American Gods [TV Tie-In]

By: Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 20 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2015 FreemantleMedia North America. All rights reserved. Artwork © Starz Entertainment, L.L.C. Starz and related services marks are the property of Starz Entertainment, L.L.C. (P)2001 HarperCollinsPublishers Inc.

Critic reviews

Hugo Award Winner, Best Novel, 2002

Nebula Award Winner, Best Novel, 2002

"Read dynamically and emotionally by George Guidall - who gives more personalities and ethnicities than one would think possible... Brilliant dialogue and profound insights into American consciousness show Gaiman to be a visionary and a master wordsmith." (AudioFile)

"Neil Gaiman enters Stephen King territory...with American Gods." (New York Post)

"A crackerjack suspense yarn...juicily original...Wagnerian noir." (Salon.com)

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

Great mix of tall tales, legends, and plot twists

What a refreshing change. This book mixes in a variety of myths, legends, and tall tales into a suspensful tale of its own with plot twists that keep you guessing all the way. It's well read with lively voice characterizations that made the listen much more interesting for me. Highly recommended.

Engaging story, masterful characterization

Gaiman takes an essentially absurd premise, that the old gods of the old world have found their way to the new and are literally dying for a revival movement, and makes you WANT to believe it, by presenting his story from the perspective of a not-entirely sympathetic but nonetheless loveable protagonist - Shadow. Shadow has become Odin's Administrative Assistant, and has become engaged in an elaborate con-game designed to wrest power from the new gods (TV, Money, Town, World, etc), and suffered personal tragedies that make this work seem palatable in comparison with returning to his day-to-day life. As the conflict builds, Shadow becomes aware that his own choices may indeed affect its resolution in ways that he is not certain he can control.

Gaiman's writing is beautifullay paced, clean, and interesting. The book embeds several stories within itself, each as engaging as the overall plot. The characters are not only archtetypical, but believable and enchanting.

The Audible version is very well performed, with the narrator giving each character their own consistent voiced personality.

This is a great piece of post-modern fantasy, and the Audible version is well worth getting.

A bit long but very good

Great book. The characters, atmosphere and the whole universe was very well developed. Ending was kinda disappointing though. The narration was wonderfull as well.

Insightful, profound and insidiously spellbinding

All the previous reviewers are correct. At first I was impatient with the speaker's slow pace, but the story is just excellent and by the end I kept hoping it would go on and on. I listened while walking in the countryside each day, a pace and setting that suits the male speaker's slower rhythm. The speaker is an excellent performer, but I was impatient with the slower rate; then realized the impatience may be due to a faster life style, the sound bite age.... The quality of the writing and its content are worth enduring the slower pace. I tried downloading part of the file as an MP3 and running it on Windows Media 10 with its variable speed control to see if speeding it up would help, but the file is not compatible with that program. If you've read or heard other works by this author, you'll find American Gods is equal to those efforts.

Love the Story

I very much enjoyed this one! It took me some time to understand why he jumped from the present to another time, but it came together nicely into the story. I found it difficult to stop listening to. I put my iPod on while I ironed, washed dishes, besides the normal listening in the car t work. I very much like the direction Gaiman is taking in his writing.
His characters were always in development from beginning to end. I felt good and bad about Shadow's wife and was very impressed with her character's bravery and love.
Great book.

Another enjoyable listen

I really enjoyed Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys,and I wondered whether he could deliver another book of the same quality. American Gods started off a little slow, but then it took off. Both the story and the performance were well worth the listen.

Narration didn't work for me

I would like to give the full-cast narration of this book a try because this narration just did not work for me. Could it be because the book largely has no real plot? Maybe. But I mostly think it was because every time the narrator used a high-pitched voice for a female character I immediately wanted to turn it off and listen to something more authentic and real.

sheer strange, yet sublime perfection

Paced like the journey it is with wondrously fascinating flavors that sooth you and open your heart as well as your mind.

Great narration. Great material.

I love the performance by the narrator. He captures the characters nicely and sets a great pace and tone for the book. I love American Gods. The story makes you look at religion and idols in a different manner. Must read.

One if my favorite books

This book is a classic, and George Guidall is an exceptional narrator. One of my favorite books and my absolute favorite Audiobook. #Magicalrealism #fantasy
 #tagsgiving #sweepstakes