Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman

Book info:

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Headline Review; New Ed edition (8 May 2006)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 0755305094
• ISBN-13: 978-0755305094

Synopsis:
Fat Charlie Nancy is not actually fat. He was fat once but he is definitely not fat now. No, right now Fat Charlie Nancy is angry, confused and more than a little scared - right now his life is spinning out of control, and it is all his dad's fault. If his rotter of an estranged father hadn't dropped dead at a karaoke night, Charlie would still be blissfully unaware that his dad was Anansi, the spider god. He would have no idea that he has a brother called Spider, who is also a god. And there would be no chance that said brother would be trying to take over his life, flat and fiancee, or, to make matters worse, be doing a much better job of it than him. Desperate to reclaim his life, Charlie enlists the help of four more-than-slightly eccentric old ladies and their unique brand of voodoo - and between them they unleash a bitter and twisted force to get rid of Spider. But as darkness descends and badness begins, is Fat Charlie Nancy going to get his life back in one piece or is he about to enter a whole netherworld of pain?

Reviews:
Opinion is divided as to whether Anansi Boys is as good as or better than American Gods. Funny, contemporary and occasionally dark this is still a well received effort from Gaiman and his writing fits nicely between Mr Pratchett and Mr Rankin for those who are fans of either, though by no means considered to be his best work.

My two cents:
Sadly not as good as Good Omens (how could it be). Maybe it lacks Practchetts vivid imagination to take it beyond a basic comic tale. The relationships between the characters however are interesting because of the cross over between social commentary and fantasy that is the hallmark of SFF works set in contemporary society. Not as fast paced as, say Jim Butcher's Dresden Files but this is quite possibly a good thing as unlike Butcher, Gaiman is able to explore the characters and their relationships in a much more interested way - both comic and insightful.