American Gods Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Neil Gaiman (Author, Narrator), Dennis Boutskiaris (Narrator), Daniel Oreskes (Narrator),

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The definitive American road novel with over a million copies sold.

AN ACCLAIMED, EMMY-NOMINATED TV SERIES ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

WINNER OF THE HUGO, LOCUS AND BRAM STOKER AWARDS

After three years in prison, Shadow Moon is free to go home. But hours before his release, his beloved wife is killed in a freak accident. Numbly, he boards a plane where he meets an enigmatic stranger who seems to know Shadow and claims to be an ancient god - and king of America.

Together they embark on a profoundly strange road trip across the USA, encountering a kaleidoscopic cast of characters along the way. But all around them a storm of unnatural proportions is gathering.

War is coming, an epic struggle for the very soul of America. And Shadow is standing squarely in its path.

NEIL GAIMAN.

WITH STORIES COME POSSIBILITIES.

Listening Length

19 hours and 36 minutes
Author

Neil Gaiman
Narrator

Neil Gaiman, see all
Audible release date

12 April 2012
Language

English
Publisher

Headline Digital
ASIN

B00Q8HF7Q6
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	19 hours and 36 minutes
Author	Neil Gaiman
Narrator	Neil Gaiman, Dennis Boutskiaris, Daniel Oreskes, Ron McLarty, Sarah Jones
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	12 April 2012
Publisher	Headline Digital
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00Q8HF7Q6
Best Sellers Rank	517 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 23 in Contemporary Fantasy (Books) 23 in Literary Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) 74 in Military Fantasy (Books)

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2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from Australia

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Mister Bookman

Reviewed in Australia on 15 July 2017

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I was recommended this book by a close friend, who was thoroughly enjoying it at the time. Unfortunately I didn't share the same view point.

The premise of the book is wonderful and the the character development is just great. I just struggled with the flow and scale of the narrative, plus the ending was very very lack lustre. The underlying issues are never resolved, am I to assume everyone just gets along.

I hate to criticise as the idea behind the story is so wonderful and the book has some great moments. I would just would have liked more context regarding the story and greater emphasis placed on some of the EPIC moments, which are simply referred too instead of specifically described.

Maybe its just me, but i wasn't feeling it.

If your reading this and trying to decide on what to read next, might i suggest Red Rising Trilogy by David Pierce. Those books were simply amazing and very easy to read.

5 people found this helpful

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Bronwyn Halls

Step sideways into the USA

Reviewed in Australia on 6 December 2020

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We've had the USA shoved up our noses a great deal for the past four years, and the end of 2020 is a nightmare. However even though it was written nearly 20 years ago the novel American Gods is a perfect companion through these times in that it reminds you that the madness started elsewhere, mostly in Europe but everywhere else as well. Gaiman won the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards with this novel; the version about which you are reading is Gaiman's own preferred publication and well worth the purchase for the hours of brilliant delight and mystery (and even horror) it will provide.
Basically… The culture of the USA abounds with gods, practices, beliefs and fears that arrived with the humans that have settled there for thousands of years… and those gods still survive in the 21st century, although now at war with the new gods of Media, Technology and the digital age.
The book might beautifully paired as a gift (especially to yourself) with seasons 1 and 2 of the TV series of the same name. Plus Season 3, when it's finally released. And a copy of a kindred volume, Anansi Boys.

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Hewy

Gods, but not as you know them.

Reviewed in Australia on 16 June 2017

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Absolutely amazing. Gripping read.

The premise of this book made me think - 'This is not for me'.

How wrong can a gal be?

Engrossing. Scary, funny bits, Mythological gods re-visited. Invoked a very cold wintery part of the US. Had to turn up my heating - that is how good the writing is.

Unreservedly recommend.

2 people found this helpful

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Jonathan Griffiths

A long, long read

Reviewed in Australia on 31 March 2019

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A brilliant piece of imaginative writing - but it just went on and on and on. I loved the TV adaptation and the book started out even better than the adaptation. But it just went on and on with very little happening. When it eventually reached the end there were a number of resolutions but the most important was sadly missing. It would have been a much better book if it was cut down to 300 pages.

