May 28, 2001
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)Forecast:Even when he isn't in top form, Gaiman, creator of the acclaimed Sandman comics series, trumps many storytellers. Momentously titled, and allotted a dramatic one-day laydown with a 12-city author tour, his latest will appeal to fans and attract mainstream review coverage—for better or for worse—because of the rich possibilities of its premise.

February 1, 2011

More than a million copies of this novel have been sold in three formats in this country alone, and upon publication it won the Hugo, Locus, Bram Stoker, and SFX awards. So why a new edition? There's a new introduction, the author's "preferred" text--that is, the text before it got edited, with Gaiman's original language sprinkled throughout--and a bonus scene. This would seem like a natural for many collections, especially where the original is worn out, so I find the 50,000-copy first printing a little low.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"American Gods manages to reinvent, and reassert, the enduring importance of fantastic literature itself in this late age of the world. Dark fun, and nourishing to the soul." — Michael Chabon

"Provocative yet fun . . . Gaiman has applied his vast breadth of knowledge about all things mythological to a truly high concept." — Entertainment Weekly

"Gaiman returns to the fertile killing ground that nourished The Sandman: that peculiarly American crossroads where pop culture intersects with religion, violence and death." — Village Voice Literary Supplement

"Immensely rewarding . . . . Suffused with . . . powerful imagery and deftly painted characters . . . . A finely crafted novel of weight and significance [with] poetic descriptions, sharp-eyed criticism, and first-rate storytelling. There is much to enjoy, to admire, and to ponder in this unforgettable tale." — Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Pointed, occasionally comic, often scary, consistently moving and provocative . . . . American Gods is strewn with secrets and magical visions." — USA Today

"Mystery, satire, sex, horror, poetic prose-American Gods uses all these to keep the reader turning the pages." — Washington Post

"Original, engrossing, and endlessly inventive." — George R. R. Martin

American Gods is sexy, thrilling, dark, funny and poetic." — Teller, of Penn & Teller

"American Gods is like a fast run downhill through a maze — both exhilarating and twisted." — Jane Lindskold, author of Changer and