American Gods

By: Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: Neil Gaiman, Dennis Boutskiaris, Daniel Oreskes, Ron McLarty, Sarah Jones

Length: 19 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

The definitive American road novel with over a million copies sold.

AN ACCLAIMED, EMMY-NOMINATED TV SERIES ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

WINNER OF THE HUGO, LOCUS AND BRAM STOKER AWARDS

After three years in prison, Shadow Moon is free to go home. But hours before his release, his beloved wife is killed in a freak accident. Numbly, he boards a plane where he meets an enigmatic stranger who seems to know Shadow and claims to be an ancient god - and king of America.

Together they embark on a profoundly strange road trip across the USA, encountering a kaleidoscopic cast of characters along the way. But all around them a storm of unnatural proportions is gathering.

War is coming, an epic struggle for the very soul of America. And Shadow is standing squarely in its path.

NEIL GAIMAN.

WITH STORIES COME POSSIBILITIES.

©2001 Neil Gaiman (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"To give him his full title: Neil Gaiman, Architect of Worlds, Svengali of Plot, Shaman of Character, Exploder of Cliché, Master Craftsman of Style, Dreamer Laureate of the Republic of Letters." (David Mitchell)

"Original, engrossing, and endlessly inventive." (George R.R. Martin)

"Brilliant and unique." (Guardian)

brilliant story, thrilling characters

Very deep and detailed story of a man finding himself again after being in prison --- but finding so much more as he gets involved with the gods. Amazing pictures of myth and legend, happening today.

Best audio book I've ever listened to

The story is great obviously.

But the cast is what makes this audiobook so memorable.

Fabulous story, performed well

Regarding the audiobook, this was so well read. One of the best I've listened to in terms of performance. Having different voices for the characters made this really come alive, even while the text was faithfully adhered to. The story itself is weird, bizarre, dark and multi-layered, but great as well.

Finest fiction

This is a fantastic fiction work. Audible version was well read. Man, this was a look good.

American Gods: A Journey Of Discovery.

Forgive me for not being good with words. However, I will try my best to summarise this masterpiece of a story as best I can.

The story of American Gods is one I would say of mystery, adventure, fantasy and history. However, If I were to be entirely honest I don't think you can wholeheartedly place it into one particular category. But at the same time, I would say it fits into all of them. Anyone who reads or in this case listens to this book will find it unique and interesting in their own way, everyone will have something different they take away from it. Whether it be the Coming to America stories which completely envelop you and take you on a journey of discovery and remembrance. Or be it the characters who are all unique and different, so different in fact that you can recognise them instantly just be the way they speak. Their phrasing and use of different words the individuality in the way they carry themselves. Whether it's the destinations they arrived in on their road trip through America. Every place having its own soul with people going about their day to day lives not knowing what or who just walked into their little cafe, restaurant or funeral parlour. These places and people being so real that you wish to go to them and walk the same paths that Shadow himself walked. Or be it the long drives they embarked on choosing not to take the main roads but instead opting for the backroads the roads less travelled more interesting because "If you have seen one highway you have seen them all". In fact, that is how I would describe American Gods, A Road less travelled, Unique in its own way and filled with interesting little stops that you don't see anywhere else.

Best of Neil Gaiman

American Gods is weird and wild trip through the USA with quirky characters on the way. I love this audiobook so much I've listened to it three times and always been surprised to discover new nuances, a forgotten fable or unexpected plot twist. The performances by the narrators are superb as they become the procession of characters in Gaiman's epic novel. This isn't necessarily a battle of good against evil but more a fight between old and new gods. The main character Shadow, is easy to like. He's a noble man but other characters are strongly flawed, which makes them deliciously terrible. This is not just the best of Gaiman's book, it's also my favourite novel of all time (so far). Listen and let yourself get lost in a warped fantasy about lost and new gods.

Sensational

The audiobook is easier to follow than the TV series (which I also loved) because - like most books - we get to know and understand the characters and their motivations much better. This is a fantastic and fantastical story. The multple narrators help keep the plots and characters clear. They also enhance the audiobook by keeping it fresh. If you're not used to longe audiobooks, then one like this - almost 20 hours - can be a bit daunting, particularly with a single-voice narration.
I loved this book and everything about the narration. Highly recommend it.

A Benchmark Title

An absolute modern classic book evolves into an absolute modern classic audiobook. Gaiman is one of my favourite authors (write more, damn you!) and American Gods is maybe his finest work. This is pretty much my favourite audiobook thus far.

Faultless.

Like nothing you've ever read before

Definitely not an easy read, you might even lose track at some places, but stick with it and you'll be rewarded!

Absolute MUST READ

Somehow I hadn’t heard of this book until a week ago. I found it in my Audible recommendations. I was intrigued the moment I read the review. The moment I started the book I was completely enveloped in an amazing world. A world which seemed to make as much sense as all the other popular alternatives. Full of rich humour, suspense, intrigue, twists, and imagination. Don’t miss this one.