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gav

Second time and worth it

Reviewed in Australia on 11 March 2017

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I have read this book before but re - visited it due to the upcoming TV show
Gaiman makes the fantastical plausible and creatures you should not like, you end up caring for.
This is a story about a Cold War of the gods and how they might still exist within us all if we believe in them- after all isn't the only reason celebrities get power because we believe in them?
It's also a book about America and whilst written some time ago is still contemporaneous.
Well worth the second read

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Bummed but good read

Reviewed in Australia on 29 August 2021

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I really wanted this bookcover that was displayed in the advertisement, but sadly it was the original cover. The book itself great though, only brought it to find out the ending of the series

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kaznik88

Great read

Reviewed in Australia on 16 September 2017

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I really liked this book Neil Gaiman's writing is very good he does remind me of Peter Straub in some ways (another excellent writer) i couldn't put it down. A fantasy which is full of wonderful characters. This is an excellent read.

One person found this helpful

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PM Bradley

Captivating and challenging

Reviewed in Australia on 6 September 2016

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This story had me from the start. The proposition that old gods walk amongst us and still have some part to play in direct contrast to the fact that new gods have arising intrigues. The main characters are detailed where they need to be but we still discover more no matter how far in we go. Read it.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Midgebear

Sleight Of Hand

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2019

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It really is all smoke and mirrors isn't it - what you see may not be real, what you see may be realer than you could ever imagine. The stoner kid who never seems to change who is always on the same spot in the park - is he really a stoner kid or an abandoned God, clinging on as best he can? That sweet little old lady in the local library that smells vaguely of cat is she just an old lady or something rather more dangerous? This seems to be the premise that Neil Gaiman has taken and run with in his, rather unique, style.

I haven't watched the TV series of the book but a co-worker has and recommended it to me as being incredibly strange (I like strange). Me, being me, would rather have the book so I decided to take the plunge. Unfortunately, all the way through I kept seeing Ian McShane's face as Mr Wednesday - but I can understand why they cast him as he does irascibly dodgy so well. That aside, it took me a disappointingly long time to twig who Mr Wednesday really is - I know, I know shameful (especially knowing the author's love of Norse Mythology, in fact ALL mythology going off this book). I was also in the dark, along with Shadow, as to who his cell mate really was and it was all there in the open, we were just too blind to see it.

What I did find interesting was how much crossover various Religions have (I can waffle for DAYS about the links between Ancient Egyptian belief and the Old Testament/Torah) but had never really considered Norse tradition, Slavic tradition - even Hinduism and Sikhism have crossovers. It's almost as though "names have been changed" in some cosmic documentary series. It even made me look further in to traditions and religions I had never given much temporal time to (Eastern European belief systems in particular) so probably took me longer to read because of this popping off to research the Zorya, etc..

I found the book to be completely immersive - so much so I spent an entire day off work curled up on the couch in my pjs just reading, been a LONG time since my entire day has been about a book. The warp and weft of the story just captivated me and sucked me right in. I never really felt emotion for the characters though, which is decidedly odd for me; usually if I love a book it is due to character but this one was all about the plot for me. Although, if Shadow was anyone other than himself it just wouldn't have worked - contradictory I know.

I'm not even really sure how to describe the plot - it just IS. There is also that little niggle in the back of your mind (the same one that The Stand gave me) that this could be real. When we create a belief system what happens when it's last adherent passes? Are we keeping the truly Ancient Religions alive by studying the cuneiform writings or the Hieroglyphics? By uttering Odin's name, or Freya's on a weekly basis are we keeping the God alive? By watching MCU movies are Loki and Thor being worshipped once more? Do Marillion have the power to resurrect Grendel? I think I am overthinking a fantasy novel rather too much - but I LIKE that it made me think, that it has entertained me mightily but also that it has given me something new to ponder on when I am cannot sleep.

This is a strange book, this is true. This is a very charming book as well, it's charm coming from the normalcy of every peculiar encounter, dream and circumstance. Shadow just accepts what is happening around and to him with a peculiar equanimity that speaks more of personal serenity than gullibility. This is not a book for public reading though, you need to get comfortable and realise that hours will pass whilst you are under it's spell - not so good for a lunch break or commute.

