American Gods (2001) is a fantasy novel by British author Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn Shadow.
The book was published in 2001 by Headline in the United Kingdom and by William Morrow in the United States. It gained a positive critical response and won the 2002 Hugo and Nebula awards.
A special tenth anniversary edition, which includes the "author's preferred text" and 12,000 additional words, was published in June 2011 by William Morrow. Two audio versions of the book were produced and published by Harper Audio: an unabridged version of the original published edition, read by George Guidall, released in 2001; a full cast audiobook version of the tenth anniversary edition, released in 2011. In March 2017, The Folio Society published a special collector's edition of American Gods, with many corrections to the author's preferred text version.
In April 2017, Starz began airing a television adaptation of the novel. Bryan Fuller and Michael Green served as showrunners, and Gaiman is an executive producer. Fuller and Green departed the show after the first season.
Plot summary Shadow Moon is a convict scheduled for release from prison. Two days before his scheduled release, he learns that his wife, Laura, has been killed in a car accident, and he is released early. Shadow is devastated by her death and is distraught to learn that she died alongside his best friend Robbie, with whom she had been having an affair. As he was supposed to get a job from Robbie upon his release from prison, Shadow is out of luck and has to figure out what to do now. With nowhere to go, Shadow takes a job as a bodyguard for a mysterious con man, Mr. Wednesday, and travels with him across the United States. Shadow meets a leprechaun named Mad Sweeney, who gives Shadow a magical gold coin after Shadow beats him in a fight. Shadow later tosses the coin into Laura's grave at her funeral, inadvertently bringing her back from the dead as a revenant. Shadow meets Czernobog and the three Zorya Sisters. One of the sisters gives Shadow a silver coin, coming from the Moon, to protect him. Shadow learns that Wednesday is an incarnation of Odin the All-Father, and that he is recruiting American manifestations of the Old Gods, whose powers have waned as their believers have decreased in number, to participate in a battle against the New Gods – manifestations of what humanity now worships, such as technology, media, pop-culture, and modern means of transport. Shadow meets many of Wednesday's allies, including Mr. Nancy, Easter, Whiskey Jack, and John Chapman.
The New Gods' henchmen, the Spooks, abduct Shadow; Laura rescues him, killing several Spooks in the process. Wednesday tells Shadow to hide with Mr. Ibis and Mr. Jacquel (Thoth and Anubis, respectively), who run a funeral parlor in Cairo, Illinois. Sweeney appears and asks Shadow to give back the coin, which holds all of Sweeney's power. Shadow admits that he no longer has the coin, and Sweeney dies. His body is tended to by Ibis and Jacquel, who lament the loss of another Old God. On the way to the Wisconsin community of Lakeside, Shadow picks up the hitchhiker Samantha Black Crow and drops her off at her house. Once in Lakeside, Shadow hides under the alias "Mike Ainsel" and spends time with several Lakeside residents who all live simple but happy and prosperous lives. Wednesday periodically takes Shadow on jobs to meet other gods. They are pursued all the while by the Spooks, particularly Mr. Town, who blames Shadow for the death of his friends. When a teenager in Lakeside goes missing, Shadow helps the other residents search for her, to no avail. Shadow learns that children and teenagers often go missing from Lakeside. He is then arrested for breaking his parole, but escapes with help from Czernobog and Mr. Nancy.
The New Gods seek to parley with Wednesday, but murder him at the meeting. This act is witnessed by and galvanizes the Old Gods, and they rally to face their enemies in battle at Rock City. While retrieving Wednesday's body, Shadow is surprised to discover his old prison cellmate and mentor, Low Key Lyesmith, is working as a driver for the New Gods. Shadow is bound by his contract with Wednesday to hold his vigil by re-enacting Odin's time hanging from a "World Tree" while pierced by a spear for nine days. During these nine days, he is visited by Horus, who has become mad from living too long as a hawk. Shadow dies and visits the land of the dead, where he is judged by Anubis. Shadow learns that he is Wednesday's (Odin's) son, conceived as part of the deity's plans. During this time, Mr. Town arrives at the World Tree, ordered by Mr. World to cut a branch from it.
Horus finds Easter and convinces her to bring Shadow back to life. Shadow realizes Mr. World is actually Low Key (Loki) Lyesmith, and that Odin and Loki have been working a "two-man con". They orchestrated Shadow's birth, his meeting with Loki in disguise in prison, and Laura's death. Loki had arranged Odin's murder, thus making the battle between the New and Old Gods a sacrifice to Odin, restoring his power, while also allowing Loki to feed on the battle's chaos.
Laura chooses to hitchhike to Rock City and meets Mr. Town, who does not recognize her, and they agree to travel together. During their travels, Laura learns who Mr. Town is and, once they arrive at their destination, kills him and takes the branch he had taken from the World Tree. She meets with Loki and manages to stab him with the World Tree branch, which turns into a spear as she stabs.
Shadow arrives at Rock City and confronts Loki, now gravely wounded, and the ghost of Odin, who reveal their plans. Shadow travels to the site of the battle and explains that both sides have nothing to gain and everything to lose, with Odin and Loki as the only true winners. Shadow tells them the United States is a bad place for Gods, and he recommends they return to their original homelands. The gods depart, Loki dies, and Odin's ghost fades. Laura asks Shadow to take the coin from her, which he does, and she finally dies.
