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ISBN: 978-0-6151-5810-5
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Neil Gaiman’s American Gods absolutely *free.
When Neil Gaiman announced his publisher would release one of his novels for free online for an entire month, and that readers could vote on their book of choice, it didn’t really surprise me that American Gods led the pack. Unless Mr. Gaiman whips up another sprawling masterpiece in the years to come, I’d venture to say it’s his magnum opus.
Well, as far as novels are concerned. I’ve never read Sandman, though I want to, and if the recommendations of friends hold any merit, then I’m totally missing out.
In any case, the generous deities at HarperCollins have bestowed upon the internet a copy of American Gods, absolutely free, in all its Adobe Flash glory, provided you actually want to read all 624 pages from your browser.
On one hand, I’m very pleased. I loved American Gods. It was given to me as a gift from a friend who initially bought it for himself and couldn’t stand it. I was in the process of graduating and moving at the time, so it took me a couple of months to get through it, but it was worth every minute, and even now it sits high on my list of all-time favorites.
On the other hand, it saddens me to see a great novel practically neutered in its presentation to potential new readers in such a horrid manner.
In a name.
I received an email over the weekend from someone who shall remain anonymous, inquiring about how I came about using their own name in a story of mine. Of course I didn’t use “their” name intentionally; rather, it was one of those things that I managed to pluck out of the interminable void or collective unconscious or whatever you want to call it. Everything was cool once I explained this to them. No lawsuits or anything (at least I hope not).
The incident led me to wonder about how many authors out there get this sort of thing from time to time, if not every day. I imagined Stephen King under a constant barrage of letters from various “Johnny Smiths” across the country following the publication of The Dead Zone. While I can only hope to one day receive actual correspondence from a ton of readers, I admit the thought of hearing the same question over and over, to varying degrees of vehement annoyance, is rather nauseating.
And this thought led me to ponder all the names of characters I’ve created over the years. See, this is how I work. My thoughts leap-frog one another to some conclusion just over the horizon – I can’t see it right away, but if I keep hopping along, I’ll eventually get there. You could probably relate this to answering the age-old question, “How do you write?”
The answer: “One word at a time.”
When I grow up . . .
. . . I want to write and sell 42 short stories in a year’s time.
I find this video inspiring and intimidating at the same time. And altogether terrifying, too.
TK