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American Gods: A Novel
by Neil Gaiman

American Gods: A Novel Cover

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Awards

Winner of the 2002 Nebula Award
Winner of the 2002 Hugo Award
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Released from prison, Shadow finds his world turned upside down. His wife has been killed; a mysterious stranger offers him a job. But Mr. Wednesday, who knows more about Shadow than is possible, warns that a storm is coming — a battle for the very soul of America...and they are in its direct path.

One of the most talked-about books of the new millennium, American Gods is a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth and across an American landscape at once eerily familiar and utterly alien. It is, quite simply, a contemporary masterpiece.

Review:

"[A]mbitious, gloriously funny, and oddly heartwarming....A magical mystery tour through the mythologies of all cultures, a unique and moving love story — and another winner for the phenomenally gifted, consummately reader-friendly Gaiman." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"[A] noirish sci-fi road trip....[Gaiman] has a deft hand with the mythologies he tinkers with here; even better, he's a fine, droll storyteller." Kera Bolonik, The New York Times Book Review

Review:

"American Gods is a crackerjack suspense yarn with an ending that both surprises and makes perfect sense, as well as many passages of heady, imagistic writing. And for all that he's missed in the American propensity for religious fanaticism, Gaiman has exactly nailed the way we talk..." Laura Miller, Salon.com (read the entire Salon review)

Review:

"Mystery, satire, sex, horror, poetic prose — American Gods uses all these to keep the reader turning the pages." Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

Review:

"Shadow's poignant personal moments and the tale's affectionate slices of smalltown life are much better developed than the aimless plot....Mere mortal readers will enjoy the tale's wit, but puzzle over its strained mythopoeia." Publishers Weekly

Review:

"With his latest novel, Gaiman has created an engrossing mythology already begging for new installments....[F]iercely imagined..." Chris Barsanti, Book Magazine

Review:

"By turns thoughtful, hilarious, disturbing, uplifting, horrifying and enjoyable — and sometimes all at once." St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Review:

"After two sterling fantasies...Gaiman comes a cropper in a tale that is just too busy and, oddly for him, unengaging. His large fandom may make it a success, but many of them, even, will find it a chore to get through." Ray Olson, Booklist

Review:

"Every word in this amazing book is loaded with double meaning, every line of the story has a purpose, and each character is more than he or she seems....Filled with sly, dark humor and vivid personalities..." VOYA

Review:

"Immensely rewarding....A finely crafted novel of weight and significance." Cleveland Plain Dealer

Review:

"Provocative yet fun....American Gods works because of Gaiman's singular control over the proceedings, his nimble and intelligent voice, and his gift for painting spectacle and splashing big themes across his canvas. (Grade: B)" Entertainment Weekly

Review:

"Smart, dark....Uniquely ambitious." GQ

Review:

"Shadow's personal tale and the details of American small-town life are well developed compared with the not-well-defined plot....The book has wit but is too busy and not very engaging..." Library Journal

Review:

"Pointed, occasionally comic, often scary, consistently moving and provocative....Gaiman's novel will probably please newcomers to his work while convincing many devoted followers that his creativity and craft are still razor-sharp." USA Today

Review:

"Gaiman is fast becoming one of the most important of modern writers. In American Gods he has crafted a novel that is unique, literate, and highly readable. Don't miss it. (Grade: A+)" Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)

Review:

"American Gods manages to reinvent, and to reassert, the enduring importance of fantastic literature itself in this late age of the world. Dark fun, and nourishing to the soul." Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Review:

"Neil Gaiman, a writer of rare perception and endless imagination...is...an American treasure." William Gibson, author of Neuromancer and Pattern Recognition

Review:

"Here we have...a real emotional richness and grandeur that emerge from masterful storytelling." Peter Straub, co-author of Black House

Review:

"A magical modern Adventures of Huckleberry Finn — this book will astonish you on ever page." Tim Powers, author of Declare

Review:

"Gaiman slithers his snakily poetic way through the labyrinth of the human soul." Diana Gabaldon

Review:

"American Gods is like a fast run downhill through a maze — both exhilarating and twisted. In it, Gaiman introduces a world where the dead past is all too alive, where gods struggle to keep a toehold on existence, and where reality's backstage is only a carousel ride away." Jane Lindskold, author of Changer
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About the Author

A professional writer for more than twenty years, Neil Gaiman has been one of the top writers in modern comics, and is now a bestselling novelist.His work has appeared in translation in more than nineteen countries, and nearly all of his novels, graphic and otherwise, have been optioned for films.He is listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography as one of the top ten living post-modern writers.

