History Literature / AmericanGods

* BewareTheNiceOnes:
** Shadow is normally gentle and friendly, but he is a [[RunningGag very big man]]. It is not a good idea to piss him off. The aftermath of his rage is one of the reasons he was sent to prison. [[spoiler:In "Monarch of the Glen" he nearly beats Grendel to a pulp under Mr. Alice's orders and exposes Oliver as a murderer in "Black Dog".]]
** To a much more sinister extent, [[spoiler:Hinzelmann]].

%%** [[spoiler:Low-Key Lyesmith is Mr World/Loki.]]

* BigBeautifulWoman: Easter is described as a very curvy - and very ''attractive'' - lady. Fitting, since she's a fertility goddess.

* {{Black Helicopter}}s: The Valkyries.

* CallForward: At the World's Largest Carousel, Mr Nancy displays amusement at the prospect of riding a lion statue. This is later visited briefly upon in ''Literature/AnansiBoys'', where Lion is one of many gods that Anansi has antagonized in the past.

* {{Curse}}: Though it isn't explicit, when Czernobog tears into Mr Town at the Hotel at the Center of America he's probably cursing literally [[ClusterFBomb in addition to figuratively]]. Not dying in battle and being killed by no man alive at first seem a product of his [[GodOfEvil warped perspective]]. But look how it turns out for Mr Town...

* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: [[spoiler:Mr. Wednesday.]]

--> '''Shadow:''' Hey, Huginn or Munin, or whoever you are. Say 'Nevermore'.
--> '''Raven:''' Fuck you.

* TheNothingAfterDeath: Chosen by [[spoiler:Shadow]]. Though it doesn't stick for long.

* PhysicalGod: All of them, at least part time (who knows what was up with Media).

* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The Spookshow.

* SignatureScene: An early vignette features a goddess named Bilquis consuming a man by absorbing him into her vagina during sex. The author put it in as a kind of content gate, saying if people got past that scene they'd be prepared for the further bizarre events to follow.

* TimmyInAWell: {{Lampshaded}} with a raven

* TreacherousAdvisor: [[spoiler:Wednesday]].
* TricksterMentor: [[spoiler:Mr. Wednesday and Low-Key.]]
%%* TrojanPrisoner

** Bilquis the Fertility-goddess, who ''swallows'' people.

* WaifProphet: Horus.

* [[PretenderDiss Wannabe Diss]]: Wednesday speaks with particular disgust of a waitress who serves him and Shadow; he quizzes her about her religion, and she claims to be pagan, but when further quizzed about the particular flavor of paganism, she spits out some pseudo-mystical bullshit and acts offended when Wednesday brings up some of the more hedonistic aspects. Wednesday says she "doesn't have the faith and won't have the fun," with the implication that he could at least respect her if she enjoyed herself. He goes on to name her sins, which, from the petty to the actively criminal, show a similar propensity for half-measures and lack of commitment, with further implication that for this she is worse than the actively evil. The line about "does not have the faith and will not have the fun" is taken from a poem by G. K. Chesterton, about how dreary modern unbelievers are compared to ancient pagans. Wednesday has another reason to criticize her as well; since her version of Paganism doesn't have any specific gods, from his perspective she's an Atheist trying to appropriate the trappings of 'real' religion.

* JerkassGods: Considering the god's resemblances to humans in this book, [[NotSoDifferent it can be expected.]]

* NotSoDifferent: Walking the L.A. streets in filthy weather, Bilquis realizes that her need for worship isn't that different from other prostitutes' addictions to drugs.

** [[spoiler:"It's a [[CallBack two-man]] [[MassiveMultiplayerScam con.]]"]]

* QuickChange: Pulled by Mr. Wednesday

* BasementDweller: Technical Boy, the personification of the internet, is a fat, sweaty, smelly, rich kid with no social skills. The other characters all treat him like an InternetToughGuy.

** [[spoiler:Low-Key Lyesmith]], who is both the God Loki and Mr. World.

* AllMythsAreTrue: No, seriously, ''all'' of them (except Myth/PaulBunyan and similar manufactured legends). This includes cultural heroes based on real people; Johnny Appleseed is hanging around in one scene, but he isn't the same person as John Chapman.
** According to Wednesday, all of those legends about different groups visiting or settling in America before Erikson's voyage are also true.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The House on the Rock is a real place in southern Wisconsin and is, if anything, even weirder than described in the book.
** Same goes for Rock City. The easiest way to shock a British reader of the book is to inform them that the place actually exists, kitschy barnside signs and all.

* BigBadFriend: [[spoiler:Low-Key Lyesmith is Mr World/Loki.]]
** [[spoiler:Hinzelmann]] to a lesser extent.

** [[spoiler:Low-Key Lyesmith, who is both the God Loki and Mr. World.]]

* YourCheatingHeart: Laura was cheating on Shadow with his best friend.

