American Gods

[frelling_tralk]

I'm really intrigued by American Gods, it looks absolutely fantastic in the trailer, and I was already thinking of checking it out anyway because Bryan Fuller is adapting it. (I'm a little bit surprised that it isn't going to be out until 2017 though, I always thought that they start working on it towards the end of 2015 after Hannibal finished, so I was expecting it out this year tbh)

Has anyone read the book, if so how did you find it, and do you think that it would it be worth catching up on before the tv show airs?

Comments

[cloverdew.livejournal.com]

Yes and yes. The book is definitely worth reading. It's long and dense, so requires time and mental energy, but it's really a masterpiece. You should read it!

I'm really excited about this show. Cannot wait. One of my favorite authors (Gaiman) and one of my favorite show runners (Fuller) together? Yes, please!!!

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Cool, I'll put it on my to-read list :) If the show isn't coming out until next year, then that gives me a bit of time to catch up with it anyway!

[eowyn.livejournal.com]

YES YES YES READ THE BOOK! It is my favourite Neil Gaiman story. I would definitely read it before the series comes out - there's some gorgeous subplots that likely wouldn't make the show, and they are definitely worth discovering!

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I've never read any of his stuff before, I'm not usually into the fantasy genre in books as much tbh, but I've heard him spoken about so much that it's probably time I checked out at least one of his books! I'm definitely going to give American Gods a try now, well at some point this year anyway, and see what I think of it :)

[ellensmithee.livejournal.com]

I started the book, but couldn't get into it. I'm not much of a Gaiman fan, though. I am looking forward to this. It looks really good and I love pretty much everyone involved.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I was excited when I heard that Gillian Anderson was involved, I haven't seen enough of her projects away from The X Files (well just her role in Hannibal and a couple of episodes of The Fall really), so I'm interested to see what sort of character she will be playing in this show

[andrea-deer.livejournal.com]

I've never read a book, but the trailer does look intriguing. Even if the plot does not look much like something I would look for, it looks just so well made and pretty, I will probably check it out ;)

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

That's what always appealed to me about Hannibal, and it looks like this show should be right up Bryan Fuller's street as he was always very arty with the visuals and making shows look beautiful

[welshgirl15.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed the book and can't wait to see how they adapt it to screen! I'm glad it's going to be a TV series, it feels like they can do the story justice.

It's got such a great cast as well!

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

It's definitely looking like they've put a lot of care and attention into every aspect of the show, hopefully it will pay off :)

I'm glad it's going to be a TV series, it feels like they can do the story justice.

I agree, when it comes to favourite books of mine, I often feel like a tv mini-series is a much better format than a 2/3 hour movie with a condensed story would be. I'm cautiously excited to see how The Stand will turn out as a film trilogy for example, ditto with It, but I can't help feeling like you really need a mini-series (preferably with the budget of a cable network like HBO) to really do every aspect of the story justice

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

The trailer look amazing!

I've read it and love it. Love the concept and I generally like slow-moving, thick books. (However, my husband got bored and quite after reading less than a third.)

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

It definitely really sells the show!

Love the concept and I generally like slow-moving, thick books.

I generally don't mind slow-moving books so long as they are focused on the characters, it's the really-overtly descriptive books where I tend to switch off, from everything I've heard about Lord Of The Rings for example I know that's a book I would never finish. Would you say that American Gods is anything like that?

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and the combination of Bryan Fuller and the cast gives me great hope the series will live up to expectations.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

It really looks like everyone involved is taking a lot of care with this project, so I've definitely got my expectations up as well :)

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!
Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ (https://www.dreamwidth.org/support/faqbrowse?faqid=303).

[http://users.livejournal.com/_profiterole_/]

I want to like this, because I keep hearing great things about it (also, Ricky Whittle!), but the trailer doesn't really do it for me. I'll check the pilot anyway. The thing is, I've seen several adaptations from Neil Gaiman and they were not really my thing. I only love Good Omens, but clearly, what I love in Good Omens is Terry Pratchett's influence.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

(also, Ricky Whittle!)

Yep, I really enjoyed his character on The 100, so I'm looking forward to following him in this :) I'm curious, what was it about the trailer that didn't appeal to you?

[supernutjapan.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the book very much! It takes a while to get into maybe. The trailer looks AWESOME <3<3 I'm mentioning this on my comm - thank you!!