Gaiman was the creator/writer of the monthly cult DC Comics series, "Sandman," which won Neil nine Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, including the award for best writer four times, and three Harvey Awards."Sandman #19" took the 1991 World Fantasy Award for best short story, making it the first comic ever to be awarded a literary award.

His six-part fantastical TV series for the BBC, "Neverwhere," was broadcast in 1996.His novel, also called "Neverwhere," and set in the same strange underground world as the television series, was released in 1997; it appeared on a number of bestseller lists, including those of the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Locus.

Stardust, an illustrated prose novel in four parts, began to appear from DC Comics in 1997.In 1999 Avon released the all-prose unillustrated version, which appeared on a number of bestseller lists, was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the best books of the year, and was awarded the prestigious Mythopoeic Award as best novel for adults.

American Gods, a novel for adults, was published in 2001 and appeared on many best-of- the-year lists, was a New York Times bestseller in both hardcover and paperback, and won the Hugo, Nebula, SFX, Bram Stoker, and Locus Awards.

Coraline (2002), his first novel for children, was a New York Times and international bestseller, was nominated forthe Prix Tam Tam, and won the Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award, the BSFA Award, the HUgo, the Nebula and the Bram Stoker Award.

2003 saw the publication ofbestseller The Wolves in the Walls, a children's picture book,illustrated by Gaiman's longtime collaborator Dave McKean, which the New York Times named as one of the best illustrated books of the year; and the first Sandman graphic novel in seven years, Endless Nights, the first graphic novel to make the New York Times bestseller list.

In 2004, Gaiman published the a new graphic novel for Marvel called 1602, which was the best-selling comic of 2004, and 2005 saw the Sundance Film Festival premiere of "MirrorMask," a Jim Henson Company Production written by Gaiman and directed by McKean.A lavishly designed book containing the complete script, black and white storyboards, and full-color art from the film will be published by William Morrow in early 2005; a picture book for younger readers, also written by Gaiman and illustrated with art from the movie, will be published by HarperCollins Children's Books at a later date.

Gaiman's official website has 400,000 unique visitors per month in 2004; close to 600,000 per month are expected in 2005. His online journal is syndicated to thousands of blog readers every day.

Born and raised in England, Neil Gaiman now lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he is currently at work on Anansi Boys, the long-awaited follow-up to American Gods.

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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
shays, July 6, 2007 (view all comments by shays)
America does not easily grow gods. Gods have come to America, though, carried in the baggage of believers from all parts of the world. However, the amount of concentrated faith needed for them to flourish has been watered down by the very diversity that makes America so unique because gods are created by their believers rather than the other way around (see Terry Pratchett?s ?Small Gods? for a humbler take on the same topic). As a result, those gods surviving the relocation have done so by taking menial and humdrum jobs in the everyday workplace. A war is brewing, though. Americans have been united by belief in the power of new gods ? electricity, technology, the media, and the dark forces of secret police, to name a few ? and the new gods want power. Enter Shadow, a quiet and soft-spoken ex-felon who finds himself at the center of this rising tide of conflict. Through his eyes, we come to a new understanding of our country, and life just under its surface as directed by America?s gods.
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uncle_loki, April 22, 2007 (view all comments by uncle_loki)
As always, Gaiman's work is fantastic! I love how comfortably he is able to weave mythologies of various cultures into the fabric of modern america.
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Coni, January 30, 2007 (view all comments by Coni)
What happens to gods when the world forgets about them?

This is an epic novel about a man named Shadow getting released from prison and having his world turned upside down on him. You slowly learn more about Shadow?s life as the novel goes on and he becomes Mr. Wednesday?s right-hand man while they travel around the U.S. and prepare for a war brewing between the old world gods and the new world gods.

I liked the description of middle America from someone outside the United States describing it from the perspective of gods. I also liked the little history lessons of folklore from different cultures.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780060558123
Author:
Gaiman, Neil
Publisher:
Harper Perennial
Author:
by Neil Gaiman
Author:
Gaiman, Neil
Location:
New York
Subject:
Spiritual Warfare
Subject:
Fantasy - General
Subject:
Fantasy fiction
Subject:
Fantasy - Contemporary
Subject:
National characteristics, american
Subject:
Bodyguards
Subject:
Ex-convicts
Subject:
Widowers
Subject:
General Fiction
Copyright:
2003
Edition Number:
1st Perennial ed.
Edition Description:
Perennial
Publication Date:
September 2, 2003
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
592
Dimensions:
800x542x107 106
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