By Christopher Moore

Rating: 5/5

Of the five books I’ve read by Moore, this is perhaps my favorite. I’ve been trying to read more of Moore ever since first stumbling across his work a few years ago and I’m increasingly impressed.

Coyote Blue was Moore’s second book published in 1994, which means it has been waiting nearly twenty years for me to read it. Exceeding my expectations made it worth the wait.

My first thought was how remarkably similar Coyote Blue is to Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and its sort-of-sequel Anansi Boys. These works all carry the similar theme of Gods and supernatural beings interfering in the lives of an ‘everyman’ character.

With this common theme comes the motifs of storytelling, identity and deception. Even the writing style and presentation of the works were alike. It should come as no surprise then that my enjoyment of each of the three novels was similar in kind.

The biggest difference is the overall tone of the books. Gaiman takes a much more serious approach to the motif, while Moore is his usual comic and irreverent self. What makes Coyote Blue one of Moore’s best books (in my opinion) is this skillful balancing of humor and seriousness.

It’s obvious now that Moore does his research. I was impressed by the depth of knowledge about Native American cultures from an author who is obviously not Native American. The rituals are descriptive and believable as are the characters.

One of the more intriguing characterizations is the parallels drawn between protagonist Sam and Coyote. They’re both shape-shifters who make a living on tricking people. The difference is that Sam does so out of necessity and Coyote does so out of whimsical boredom.

Coyote Blue is goofy and funny, while still managing to be marginally informative and thoroughly compelling — one of the best works from one of the most talented writers still producing quality literature. I give the book five out of five stars.