I finally read American Gods about two weeks ago and loved it. Absolutely LOVED it. Dear god (PUN INTENDED LAWLZ), it's probably the best book I've read in the last two or three years. Oh Neil Gaiman...why are you such a genius?
It's so, so good! I have a lot of quibbles with the writing itself and plot structure and some of the portrayals, but I love the idea, and the atmosphere, and Shadow's identity, and and and.... well, it's amazing and Odin is SO goddamn amazing. (Wow, my ability to write has completely deteriorated in the face of my enthusiasm.)
Norse, Egyptian, Celtic, Indian, and Russian mythology were my favourites.
You have most excellent taste; I love Norse, Egyptian, and Indian.
You know, it's so weird, but my knowledge of Celtic myth is seriously deficient beyond faerie legends. I'm really influenced by Celtic myth since it's seeped into our culture to such a powerful degree-- I just don't know the specifics. Should get on that. If anyone knows a good place to start investigating, I'd be grateful!
(Apparently I thought that the Greek pantheon was too "mainstream" when I was 11. 
)
Hahaha, I can see that. They do hog all the attention; the Greek pantheon honestly calls to me the most, but it's definitely the best-known.
It's sort of hard to love Greek myth because of that, though, because the mainstream has such a shallow understanding of the Greek gods. These figures were alive in the imaginations of entire cultures for thousands of years. They're incredibly multifaceted and subtle and I'm always learning new things about them, but people don't seem to understand that. Most think Dionysos, for instance, is just the Party God, and while he is that, there's just so much more to him: from the Chthonic god to his relationship with the Eleusinian mysteries to his role as liberator and savior to his syncretization with Osiris. He's one of the most complex and compelling gods ever, and when I say Dionysos people picture a bulbous man on a donkey. Thanks Disney. Sigh. (Though for the record, I adore
Fantasia.)
I recently became completely obsessed with Greco-Egyptian syncretism during the Ptolemaic reign. It's fascinating stuff; the combination added brilliant new dimensions to both pantheons. I wish historical periods could be fandoms-- I'd be all over Hellenistic Egypt.
Though I wonder how they could make six seasons out of a book that's less than 500 pages. Hmmm.
Neil Gaiman is deeply involved in production, from what I hear, so I'm actually hoping they stray from the book. The whole time I read AG I was wanting other gods to show up! There are so many ways they can take the premise that I am totally at peace with the idea of them taking their sweet time to get to the end, as long as they do it well. I want Freyja and the Morrigan and Sekhmet to be there! I have faith! I believe!!
Set and Loki are my two favourite gods (and yeah, I know about the whole giant vs. god debate about Loki) of all time. And I totally ship them. They were MADE for each other.
SET IS A RAGING BADASS! I am completely with you on this! His history is so fascinating-- how he reflected the cultural fears and anxieties of the Egyptians as the god of the desert; how foreign rule demonized him; his strange sexuality and the fact that nobody knows what the Set animal
is; his relationship with the Osiris myth.
Since Set swings both ways and Loki, as a trickster, probably does as well -- especially given that whole "spent time as a woman and gave birth" thing-- I think shipping them is entirely appropriate. XD (Now I'm wondering who I would ship..)
Meh, but Horus kicked Seth's ass all over the place.
Dude, don't even kid. He so did not (in some of the myths, lol). And anyway, Set is the only person Ra believes can kill Apep, the great demon and true embodiment of
isfet/uncreation. I love the symbolism of that: Set, who seems to threaten
ma'at constantly, is the one who slays Apep daily and maintains the source of all fertility and life, the Solar Barque. Those Egyptians knew a good metaphor when they saw one.
