Anansi Boys is one of those books where I’m not quite sure why it’s taken me so long to read it. I think it was a (sad) case of being aware the book had come out, intending to read it, then being sandbagged by Other Life Events, and so the moment passed me by. But I’ve always been aware that it was a ‘miss’ and so finally settled down with the book recently with a sense of the long overdue finally happening.

And I enjoyed the read. In terms of where the book fits on my reading spectrum, I have it pegged as a fun, evenly paced, entertaining read, with a cast of interesting and well-drawn characters, and a plot that falls somewhere between supernatural adventure and detective thriller. In terms of where it sits in the genre, Anansi Boys is essentially urban fantasy with a certain coming-of-age element although it’s not YA lit.

Plot-wise this is a story about two brothers, both sons of the African spider god, Anansi, who has been transposed into a North American context (the general hows and whys of which are covered in its predecessor, American Gods.) The story revolves around the brothers resolving their relationship with each other and their father, and an ancient feud between Anansi and a Tiger deity, as well as a murder mystery centered on a City of London actors’ agent. Needless to say the stories overlap, and ghosts and mermaids, birds and a lime, also have their part to play in the story.

Although Anansi Boys is a sequel to American Gods in the sense that it’s set in the same urban fantasy ‘verse and the character of Anansi appears in both books, overall I think it’s far more a standalone novel that can be read quite happily in its own right. For me, it was also a less demanding story, but not a facile one: a great book to take on holiday or to while away a wintry afternoon.

If you enjoy Neil Gaiman’s writing or books such as Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London, Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson novels, Tim Powers’ Fault Lines trilogy, or Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely, you’ll probably enjoy Anansi Boys.