Christopher Moore and Neil Gaiman have inspired a new category for my bookshelves: modern humorous spiritual fantasy. Moore in particularly is not afraid to tackle everything from Buddhism to memes. Coyote Blue is one of my favorites by him. The Native American trickster god Coyote is a starring character in the novel, and plenty of Coyote stories are sprinkled throughout, told in Moore’s humorous style.

The trickster leads Sam Hunter, a Crow Indian who is on the run from the law, on a chase after the best woman he’s ever met and her baby son, who were kidnapped by the boy’s father and a motorcycle gang — which leads him right back to the reservation Sam originally ran away from. It always gets a little convoluted trying to summarize a Christopher Moore plot. They get to meet Anubis, Coyote’s brother, and go to the Underworld along the way — how’s that for mixing metaphors?

I thought Coyote Blue was one of Moore’s finer novels, right up there with Lamb, even if it does get a little sloppy toward the end. If you’ve never read any of Moore’s novels, and you want something lighter to end the summer with, this would be a good choice.

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