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Anansi Boys
by Neil Gaiman


8.6

based on 15 reviews
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based on 9 votes
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A Londoner discovers that his late father was actually an African trickster god in this follow-up to "American Gods" by the creator of the Sandman series.

William Morrow, 352 pages
09/20/2005
$26.95

ISBN: 006051518X

Fiction
Science Fiction & Fantasy

All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...

Kirkus Reviews

Intermittently lumpy and self-indulgent, but enormously entertaining throughout. And the Gaiman faithful... will devour it gratefully. [15 Jul 2005, p. 754]

Library Journal Ann Kim

A fun book with a little of everything--horror, mystery, magic, comedy, song, romance, ghosts, scary birds, ancient grudges, and trademark British wit. [1 Aug 2005, p.67]

Publishers Weekly

Gleeful, hurtling prose. [18 Jul 2005, p.180]

Washington Post Elizabeth Hand

With Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman's delightful, funny and affecting new novel, the bestselling author has scored the literary equivalent of a hole in one.

Houston Chronicle Dylan Otto Krider

Gaiman is a trickster in the best sense of the word. He's written another novel that fantasy writers will turn to for lessons on how to misbehave.

Boston Globe Bruce Allen

Gaiman knows better, and communicates more forcefully, than any other contemporary writer: Stories and poems, songs and myths, represent us, sustain and complete us, and survive us, while also ensuring that all that's best in us survives with them.

PopMatters Stephen Rauch

There's something kind of sad about seeing an angst-free Neil Gaiman novel. Even if it is, in all fairness, one of his best-written works so far.

Daily Telegraph Andrew McKie

This is a very accomplished comic novel; the slickness and the slightness are the product of someone who knows exactly what to do with his material. Neil Gaiman is a very good writer indeed, and this is a very funny bedtime story.

Salon Laura Miller

"Anansi Boys" is Gaiman's tribute to [the] trickster spirit, as nimble and resourceful as his own imagination.

The Independent Kim Newman

Anansi Boys is one of Neil Gaiman's books for grown-ups, which means that it's a lot less ruthless than the material he produces for children.

The Onion A.V. Club Tasha Robinson

Gaiman has steadily evolved into a comfortable, humorous storyteller whose lively modern fairy tales take protagonists--and readers--on rewarding journeys out of mundanity and into more colorful realities. Anansi Boys just does so with a bigger wink and a bigger grin than most.

USA Today David Colton

No, it is not big, and it may not even be serious, but it is laugh-out-loud funny and scary as a spider on your arm. Or a spider you think is there.

The New York Times Book Review Charles Taylor

The book is like one of those restaurants with a vast and varied menu, with none of the dishes prepared very well. It's the work of a talented writer who didn't know when to quit.

The Globe And Mail [Toronto] Thomas Wharton

This eight-legged beastie delivers a good scare as it skitters past, and some laughs, but one wishes it had left more of an impression. [1 Oct 2005]

Entertainment Weekly Jennifer Reese

A giddy but somewhat unsatisfying ride.

The average user rating for this book is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Rob D gave it a9:
A good modern-day myth story. Simply written with humor. An easy read, recommended.

Jonathan F gave it a9:
I thought this was a fantastic book. Lined right up there with American Gods, which I'd name a 10. This book deserves to be made into a movie, and I look forward to seeing it's older brother, American Gods on the big screen.

Michael T gave it a9:
This book is tremendous fun, especially the audiobook. The narrator handles a number of accents and animals extremely well. Highly recommended.

Striver gave it a9:
Gaiman is a great storyteller, and this one - a story in large part about the nature and power of storytelling - is wise and funny. It's an excellent read for fans of clever wiriting that never insults your intelligence.

Launce R gave it a7:
I am a fan of Neil's. "Neverwhere" and "American Gods" seemed to me to establish himself as sort of the new Clive Barker, and "Good Omens," of course, is simply the funniest book on the end of the world ever written. "Anansi Boys" is in that tradition, but I could not give it as high a mark as his earlier novels. The exposition on the old gods and their alternate universe dragged it down a bit. I suspect that Mr. Gaiman was referencing some actual mythologies -- and I did appreciate the references to the Western African mythos passed on to us as the Tar Baby stories -- but I didn't have the whole backstory, so I felt I was missing something. Anyway, Neil Gaiman fans like myself are going to run right out and buy this regardless of the reviews, and those fans will be rewarded.

t frederick gave it a9:
Gaiman has a wonderful flair for language, and this is a captivating story. I won't speak for the audiobook - but I recommend reading this book.

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Anansi Boys
by Neil Gaiman