33 people found this helpful

Claire T

I didn’t care much for his character and that’s always a bad sign. Whether the lead makes me hate them ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2018

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Having read some of the glowing reviews and comparisons to Stephen King, I was more than eager to hand over my fiver and download the Kindle edition of this. It starts off with an exciting premise: the idea of gods being disgruntled at the fact they’ve been forgotten in the modern, materialist America.

However, I found Shadow’s stereotypical “dark and brooding” routine quite tired. I didn’t care much for his character and that’s always a bad sign. Whether the lead makes me hate them or love them, I want to feel SOMETHING. With Shadow, I was indifferent. Not a good start. Then the long and drudging dream scenes felt tedious and, in some cases, entirely unnecessary. Some of the scenes with random gods (such as the god who feeds on men whilst they have sex with her), felt crass and forced, whilst not really adding anything to the narrative. Some of it was great. Mr Wednesday’s dialogue was often funny and poetic. I quite liked his time in the funeral home too. But overall, it just didn’t grab me the way I was expecting, and the climax felt utterly anticlimactic. It is well-written, of that there is no doubt, and it’s worth a read. It just wasn’t quite the knockout I had been led to believe.

34 people found this helpful

J. Ang

Angels and Mortals

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 July 2017

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Reading this novel a second time after more than 15 years does make for an enriching experience. I am made even more aware of Gaiman’s mastery of Nordic mythology and marvel at the way he has melded both the stories of folkloric gods and the lost luster of contemporary America. Bearing in mind the spate of superhero movies that sees these Nordic gods battling it out and wreaking havoc in America mostly came after Gaiman’s book reminds the reader how much of a forerunner the author is.

Almost every character in this expansive work has a backstory and surprising connection to a mythical god and they form part of this alternative universe that main protagonist Shadow lands himself in after being let out of prison just a few days ahead of finishing his sentence for a grisly reason. He lands a job with a grifter and master conman Wednesday, who leads him on a psychedelic cross country quest that is as wild as Dorothy’s journey to the Emerald City laced with acid.

The consequences of lost faith on the fortunes of gods who lose their significance are presented in a darkly humorous and allegorical way that only Gaiman knows how. Shadow finds out the true god identity of a former cell mate who explains his fallen mortal state: “You got to understand the god thing. It's not magic. Not exactly…. You take all the belief, all the prayers and they become a kind of certainty, something that lets you become bigger, cooler, more than human…. And then one day they forget about you, and they don't sacrifice, and they don't care, and the next thing you know you're running a three card monte game on the corner of Broadway and 43rd”.

Richly entertaining and mystical - definitely worth the revisit.

20 people found this helpful

Pamela Scott

Sheer brilliance

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 December 2017

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I read this book, years ago. I remembered almost nothing about the book except that it blew me away. I recently saw the TV show on Amazon and thought it was amazing and it made me want to read the book again.

American Gods is awesome. I mean, sincerely, awesome. I loved it. I loved every word. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Did I mention it was awesome yet? Buy it and read and love it and worship it. The book is awesome-sauce. I can’t believe I just wrote that.

I loved the way Gaiman takes so many different myths, some older than others, some I’ve never heard of and uses them as a basis for something so original and interesting. I’m very impressed.

The ending of American Gods is not what I expected at all. When Shadow finds out the real deal and why Wednesday chose him, I was taken completely by surprise. I read the book more than 10 years ago and my memory is hazy. At first, I felt cheated, then and I thought, wow, I like where the story went. Sheer brilliance.

So anyway, American Gods is amazing.

An interesting aside: every time Wednesday appears in the book I saw Ian McShane in my head and heard his voice. Slightly creepy (he plays Wednesday in the show).

6 people found this helpful

J. C. Bailey

Can't maintain the quality until the end

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 July 2017

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Impossible to categorise or evaluate, really. It starts off in fine style, with beautiful story-telling, descriptive prose, characterisation and atmosphere. And up to a point, the further you read the more you are drawn in. But somewhere in the second half, the edifice collapses under an overload of irony, metaphor, and satire on American life and values. The upshot is that even up to 2/3 or thereabouts of the way through, I thought I was reading a serious modern classic. but in the end I came away less impressed than I expected to be.

11 people found this helpful

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