American Gods

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Author(s)

Neil Gaiman

Publisher

William Morrow & Company Inc

Genre(s)

Fantasy

Age Range

12+

Release Date

June 19, 2001

ISBN

0380973650

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After three years in prison, Shadow has done his time. But as the days, then the hours, then the minutes, then the seconds until his release tick away, he can feel a storm building. Two days before he gets out, his wife Laura dies in a mysterious car crash, in apparently adulterous circumstances. Dazed, Shadow travels home, only to encounter the bizarre Mr. Wednesday claiming to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America. Together they embark on a very strange journey across the States, along the way solving the murders which have occurred every winter in one small American town. But they are being pursued by someone with whom Shadow must make his peace... Disturbing, gripping and profoundly strange, Neil Gaiman's epic new novel sees him on the road to finding the soul of America.

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3 reviews

Overall rating

4.6

Plot

4.7(3)

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5.0(1)

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American Gods

July 16, 2015

Overall rating

4.3

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This book was an adventure, filled with so much going on at once it took me much longer than the average book to get through. It’s a book riddled with crazy characters, humorous dialogue, and surprises that were well thought out by Gaiman. It’s one of those books where I felt rewarded in the end and I will think about for quite a while after finishing. I think this is one you owe it to yourself to read and love, so I’m not going into much detail in the review. I will however share some of my favorite quotes below because this book had some gems:

“You shine like a beacon in a dark world.”

“The really dangerous people believe that they are doing whatever they are doing solely and only because it is without question the right thing to do. And that is what makes them dangerous.”

Fiction allows us to slip into these other heads, these other places, and look out through other eyes. And then in the tale we stop before we die, or we die vicariously and unharmed, and in the world beyond the tale we turn the page or close the book, and we resume our lives.

Maranda Hymes Top 500 Reviewer 18 reviews

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Possibly the Best Book Ever

August 11, 2009

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5.0

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Reader reviewed by danielle

American Gods is one of author Neil Gaimen's (Stardust, Coraline) most acclaimed works, about a man named Shadow who, upon his release from prison, discovers his wife is dead and his best friend (also supplier for a job) slept with her (also resulting in death XD). Aimless, he gets on a plane to no where in particular, meeting a man who calls himself Wednesday. Wednesday knows all about Shadow, and he has a job for him. To be his personel bodyguard.

What's there not to like about American Gods? It's most definetly horror/ficiton at it's finest, with well-rounded, quircky characters, a dark plot that manages to be readable, amazing prose that's descriptive without being boring, and an intricitley woven story that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end. It must have taken an amazing, exhausting effort for Mr. Gaimen to string together the plot, characters and setting in a way that is both complicated and understandable. Seriously, the man disserves a medal.

Overall, I have absolutely no gripes about this amazing novel, except that maybe it wasn't longer XD

Guest #1 Reviewer

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Favourite.Book.Ever.

November 11, 2008

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5.0

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Reader reviewed by Nic

Ex-con Shadow is pulled into a world of mystery, magic and nearly-forgotten gods after meeting a mysterious stranger on a plane. A war is coming, and Shadow becomes embroiled in the action, whether he likes it or not.

Fascinating, educational, and magical; this is by far one of the best books I have ever read. It is a work of genius from an author that never, ever disappoints.

Guest #1 Reviewer