Thank you so much to Neil Gaiman for generously allowing this ebook edition of his acclaimed novel, American Gods, to be made freely available to readers during the 2020 Coronavirus lockdown. What must, by now, be a classic in the genre of fantasy writing was a pleasure to re-read during the horror of this pandemic.

This is my second Neil Gaiman book, the first being Stardust which I really enjoyed and by the title of this I was expecting something equally whimsical, and its totally not.

I was really into this book in the beginning, because it was so far from what I was expecting it totally threw me to start the journey from prison and with such traumatic news in the first chapter I quickly felt invested in Shadow and felt quite protective actually on what would happen to him. I also really liked Wednesday (although I wish he'd used another one of his many names as Wednesday will always Wednesday Addams and that was distracting) what a guy, I could road trip with this dude.

Around half way I did feel like the book was starting to drag and I lost my way a bit with it but then I really enjoyed the last few chapters so it was a bit of a hit, then a miss and then a hit again for me.

This book is written in a way like only Gaiman can, it tackles real-life issues within mystery and fantasy overlay. This is one of Gaimans larger books and in true Neil Gaiman fashion is a brilliant fantasy read.

The book reads like a awesome American road trip. The story follows a man named Shadow, who after serving jail time gets released early due to his wife being killed in a car crash. Soon after being released Shadow meets Wednesday and the road trip begins. Shadow has lost everything he holds dear to him, left with nowhere to go and nothing to do he's on the path of self discovery. Throughout the book you're introduced to many Gods and other mystical creatures who try and sway the thoughts of Shadow, manipulating and sometimes scaring him in to their way of thinking. In the mists of all the manipulation Shadow has to make sure the war of the new 'Gods' and the old Gods falls to the right side. This book is filled humour, fantasy and truth with a few twists within the pages.

The size of this book may be daunting to some however it reads and flow so well that you'd wish it was bigger. I recommend this book to current fans and people who've never thought of picking up a Neil Gaiman before.

Never watched the TV show, but absolutely enjoyed reading the book, huge fan of Terry Pratchett so was willing to give this a try with that in mind. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Neil Gaiman’s work is never “safe” and/or “easy” reading. His writing challenges the reader to re-examine preconceived notions and perhaps open one’s mind to new ideas. AMERICAN GODS continues with this tradition.

Shadow is hired by the mysterious Mr. Wednesday as his driver and errand boy. He knows there is something “different” about his enigmatic employer, but Shadow is only recently released from prison and really isn’t in a position to rock the boat.

In their travels together, Shadow reconnects with his ex, meets several supernatural Entities both of the Old World and the New, and begins to wonder if his employment by Mr. Wednesday is as random as it originally appeared to be.

How to describe this delightful piece of writing? It is a typical Neil Gaiman. He takes you into situations you just cannot quite fathom. Surreal. Sometimes scary, and sometimes enticing.
He turns dark corners and leads you into alleyways you never wanted to encounter, or takes you to the circus.
All I can say is: brilliant, thought-provoking writing. In order to enjoy this book, it is best to let go of preconceptions and expectations. Just go along for the ride.

This was the first novel of Neil Gaiman that I read and it took me down the rabbit hole of his fantastical works, so it will always hold a special place in my bookworm heart.

I definitely wouldn't recommend this to everyone and I definitely won't be shoving this one down people's throats but I did enjoy it even if I did spend the majority of this book slightly confused about what was happening. Maybe I wasn't concentrating on it enough, maybe it was all one giant metaphor and I didn't really get it or maybe it just wasn't that clear. I started watching the Amazon Prime adaptation and after about 3 minutes, I understand it so much more.

I found it hard to read and it did feel like it dragged a lot. There were some incredibly long chapters that seemed to cover a lot of content but also not a lot at all. I enjoyed the book as I was reading it but now I've finished it and reflecting on it, I'm still very confused and don't really get the point of some of the characters. Maybe I need to study up on mythology and symbolism a bit more before I give this one another chance and try to understand what was actually happening.

There were also some chapters that are set in a completely different time period, that I think were meant to add to the plot and explain more about the mythology and history to set up the plot. However, I didn't quite get this whole concept until a good way through the book and things started to click into place more.

This review makes it seem like I really didn't enjoy the book. I did it, was well written and slightly addictive if you didn't question it too much but I don't think it was as clear as it could have been.

I don't know why it took me so long to read this book. I'm a huge Gaiman fan; I just kept hesitating to take on this book. It's epic; a true masterpiece.

This was the first Neil Gaiman book that I have read and I'm very pleased to say that it won't be the last! I really liked the characters and how well formed they were and the unique way that this book is like a love letter to America.

This is one of my favorite books of all time by one of my favorite authors. While urban fantasy is not necessarily my favorite fantasy subgenre, there is just something about this book that always reels me in.

Thank you to Neil Gaiman and to the publisher for making this book available for download during quarantine so I can reread it yet again.

As lame as this sounds, there’s simply not enough positive things that can be said about this book. So instead, I’ll give a few warnings. This book is a slow burner. You’ll be nearly a hundred pages in before you really have an inkling as to what the plot is about, and from there, the pacing doesn’t really quicken much. But that’s okay! It’s something that really works in the favor of the book. If you can’t handle open minded discussion of religions and gods, then this book is not for you. However, it masterfully and respectfully hands many mythologies and ties them into a cohesive, satisfying, engaging story that’s well worth the time it will take you to read it.


