Neil Gaiman’s American Gods is hailed as the author’s best novel, “an intellectual and artistic benchmark.” The story had potential, exploring mythology and metaphorically examining a culture’s fickle tendency to turn from one “god” to the next. However, while the tale is episodic, it lacks cohesion, character development, and follow-through. Gaiman’s American Gods could have been an interesting, gripping read, but it fell rather short on execution.