100 years. Humans live a life of vigilance to stay alive. The community described could be the only humans left alive; they're so completely cut off they don't know if there's another un-infected person anywhere. Their life and armor are becoming harder to maintain as technology ages. Then one day, a "walker" appears at their gates: a mute, young human woman. And everything shifts.

The time shifts in this book were interesting. It begins just a few years ahead of today, and the action in this book happens within a hundred-year period. But the various diary entries, scholarly papers, and narratives touch the future as far as a thousand years out, giving historical perspective and some foreshadowing to the story.

I really enjoyed the book, and recommend it for sci-fi and military lovers. Although this is not my usual genre, I will look forward to the sequel to find out what's coming next. The book leaves you with more than one cliffhanger to ponder and some gut-wrenching hints.