American Gods: A Novel

Awards

Staff Pick

Do you ever wonder where gods go when all their worshippers are gone? Neil Gaiman tries to answer that question. Some live quiet lives in the Midwest, some don't remember who they are, and others have plans. Gaiman, as always, has a unique voice and good characters. His villains are scary, his heroes not always heroic, and his other characters are unique. I would recommend this book to anyone. As is true with most of Gaiman's work, American Gods is approachable by any reader, and everyone I've recommend it to has loved it (with the exception of the occasional contrarian or hater).
Recommended by Hobie, Powell's City of Books

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Average customer rating based on 19 comments:

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bear78, January 1, 2012 (view all comments by bear78)
So addictive it's frustrating...This book sent me down a long line of Gaiman works. I can't help but read anything and everything Gaiman now! Plus I've heard there was a special autographed edition run this year.

Recommend this work to any serious fantasy fanatic.

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Nitesh, January 5, 2010 (view all comments by Nitesh)
Gaiman at his best. Dark and brooding mythology, grand scale and a raven who refuses to say "nevermore".
America is the backdrop and the gods are trying not to get deported.
Read this book.

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08eller, January 4, 2010 (view all comments by 08eller)
Unabashedly different, American Gods changed what I expect from a novel, changed the way I view fiction, and completely changed the way I read. If you value thinking outside the box page after page, this book is for you. It stretches our perception of reality to the limits, and forces us to view life on new terms.

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780060558123

Author:

Gaiman, Neil

Publisher:

Harper Perennial

Author:

Armstrong, Kelley

Author:

by Neil Gaiman

Author:

Ga

Author:

iman, 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

Subject:

Science Fiction and Fantasy-Fantasy-Contemporary

Copyright:

2003

Edition Number:

1st Perennial ed.

Edition Description:

Trade PB

Publication Date:

September 2, 2003

Binding:

TRADE PAPER

Grade Level:

from 12

Language:

English

Pages:

624

Dimensions:

8 x 5.3125 x 1 in 17.6 oz

Age Level:

from 18

0 stars - 0 reviews

$9.50 In Stock

"Staff Pick" by Hobie,

Do you ever wonder where gods go when all their worshippers are gone? Neil Gaiman tries to answer that question. Some live quiet lives in the Midwest, some don't remember who they are, and others have plans. Gaiman, as always, has a unique voice and good characters. His villains are scary, his heroes not always heroic, and his other characters are unique. I would recommend this book to anyone. As is true with most of Gaiman's work, American Gods is approachable by any reader, and everyone I've recommend it to has loved it (with the exception of the occasional contrarian or hater).

by Hobie

"Review" by Kirkus Reviews, "[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."

"Review" by Kera Bolonik, The New York Times Book 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."

"Review" by Laura Miller, Salon.com, "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..." (read the entire Salon review)

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

"Review" by Publishers Weekly, "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."

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

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

"Review" by Ray Olson, Booklist, "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."

"Review" by VOYA, "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..."

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

"Review" by Entertainment Weekly, "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)"

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

"Review" by Library Journal, "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..."

"Review" by USA Today, "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."

"Review" by Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO), "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+)"

"Review" by Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, "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."

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

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

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

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

"Review" by Jane Lindskold, author of Changer, "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."

"Synopsis" by Penguin,

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong begins her new series with Omens, featuring a compelling new heroine thrust into a decades-old murder case and the dark mysteries surrounding her strange new home.

Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.

But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.

Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.

Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.