Neil Gaiman's beloved 2001 novel American Gods has recently been adapted for television. The long-awaited adaptation, helmed by Bryan Fuller, recently finished its first season on Starz. Whether you're a longtime fan of Neil Gaiman or someone who stumbled across the show, here are some great books to help you pass the time until American Gods' second season. Like American Gods, these books all blend mythology and magic with the so-called real world in intriguing ways.
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American gods
by Neil Gaiman Just released from prison, Shadow encounters Mr. Wednesday, an enigmatic stranger who seems to know a lot about him, and when Mr. Wednesday offers him a job as his bodyguard, Shadow accepts and is plunged into a dark and perilous world. |
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The magicians : a novel
by Lev Grossman Haboring secret preoccupations with a magical land he read about in a childhood fantasy series, Quentin Coldwater is unexpectedly admitted into an exclusive college of magic and rigorously educated in modern sorcery. |
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The hundred thousand kingdoms
by N. K. Jemisin After Yeine Darr is summoned to the majestic city of Sky and named an heiress to the king of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, she is thrust into a vicious power struggle with cousins she never knew she had, drawing ever closer to the secrets of her mother's death and her family's bloody history. |
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Dreams and shadows
by C. Robert Cargill Long ago, friends Ewan and Colby pierced the veil between their world and a supernatural realm, and while trying to lead normal lives, soon discover that fate can never be outrun as they are called back to the Limestone Kingdom. |
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The sword of summer
by Rick Riordan Living on the streets of Boston after the death of his mother, Magnus is told by a mysterious stranger that he is the son of a Norse god and must track down a lost ancient sword to stop a war being waged by mythical monsters, in the first book of a new series by the internationally best-selling author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Kane Chronicles, and the Heroes of Olympus series. |
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Norse mythology
by Neil Gaiman The New York Times best-selling author of A View From the Cheap Seats presents a bravura rendering of the major Norse pantheon that traces the genesis of the legendary nine worlds and the exploits of its characters, illuminating the characters and natures of iconic figures Odin, Thor and Loki. |
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Every heart a doorway
by Seanan McGuire Sent away to a home for children who have tumbled into fantastical other worlds and are looking for ways to return, Nancy triggers dark changes among her fellow schoolmates and resolves to expose the truth when a child dies under suspicious magical circumstances. |
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Sister mine
by Nalo Hopkinson Possessing no magic but a beautiful singing voice, Makeda leaves her formerly co-joined twin sister, Abby, to set out on her own for a life of independence, but must reconcile with her sibling after her father goes missing. |
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Lavinia
by Ursula K. Le Guin Growing up in ancient Italy, Lavinia is on the verge of a betrothal to Turnus, the handsome king of nearby Rulli, when a fleet of Trojan ships, under the command of Aeneas, sails up the Tiber, and Lavinia sets out to control her own destiny and find the love of her life, in a historical novel that puts a female twist on Virgil's classic, The Aeneid. |
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Akata witch
by Nnedi Okorafor Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue, an American-born albino child of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back to Nigeria, where she learns that she has latent magical powers which she and three similarly gifted friends use to catch a serial killer. |
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Afterworlds
by Scott Westerfeld Postponing college to visit New York in the hope of publishing her novel, Darcy Patel meets seasoned and fledgling writers who help her navigate the city and publishing industry throughout a year marked by writing and romance, while woven through her personal story is her suspenseful thriller novel about a teen who slips into the "Afterworld" to survive a terrorist attack. |