After resting with Mr. Nancy, Shadow remembers a dream where the Hindu god Ganesha told him to "look in the trunk". He returns to Lakeside and walks onto the thinning ice toward the car resting there. He picks the lock and opens the trunk to find the body of the missing teenager inside. He falls through the ice and, while trapped beneath, sees cars from past winters resting on the lake floor. Each one presumably has a child's body locked inside. Shadow is saved by Hinzelmann, who takes him to his house and treats him for hypothermia. Shadow realizes that Hinzelmann is a god and is also responsible for the children's kidnappings and deaths. Hinzelmann explains that he regretfully must take one child as a sacrifice each year in exchange for the town's prosperity. The townspeople are unaware of this and of Hinzelmann's control over the town, as he tries to sacrifice children who no one will greatly miss. Shadow thinks of killing Hinzelmann, but finds he cannot, as Hinzelmann saved his life. However, Chad Mulligan overhears the conversation and shoots Hinzelmann, killing him. Shadow and Chad drive away, with Chad guilt-ridden to the point of suicide. Shadow concludes that this is a fail-safe created by Hinzelmann so that whoever killed him would die soon after. Using magic, Shadow takes Chad's memory of overhearing Hinzelmann and the killing. He leaves Chad and Lakeside behind, understanding that the town's prosperity will likely wither away without Hinzelmann's protection.
In Iceland, Shadow meets another incarnation of Odin (created by the beliefs of Iceland's original settlers), who is much closer to the Odin of mythology than Wednesday. Shadow accuses Odin of Wednesday's actions, but Odin retorts: "He was me, yes. But I am not him." He indicates that Wednesday was the part of him that accompanied his followers when they traveled to the New World and became corrupted as he was gradually forgotten. Shadow gives Wednesday's glass eye to Odin, which Odin places in a leather bag as a keepsake. Shadow performs a simple sleight-of-hand coin trick, which delights Odin, who asks for a repeat performance. Shadow then performs a small piece of real magic, pulling a golden coin from nowhere like Mad Sweeney did when they first met. He then flips the coin up into the air and walks away, wondering if the coin will ever come back down.
Characters Mortals Shadow Moon – an ex-convict who becomes the reluctant bodyguard and errand boy of Mr. Wednesday (Odin). Laura Moon – Shadow's wife, who dies in a car crash at the beginning of the novel, a few days before Shadow is due to be released from prison. Samantha "Sam" Black Crow – a hitchhiking college student whom Shadow meets during his journey. Chad Mulligan – a kind-hearted chief of police in the town of Lakeside. The Black Hats – Mister Road, Mister Town, Mister Wood, and Mister Stone, stand in for the American obsession with conspiracy theories, operating as men in black. They work as spooks for the New Gods.
Old Gods Mr. Wednesday – an aspect of Odin, the Old Norse god of knowledge and wisdom. Low-Key Lyesmith – Loki, the Old Norse god of mischief and trickery. He was a close acquaintance of Shadow Moon whilst incarcerated. Czernobog – the Slavic god of darkness and twin brother to Belobog, the god of light. The Zorya Sisters – relatives of Czernobog, sisters who represent Dawn (Zorya Utrennyaya), Dusk (Zorya Vechernyaya), and the Midnight Star (Zorya Polunochnaya). In Slavic lore, they are servants of Dažbog who guard and watch over the doomsday hound, Simargl. Simargl is said to be chained to the star Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor (the "Little Bear") and, according to legend, if the chain ever breaks the hound will devour the world. Mr. Nancy – Anansi, a trickster spider god from Ghanaian folklore. He often makes fun of people for their stupidity, a recurring aspect of his personality in his old stories. Mr. Ibis – Thoth, the Ancient Egyptian god of knowledge and writing. He runs a funeral parlor with Mr. Jacquel in Cairo, Illinois. He often writes short biographies of people who brought folkloric beings with them to the United States. Mr. Jacquel – Anubis, the Ancient Egyptian god of the dead and mummification. He is an expert at preparing bodies for the wake at funerals. Bast – Bastet, the Ancient Egyptian cat goddess. Often appears as a small house cat and heals Shadow's bruises and aches after he has been beaten. Horus – the Ancient Egyptian god of the sky. Easter – Ēostre, the Germanic goddess of the dawn. Mad Sweeney – Suibhne, a king from an old Irish story. Though not portrayed as such in his story, he calls himself a "Leprechaun" despite his description as being nearly 7-feet-tall. Sweeney is foul-mouthed and a frequent drinker. Whiskey Jack – Wisakedjak, a trickster figure of Algonquian mythology. He lives near a Lakota reservation in the badlands with John Chapman, where he is mistaken for Iktomi, a trickster of their culture. John Chapman – Johnny Appleseed, described as a "culture hero" rather than a god. He loathes Paul Bunyan (who he incorrectly describes as an advertising ploy) for diverting belief away from him. Elvis – Alvíss, a dwarf in Norse mythology. The King of the Dwarves, he is of average height for humans but has dwarfish proportions. Elegba and Great Mawu – The gods worshipped by those enslaved coming to America. Gwydion – Gwydion fab Dôn, a trickster god of Welsh mythology. Hinzelmann – Hinzelmann, a kobold who was formerly revered as a tribal god by ancient Germanic tribes. He protects the town of Lakeside in the guise of an old man. Bilquis – the ancient Queen of Sheba, who endures by absorbing her sexual partners, turning them into worshippers