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American Gods book cover
Fantasy · Dark

Ex-convict Shadow becomes bodyguard to a mysterious con man named Mr. Wednesday and travels across America

American Gods

by Neil Gaiman

2001465 pagesModerate readSteady pace
★ Hugo Award for Best Novel, 2002

A road trip across America among old gods and new ones

Headline in the UK and William Morrow in the US published the novel on 19 June 2001, and the original edition has 465 pages. It is a fantasy that blends Americana with ancient and modern mythology. Shadow, an ex-convict, becomes bodyguard to a mysterious con man, Mr. Wednesday, as they travel across America. William Morrow published a tenth anniversary edition in June 2011 with the author's preferred text, about 12,000 words longer. Starz premiered a TV series in April 2017.

More about this book

Who

Shadow Moon, Mr. Wednesday, Laura Moon, Samantha "Sam" Black Crow and Chad Mulligan.

World

Contemporary America, seen through its myths.

What makes it different

It won the Hugo, the Nebula, the Locus Award and the Bram Stoker Award. The author's preferred text came out in 2011.

Feel

Strange and atmospheric.

See it on Amazon

Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition

Further reading

About the author

Neil Gaiman2 books on Tori Books