Review: The Monarch of the Glen

The Monarch of the Glen by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The Monarch of the Glen was a novella in the back of my copy of American Gods. My relationship with American Gods was a bit up and down – some elements I was really interested in whereas others I didn’t really care about at all. Despite this relationship, I was interested in giving the novella a try. If nothing else, I’m always happy to dive into stories set in Scotland (especially considering I was outside of Scotland when I was reading this).

Truthfully, I didn’t really care much at all for this little addition to the American Gods story. I was pretty much content with the ending of American Gods, and The Monarch of the Glen left me with more questions rather than providing me with the something more I’d been hoping to receive.

It’s a tale of what happens to Shadow after the ending of American Gods. It is interesting to receive a snippet of the ‘what comes next’, but I do not feel as though it provided me with much. It gives us more detail about the world as a whole, telling us about more than just the Gods of America, but at the same time it didn’t feel as though much happened. I wanted a big bang, I wanted something really powerful, only to be given a story I felt dragged somewhat.

In other words, I do not consider this a necessity should you have read American Gods. Whilst it does add a little more to the world, it is not be all or end all read.

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