American Gods - Neil Gaiman

American Gods

By Neil Gaiman

  • Release Date: 2009-10-13
  • Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 542 Ratings
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Description

Now a STARZ® Original Series produced by FremantleMedia North America starring Ricky Whittle, Ian McShane, Emily Browning, and Pablo Schreiber.

Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life.

But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow’s best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and a rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself.

Life as Wednesday’s bodyguard, driver, and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imagined. Soon Shadow learns that the past never dies . . . and that beneath the placid surface of everyday life a storm is brewing—an epic war for the very soul of America—and that he is standing squarely in its path.

“Mystery, satire, sex, horror, poetic prose—American Gods uses all these to keep the reader turning the pages.”—Washington Post

Reviews

  • Perfect Dualism

    5
    By DerrickMONROE
    Great story by many factors; I've always admired his ability to combine alternate universes into the modern world; vastly creative, funny, at times dark and very fluid read. I picked up the authors edition with about 12,000 more words than the initial release. Good choice!

  • Magical Suspense & Dark Humor

    5
    By DrKate_K8
    Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I did not find any characters extraneous and felt that every subplot was beautifully tied into the main plot by the end. The metaphor of "American gods" was one I appreciated. It was a very satisfying read for me.

  • Very weird

    2
    By I Kant tink of a nicknam
    I'm not sure what this guy was smoking when he wrote this book but some chunks of it made no sense at all. There were so many parts of the story that were vague and confusing I didn't want to finish it but eventually did and was unsatisfied by the conclusion.

  • Fell A Little Flat

    3
    By PaperbakWriter
    Interesting story and entertaining, but there were times I couldn't help but feel Gaiman writes on a 7th grade level.

  • American Gods

    5
    By ilovewriting!!fantasy
    This book,oh my god. It is so good. I absolutely loved it. One of my friends gave it to me, and another said that this book was really dirty. I agreed with them at some points, a little to much sex for me. But over all it was really amazing. Thank you

  • Painful.

    2
    By Fluffhead44
    Lately I've read the Game of Thrones series, and World War Z. Both were great. I'm 1/3 of the way into this mess, and don't know if I can go on. Am I reading the same book as you guys? So far all I've read is ridiculous nonsense that reads like a teenager wrote it. I don't feel any suspense, reading this, and don't care about any of the characters. Weird stuff is happening all around the main character with no rhyme or reason, and then we get pulled into side stores that don't seem to have any connection. This is good story writing? Considering what I've been reading, I'm obviously very forgiving of odd or long winded writing styles, but this is just painful to read. I guess I just don't get it. I'll keep reading.

  • Disappointed

    2
    By Marisa24/7
    I wanted to like this book, but I was disappointed. I loved Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, but I think American Gods is overly ambitious in scope. It kind of skims the surface of a variety of mythological, religious, and spiritual topics. I still don't understand why some of the characters were included. The Lightning Thief children's series develops similar ideas more fully, and has more believable relationships. However, I must admit that I couldn't stop reading!!

  • One of my favorite books of all time.

    5
    By Bad Wolf85
    Fantastic. If you love theology you are in for a special treat.

  • Awesome!

    5
    By Henchman24
    That's the review, awesome!

  • Simply amazing

    5
    By Chapel413
    When I was first given this book to read I put it off for many a months and made every excuse not to read it. One day I just picked it up to kill some time and literally did not put this book down until I was done. I was instantly captivated and astonished by the story, I was always a big history buff and this book made me double over with all the various culture and ancient religion references, I literally almost forgot to breath during the last 100 or so pages. Since reading this book I have read every single piece of Gaimans works and devoted an entire shelf to his works. He is truly a master of story telling and a must read author for anyone looking for compelling heart filled work.

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