* BiTheWay: Sam.

* HiddenDepths: Czernobog is mentioned to like classical music (presumably [[{{Disney/Fantasia}} Night on the Bald Mountain.]])

** Similarly, Bilquis [[spoiler:curses the Technical Boy as she lays dying after he hit her with his limo. It's ambiguous whether the curse stuck or he's [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone just really traumatized]] or both.]]

** The Christmas conversation: [[spoiler:Shadow notices that all of Wednesday's favorite cons require two people and asks if Wednesday had a partner, to which he gives a cryptic response.]].

** The Christmas conversation: [[spoiler:Shadow notices that all of Wednesday's favorite cons require two people and asks if Wednesday had a partner.]].

* BavarianFireDrill: Mr. Wednesday robs a bank (or, rather the people who are trying to make deposits at the bank). His con was based on a RealLife con that [[Film/CatchMeIfYouCan Frank Abagnale Jr.]] claimed to have once pulled off. [[LifeImitatesArt Some people attempted to pull off the same trick after reading the book]].

** A true example: Shadow keeps hold of a coin he got from Sweeney, and tosses it into Laura's grave for no descerible reason. It turns out that's the key to her partial resurrection, but Shadow had absolutely no way of knowing that. And without Laura, of course, [[spoiler: Mr. Town could have aquired the tree branch unhampered.]]

* JekyllAndHyde: [[spoiler:Czernobog and Bielebog]]

* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: [[spoiler:Mr. Wednesday]]

* NotSoDifferent: Walking the L.A. streets in filthy weather, Bilquis realizes that her need for worship isn't that different from other prostitues' addictions to drugs.

* OurGodsAreDifferent: They are born and granted power out of the belief and worship rituals they are surrounded with. Mention is made of societies which deliberately made their ''own'' gods. Nunyunnini (a mammoth skull who "speaks" when the priestess wears it after taking hallucinogens) is implied to be one of these, and [[spoiler:Hinzelmann]] is explicitly one. The Old Gods in America are also separate incarnations dragged there by the belief of the immigrants and diaspora who landed on those shores, and their incarnations back home are usually doing better. [[spoiler:Iceland's Odin is sustained by that country's greater sense of history, and also says that Wednesday wasn't him when Shadow tries to get answers about Wednesday's actions.]]

* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The Spookshow

* HiddenDepths: Czernobog is mentioned to like classical music (presumably [[{{Disney/Fantasia}} Night on the Bald Mountain.]]

* IDontPayYouToThink - Mr. Wednesday's answer to Shadow's questions about what's going on.

* IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: Attempted by Media to convince Shadow to switch sides. Its an offer Shadow finds easy to ignore, since the boobs in question belong to Creator/LucilleBall (actually, [[Series/ILoveLucy Lucy Ricardo]])

** Eostre is possibly the most powerful old god because her name was co-opted for a Christian holiday.

* TheOldConvict: Low Key.

* TheUnreveal: There's a recurring god (apparently a god of wealth) about whom Shadow can [[LaserGuidedAmnesia never remember anything]] beyond a vague impression. Shadow is told his name more than once, but he always forgets it immediately and the reader never gets to hear it. In the end, despite various hints, his identity never does actually get made clear (including, thus far, by WordOfGod). Naturally, there are [[WildMassGuessing popular guesses]] including [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Pluto]], [[Myth/HinduMythology Budha Mercury]], [[Myth/CelticMythology the Horned God]] and {{Satan}}.

* WannabeDiss: Wednesday speaks with particular disgust of a waitress who serves him and Shadow; he quizzes her about her religion, and she claims to be pagan, but when further quizzed about the particular flavor of paganism, she spits out some pseudo-mystical bullshit and acts offended when Wednesday brings up some of the more hedonistic aspects. Wednesday says she "doesn't have the faith and won't have the fun," with the implication that he could at least respect her if she enjoyed herself. He goes on to name her sins, which, from the petty to the actively criminal, show a similar propensity for half-measures and lack of commitment, with further implication that for this she is worse than the actively evil. The line about "does not have the faith and will not have the fun" is taken from a poem by G. K. Chesterton, about how dreary modern unbelievers are compared to ancient pagans. Wednesday has another reason to criticize her as well; since her version of Paganism doesn't have any specific gods, from his perspective she's an Atheist trying to appropriate the trappings of 'real' religion.

A 2001 novel by Creator/NeilGaiman, interesting for its examination of the intersection between myth and Americana. It is interspersed at various points with stories of immigrants who brought their gods and their beliefs to America with them, and the gods themselves have integrated just as well as their former worshipers. The novel elevates the ordinary and the everyday to mythic status, finding significance in the smallest of things. This quality is exemplified by its protagonist, Shadow, who is both the eternal everyman and something more, something special.