American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition
A Novel
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4.4 • 129 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Since it was first published, American Gods became an instant classic. Now discover the mystery and majesty of American Gods in this beautiful reissue of the Author's Preferred Text edition. Featuring a new preface by Neil Gaiman in honor of the novel's 20th anniversary, this commemorative volume is a true celebration of a modern masterpiece.
Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the magic 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—it is a job that takes him on a dark and strange road trip and introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Do Americans worship anything besides money, beauty, phones, and cars? Ask Shadow, a man enlisted to serve a strange deity who’s taken human form and is looking for allies in a coming war between Old and New. American Gods, Neil Gaiman’s richly imagined pageturner, invites you to suspend disbelief and open yourself to the possibility that the divine world harbors something ancient, alive—and worth believing in. Gaiman’s fluid prose effortlessly propels Shadow through a thrilling, hall-of-mirrors plot.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Titans clash, but with more fuss than fury in this fantasy demi-epic from the author of Neverwhere. The intriguing premise of Gaiman's tale is that the gods of European yore, who came to North America with their immigrant believers, are squaring off for a rumble with new indigenous deities: "gods of credit card and freeway, of Internet and telephone, of radio and hospital and television, gods of plastic and of beeper and of neon." They all walk around in mufti, disguised as ordinary people, which causes no end of trouble for 32-year-old protagonist Shadow Moon, who can't turn around without bumping into a minor divinity. Released from prison the day after his beloved wife dies in a car accident, Shadow takes a job as emissary for Mr. Wednesday, avatar of the Norse god Grimnir, unaware that his boss's recruiting trip across the American heartland will subject him to repeat visits from the reanimated corpse of his dead wife and brutal roughing up by the goons of Wednesday's adversary, Mr. World. At last Shadow must reevaluate his own deeply held beliefs in order to determine his crucial role in the final showdown. Gaiman tries to keep the magical and the mundane evenly balanced, but he is clearly more interested in the activities of his human protagonists: Shadow's poignant personal moments and the tale's affectionate slices of smalltown life are much better developed than the aimless plot, which bounces Shadow from one episodic encounter to another in a design only the gods seem to know. Mere mortal readers will enjoy the tale's wit, but puzzle over its strained mythopoeia. (One-day laydown, June 19)
Customer Reviews
To Each Their Own
First, Gaiman is a master story teller. At its roots, this book is exactly that.
I've read reviews ranging from one star ( pointless, too much going on, confusing, erratic, all over the place etc.), to those who thoroughly enjoyed it ( where I'd say 85 percent do ).
This was an amazing read for me. Lots going on, yes. But not in a confusing or labouring fashion. I hung off of every word and I haven't read a book that I couldn't put down like this one, in a long time. Amazing characters ( there are a lot but they all play their role wonderfully),
exciting plot advancement.
Take a shot with it, just go in and enjoy the book for what it is, a unique story. The rest will follow
American Gods
A fantastic novel. It's up there in the pantheon of Peter Straub's "Ghost story",Clive Barker's "The Great and Secret show", Dan Simmons "Carrion Comfort" and of course,Stephen King's "The Stand". A must read.
Favourite Book of all time!
I love the characters, the settings, the story, the history, the gods, the everything! Sure, it can be a bit “all over the place” when switching back and forth between separate groups, but in all honesty I didn’t find it hard to follow at all, and was interested in every single one of the character’s actions.