About

American Gods is a fantasy novel written by English author Neil Gaiman. The novel, released in 2001, follows ex-convict Shadow Moon and his client, the mysterious Mr. Wednesday, and has received many accolades, a spin-off titled Anansi Boys and a television adaptation on Starz.

Premise

The novel follows ex-convict Shadow Moon, who has been given an early release from prison after the death of his wife, Laura and his best friend Robbie Burton in a car accident. After deciding to become the bodyguard of conman Mr. Wednesday, they travel across America, meeting Wednesday's acquaintances and with Shadow eventually learning that Mr. Wednesday is a manifestation of the Norse god Odin, who is gathering all the other manifestations of the Old Gods of various cultures, whose powers have diminished due to lack of believers, in a war against the New Gods of the modern age, such as media and technology.

History

On June 19th, 2001, American Gods was released by Headline in the United Kingdom and by William Morrow in the United States. In February 2008, Gaiman released the complete text of the novel on the web for the entire month.

A comic book adaptation was announced in 2016, consisting of 27 issues published by Dark Horse Comics, with the first issue released on March 15, 2017.^[7]

Starz Adaptation

In July 2014, the Starz television channel announced the development of a series adapted from the novel. The series was developed by Bryan Fuller, known for producing shows such as Pushing Daisies and Hannibal, and writer Michael Green, with Gaiman serving as executive producer. On March 15th, 2017, the Starz YouTube channel uploaded a trailer for the upcoming series, which gained over four million views and 1,700 comments over the next month^[6] (different upload shown below for availability). The show is set to premiere on April 30th, 2017. On May 11, it was reported that the show was renewed for a second season.^[8]

Online Presence

In July 2014, the @AmericanGodsSTZ^[2] Twitter feed was launched, gathering upwards of 38,000 followers within three years. On July 15th, 2016, the American Gods Facebook^[3] page was created, which received more than 329,000 likes over the next year.

Reception

In 2002, the book won the Best Novel award for Hugo, Nebula, Locus, SFX Magazine and Bram Stoker. In 2010, the American Gods won an online poll for the first "One Book One Twitter" book.

The Starz television series received positive reviews, with an 8.1/10 rating on IMDb from 533 users^[4], and a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the Critics Consensus saying how the show "opens with a series of wildly ambitious gambits -- and rewards viewers' faith with a promising first season whose visual riches are matched by its narrative impact.".^[5]

Fandom

Search Interest

External References