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

No problem :)

[poniesandphotos.livejournal.com]

American Gods is one of Neil Gaiman's most controversial works, even he says so. It's a bit consistently darker than some of his others. As others have said it is dense. And often sad/macabre. But absolutely worth reading. It's one of those books that stays with you for years after reading it.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Interesting, darkness and sadness are usually what appeal to me in books, so that actually entices me to read them even more! I prefer the books that really stay with you after you've finished them

[penderies.livejournal.com]

I AM SO EXCITED

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

:D

[fahrbotdrusilla]

read it! it's Neil Gaiman's best work (not including his comics which i haven't gotten to)

The adaptation looks like it will be as beautiful as the book was in my mind while reading it. I finished it and was like "this would be a gorgeous movie"

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

It does seem like a book which has captivated a lot of people :)

[sabotabby]

The book is excellent and you'll love it. It's a pretty quick read—longish but you won't be able to put it down. The casting for this show is flawless, and that + Bryan Fuller behind it makes me think that it will be amazing.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

My hopes are high! :)

[bearshorty.livejournal.com]

I read the book and the trailer is fabulous. It is the book on screen. Looking forward to the series.

I read that the first season is going to be about 1/3 of the book. They are aiming for a few seasons right off the bat.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

That sounds similar to Hannibal and Bryan Fuller's original plan to spend 5 seasons taking their time with the book series, hopefully this time he will get the chance to see his vision out. I don't know much about Starz and if they have a good reputation or not when it comes to sticking with their shows?

[girlwhowaited.livejournal.com]

Haven't read the book but the trailer looks great. IS THAT LINCOLN FROM THE 100??!

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Yes, he most definitely caught my eye while checking out the trailer! :P

[ruuger]

American Gods is my favourite of Gaiman's novels, so I definitely recommend it. Like the others said, it's very dense, but Gaiman writes absolutely gorgeous prose. And I don't think it's a problem that you don't usually like fantasy because I'd argue that at their core, Gaiman's books are only marginally more fantastic than, say, Hannibal :)

(which is why I think that Gaiman and Fuller are a perfect match, and based on the trailer that really does seem to be the case)

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

It's sounding more and more like a book that I should enjoy, so I'm definitely going to try and get around to reading it before the show comes out :)

[bm-shipper.livejournal.com]

Ugh, no. I should not have watched this trailer, because I'm so turned off. I was actually excited about that show and didn'T know much about it, but now it looks like it's definitely not something I could/will enjoy. It looks very bloody (and considering it's on Starz, no surprise), and also extremely fantasy-like.

I love Ricky Whittle, I do, and for him I will give it a try, but this isn't something I would even consider watching otherwise :/

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I have seen a few people talking about the trailer looking a bit too bloody for them actually, it looks like they'll be going all out with being on cable and having less restrictions

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I, personally, haven't read the book (the only Neil Gaiman book I read was his collaboration with Terry Pratchett on Good Omens). However, those who I know have read the book are incredibly ecstatic about this ever since the casting announcements. Every time an actor was cast fans were basically going OMG THEY ARE PERFECT, and I've already seen so much excitement from the trailer. I'm honestly intrigued to see it, myself. It looks stunning and beautiful, the story itself is interesting, and the casting seems very solid (I'm so happy that Ricky Whittle got this particular role, he definitely deserves this than that The 100 mess).

And with Bryan Fuller at the helm of this project, you know shit is gonna be good. :)

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

My thoughts exactly :)

[hamarakissa.livejournal.com]

This looks absolutely AMAZING! Definitely will be checking it out as well :)

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I'm really excited for it after that trailer :)

[silverusagi]

I'm so torn on rereading the book, lol. Ever since this project was announced as being in the works, I was like, "not gonna reread the book, don't want it fresh in my head where I'm constantly comparing the two." But after seeing this, and knowing how Bryan Fuller adapts and weaves book stories (excellently), I'm really wanting to.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

That's true, I felt like that a bit with Gone Girl actually. I really enjoyed the film and it was a very faithful representation of the book, but I can't help feeling like those who read the book first got more out of that, and those that saw the film first would get more out of that. I feel like the film would have been a very different experience if the book hadn't already left me expectant for all of the twists y'know, it's a first experience that you can only really have with either the book OR the film, not both

And that was kind of the case with Red Dragon as well, I watched the film rather than the book, but still without that reference in my mind then maybe scenes like the faked death would have had even more impact on me if I'd have been watching them with a fresh eye and genuinally had no idea what was coming, instead a lot of the scenes were pretty straight retellings of the source material. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that, I know that the Red Dragon arc was a really popular one among the fandom, but that was actually the one time that I felt like the source material was followed a little too closely for me, I would have appreciate more of the surprises and twists to canon that Bryan Fuller brought in when using the Hannibal book