Review: The Monarch of the Glen

The Monarch of the Glen by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well I should say this was much better than the American Gods. The story and the flow. I read about the story of Beowulf first to understand this more deeply. This novella reveals some plot points about Shadow. Good story. But the re appearance of Grendel, if the fight has been happening for thousands of years reminded me of Rick Riordan's monsters never die they just re-spawn theory in his series.

I didn't fully understand the character, the old Doctor Gaskell. Who the fudge is he? Almost like Hinzelmann. I wish it was explained in more detail. And why do everyone keep referring Shadow as monster if he is a god, as a matter of fact given the new tidbits and the resurrection in the original book. I wish that too was explained better. And what does Jennie mean by saying Shadow is not man. I wish this was explained better.

You see the problem? It's 'I wish the author explained it better', again and again. I love Neil Gaiman's work. He is a god of words and worlds and fantasy. But I'd still wish he explained and expanded things when necessary.

Good book nevertheless.

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