American Gods [TV Tie-In]

By: Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: George Guidall

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)

Read other Neil Gaiman first

Reviewers have recommend that newcomers to Neil Gaiman not read American Gods first. I would agree. Not that this book might might be his best but it is definitely way out there truly defying classification or genre. The book is sacrilegious as all get out and that is fine with me but it has something to offend everyone somewhere in the book… and that's still fine with me. Just don't be turned off to the author with this as your first read of one of his books. The storytelling is just superb and again wonderfully executed by George Guidall.

I got turned off to the Wheel of Time series after about the fifth installment finding each volume pretty much followed the same formula and there was very little fresh. This is never the case with Neil Gaiman. Every book is a new surprise and it is hard to believe almost any of them are from the same author. One common denominator for sure, they are all excellent.

I bailed after Part 1

I love Neil Gaiman, I really do, but I could not keep reading this. This is his "revised" version, which adds something like 20,000 more words to the narrative. Really. Too much. George Guidall is a good narrator and gamely tackles the often difficult text with strong characterizations and lively conversations, but it wasn't enough. I just found the story about demons and angels battling in the Midwest frustrating, weird and alienating.
I felt guilty giving up but I did. Life's too short. So sue me.

Fun with metaphysics

This is my first read of a Gaiman novel. As a huge comics fan, I am always hopeful that a writer of comics can succeed as a traditional author.

Here Gaiman not only did not let me down, but in fact superseded my expectations. The narrative is clever, and the characters are just interesting enough to allow the events to unfold in the way that they need to unfold. We know little about the Shadow character - here that is a good thing.

The best thing about the novel is that the story becomes both more exciting and plausible as it gets closer to its climax. And the epilogue is even better.

The narrator is excellent. His vocal repertoire is quite good. It is particularly strong for the female characters, such as Laura, and for the two most interesting male gods, Wednesday and Chernabog. Some of the voices are a tad cartoonish, but they seem to match Gaiman's intentions.

In summary, this is a highly enthusiastic review of a book that should not disappoint.

The metaphysical punchlines are profound

This was maybe the best of 3 dozen or so Audible books I've heard so far (along with, maybe, the Ender series). The story is riveting. The reading is excellent. A couple of reviewers have complained about the reader's interpretation of the lead female as being flat. Well, she's dead. So I think that's probably an appropriate characterization. The reader produces outstanding interpretations of dozens of voices from lots of different parts of the world.

Most importantly, though, Gaiman weaves into this story a bunch of important metaphysical observations. I had to press pause on several occasions to simply reflect: What does he mean by that? How does he know? How would I test this hypothesis? How do I see this played out in real life?

One of the best recent books I've encountered in a long time. Well-deserving of its Hugo and Nebula awards. With Gaiman, I'm finding I like the Audible versions even better than the print versions.

Good Gaiman

Neil Gaiman's unique mix of fairy tale, humor, science-fiction, and tragedy is a beautiful thing when it's firing on all cylinders. He is able to create worlds that are completely believable one moment and utterly impossible the next. In this epic story of exiled gods trying to find their way back to Valhalla, Olympus, or wherever else they came from, he examines the myths at the core of our civilization while simultaneously providing a hilarious gangster story complete with shadowy agents, double-crosses, and Russian expatriates. Nothing is what it seems to be...

You have to get into it.

It took multiple tries to get into this one. Giaman is a moving and wonderful author but sometimes he goes on…..and on…..and on…..such is the case with this one. However, the story is interesting and does come together right when you are thinking “WHAT?” to yourself. Overall 3+ stars.

Amazing. This tale is in the fantasy VIP section.

Where does American Gods rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Ranks in my top ten, up there with Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot was more smooth and cohesive than a cliff hanger, though it was definitely intriguing and kept me listening even though it was long.

Have you listened to any of George Guidall’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, and he is always stellar. He narrated many of the dark tower books, and was just as engrossing and involved in American Gods.

Any additional comments?

It took Gaiman a few years to finish this book, and that was time well spent. The research he must have done on ancient gods and traditions was evident and well adjusted to the story. The length of the book did not subtract from its content one bit. The prose of it was often beautiful and understated. It reminded me of what the Odysee might be like if it were actually written in modern times, rather than some cheap rendition of a modernized version of an old tale, as we've often had to sit through as movie ideas seem to dry up more and more these days. Very engrossing, adequately detailed, even paced, and highly imaginative, yet well grounded book. I recommend it!

solid book

This was a very enjoyable listen. If you enjoy King and Barker, you will like this and it will grow on you as the plot progresses. I have never read anything else by this author and I might not, but this book seems to be different and I recommend wholeheartedly. If you like this, read Galilee by Clive Barker and visit Moderneden.

Incredible Story - Fantastic Narration

I'm still new to the Neil Gaiman world and am finding that his gift for storytelling definitely lives up to the hype. The story is rich and captivating - literary art at its finest. As all audiobook fans will agree, narration can make or break the listening experience - bravo to George Guidall in his talent for revealing the true personalities of the characters and making them so believable despite the frequently unbelievable situations they find themselves in. All in all a very satisfying experience and truly credit-worthy selection.

Mythic fiction at its best

The basic premise is this: A multitude of gods who have been brought to America in the prayers, beliefs, and myths imported with the faithful, subsequently abandoned and nearly forgotten, are now disguised as ordinary folk pursuing ordinary occupations, though sometimes exhibiting extraordinary powers. Add to the mix the unflappable ex-con Shadow, enlisted by "Wednesday" (aka Odin) for some ill-defined job as a bodyguard. In "American Gods", Gaiman has woven a wonderful and captivating homage to the power of myth and story. I haven't enjoyed a novel of mythic fantasy so much since Robert Holdstock's "Mythago Wood," published decades earlier.