Now that all that’s out of the way, let’s talk about some of the aspects, good and bad, about the book. I’ve seen some criticisms of the book that say it never reaches the full potential of its premise. I disagree with that. Much of the book is dedicated to the wrangling together of all the gods, which is exactly what the book says it’s gonna be about. The climax is satisfying in a somewhat unexpected way. But the clues are dropped throughout the book. It’s not a climax that comes out of left field. Characters remain in character, and, for me, it ends in a wholly satisfying way.

That’s not to say the book doesn’t have some issues. Primarily in Part 2. The whole Lakeside arc is kind of useless, in the broad context of the story. Everything kind of comes to a halt. Yeah, some of the chapters deal with Shadow and Wednesday continuing to recruit gods who will be important to the finale, but that could’ve been accomplished in a chapter of two, instead of the five or so that end up being in that part. And they’re lengthy chapters, too. Most of what happens in Lakeside has no real impact on the rest of the story. It’s truly a B-plot line. Which is fine, but I think it’s a reason why people find the book overly long and meandering and disappointing. It really does feel like everything just takes a break for Shadow to do some fun small-town shenanigans. There’s some fun character development that happens, and I’m not saying the entire part is useless, but it’s definitely somewhat superfluous. If one were to shorten the book, they could easily start with the Lakeside plotline.

In the Author’s Preferred Edition, there’s a cut scene involving a conversation between Shadow and Jesus Christ. I understand why it was cut, that Gaiman felt it hinted at something he couldn’t provide in the restraints of this particular novel, but I wish it had been kept in the actual novel (not as an apocryphal scene) because I think it touches on some of the interesting themes of the later half of the book, where it’s emphasized that the gods essentially have different forms of themselves depending on who’s worshiping them. That’s really interesting, and I wish that conversation had been kept in the chapter it was originally supposed to be in. It’s a short scene, after all. But I get why it was cut.

I really enjoy how the book ends. The last few chapters are just gripping. Really all of Part 3 is fantastic. The way Gaiman jumps from different points of view as everyone finds their way to Rock City is a masterclass in creating tension. We’ll see something happen from one point of view, and then see the events that led to that thing happening, etc. It really makes it so that you don’t want to put down the book. At all.

Overall, I enjoyed American Gods even more the second time I read it. It’s fascinating, gripping, epic, moving, and most of all entertaining. There’s a reason it’s as beloved as it is. I’m outrageously excited for the STARZ adaptation of it because so much of this book is vividly visual that it’ll be exciting to see it realized on TV.

If you like Gaiman, like fantasy, like theology, or just like a good story, I recommend you read this book immediately.

Excellent reimagining of the history of the US and it's mythology. I especially enjoyed the 'Coming to America" segments.

Would I recommend it ? yes

Would I read more of this series ? yes

Would I read more of this author ? maybe

I'm so glad that I decide to give this author a second chance because I read one other book by him which was Neverwhere ( London Below #1) and sadly didn't like it.But then I saw that Mr.Gaiman was offering this copy of American Gods Tenth Anniversary Edition on NetGelley and I had heard it was good so I went and got it and wow I can see why people say this is their favorite one or one of their favorite of his books.At first it's kind of slow and hard to get into but I was reading other books along side this one but the more I read it the more I got in to the story and got to know the characters,that there was times that I knew I was supposed to be reading the other books that I just didn't want to put it down and doing those time I just kept reading. Another thing I loved was how he mixed and blended the different types of mythology and the supernatural together, and that with each turn of the page the characters came more to life. But a big win for me was how this book give me every thing I was hopping for which the mystery, the adventure as well as a bit of darkness and even some of the characters was just plain down right creepy. With that said I wan to give a big thanks to Mr.Gaiman as well as his publisher and NetGalley for giving me this chance at reading and review American Gods and I can't wait to pick up more of this series to read when I can

A classic! Quintessential Neil Gaiman from start to finish and a rip roaring ride at that. Excited I finally got a chance to read it!

Love this classic book! A tale built for lovers of mythology, magic and mystery, American Gods is such a treat. Mythology mixes with the modern world in this story about the power of belief and how it takes root in our world. The pacing is a bit slow at the beginning, but you will find yourself quickly drawn into a secret world of ancient magical players that will stop at nothing to keep a firm grip on civilization and their presence in our lives.

I highly recommend this book for readers that enjoy fairy-tale retellings or modern retelling of mythologies.

This is one of the great classics of modern literature. Future generations should be taught this text in high school and college English classes.

There's not many books that I would reread but American Gods was just as good as - if not better than - the first time around.

Gaiman is a rare talent with a beautiful style of writing and American Gods has it all - an interesting premise, a fully immersive world with well developed and interesting characters, action, humour, sex, mystery and mythology.

Strange, enthralling, charming and a perfect introduction to Gaiman's work. A masterpiece.

Thank you so much for this copy of American Gods. This is the an amazing book. The characters jump off the page, as with all Neil Gaiman books. I loved it.

Thank you so much Neil Gaiman and Netgalley for the free copy of American Gods!!! I absolutely love Neil Gaiman books! His books are always interesting with intriguing characters. I have been reading his books for years and my favorite of all time is, Ocean at the end of the lane.