July 17, 2005

"Quoth the Raven. . ."

I am also reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. This book I read when I take breaks from writing essays and studying for finals.

The book is a fantasy-type book that has gotten very interesing. I found the following passage just a few moments ago, and I decided that I have to share it.

It is below the cut because of a swear word.

Context: Shadow is a man recently released from prison. He is under the employ of a man called Wednesday. He just received word from a talking raven about what he needs to do.

The raven flew up and away. Shadow looked at the corpse of the baby deer. He decided that if he were a real woodsman, he would slice off a steak and cook it over a wood fire. Instead, he sat on a fallen tree and ate a Snickers bar and knew that he really wasn't a real woodsman.

The raven cawed from the edge of the clearing.

"You want me to follow you?" asked Shadow. "Or has Timmy fallen down another well?" The bird cawed again, impatiently. Shadow started walking toward it. It waited until he was close, then flapped heavily into another tree, heading somewhat to the left of the way Shadow had originally been going.

"Hey," said Shadow. "Huginn or Muninn, or whoever you are."

The bird turned, head tipped, suspiciously, on one side, and it stared at him with bright eyes.

"Say 'Nevermore,'" said Shadow.

"Fuck you," said the raven. It said nothing else as they went through the woodland together.

Posted by Randy at July 17, 2005 04:39 PM | TrackBack