Review—American Gods: My Ainsel # 7— Bilquis

As the small fry begins, a prelude to the real war, Shadow finds himself with his departed wife, and the sight of her is not pleasant.

American Gods: My Ainsel # 7, Writer: Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell Artist: Scott Hampton Colorist: Jennifer T. Lange, Scott Hampton, Cover Artist: Glenn Fabry, Adam Brown

There are so many clues in this issue that I’m surprised it didn’t take longer. Everything points persistently into one direction, and it has all to do with Lakeside, and we shall find why this is so soon enough.

There are two main things happening in this issue: the encounter that Shadow has with her late wife, (and the way she behaves and talks is very distant, has a bit of a harsh note. Of course, most dead people should sound like this as the preoccupations of being alive have cleared, and what remains is pure and sharp insight).

She is not sure why is it that she can come to him now, because she was unable to find him before. Now it seems that Lakeside is calling to her…

The other one is what happens to Bilquis.

We met her in the first issues of the series, and she is the introduction to the feel of the book. But, as Neil says, “it has been a long 4,000 years” and perhaps that’s why she is so tired, so slow in picking up the sings of danger approaching.

Somehow, what happens to her in this issue is very much what will happen with a lot of the gods we met in the “coming to America” introductions. Because now, somewhere in America and all over the place, people are dying in mysterious circumstances…