American gods is an award winner several times over, claiming the hugo award for best sffantasy novel, bram stoker award for best horror novel, locus award for best fantasy novel, and nebula award for best novel. Shadow has light gray eyes, dark hair and creamandcoffee skin, gaiman writes. The brooding, handsome shadow moon spent a lot of season 1 in confusion about the world of american gods that he had suddenly been thrust into. Theres an interaction in neil gaimans 2001 novel american gods in which its hero, shadow moon, converses with the new god of media. It also seems to explain why shadow gets along so well with people. World plots revenge, shadow throws in his lot with wednesdays attempt to convince the old gods of the case for fullout war, with laura and mad. If you plan to watch american gods without first reading the neil gaiman book that its based on, youre probably going to have a lot of questions.
This subreddit is dedicated to the television series american gods on starz and the book series it is based on by neil gaiman. Willow ufgood is worrying over planting his crops for the harvest, once again in the life of a farmer. Shadow moon is the main protagonist of american gods. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film. American gods follows a man named shadow moon who, at the beginning of the tale, is a convict in prison. In neil gaimans original american gods novel spoiler alert. American gods introduction shadow moon spent three years in prison, keeping his head down, doing his time. As we read the novel, shadows character become more and more complex and we realize how he is the pivot on which the story turns. The novel, released in 2001 to worldwide acclaim, is. Shadow moon is a god on american gods according to these. Shadow is released from prison the day after his wife and best friend are killed together in a car accident. As they journey across america, shadow finds himself questioning a world where gods exist and magic is real.
Shadow moon is the main protagonist and central subject of american gods. In the fandom, shadow is addressed as baldur, second son of odin, known as a god of. Shadow moon gets out of jail only to discover his wife is dead. All he wanted was to get back to the loving arms of. Dive deeper into american gods the cast of american gods chat with kevin smith on imdb live at ny comic con about the shows success and how the series will continue to veer creatively from neil gaimans source material. Published in 1995, it was the continuation of the 1988 motion picture willow. A few short stories have been released in various places, revealing what shadow got up to after the events of the novel. Neil gaiman has previously claimed to be gestating a sequel to american gods, but you dont have to wait for that far off day to read more about shadow. Shadow moon is the main protagonist of american gods powers and stats. He is also the main character of the followup novella.
A guide to understanding the brilliance of american gods. The author describes his protagonist in ethnicallyvague terms. While the book clearly states that shadow moon is, in fact, balder moon, the tv show has not outrightly said it, but were given hints of shadows divinity throughout the first season. When he is informed of the death of his wife and friend by the warden of the prison, shadow seems numb, unable to process the information. In the fandom, shadow is addressed as baldur, second son of odin, known as a god of light and purity. Howbeit, this profiles has numerous s p o i l e r s about shadow, the. Shadow moon, a convict of few words, is the protagonist. Shadow moon is a fantasy novel written by chris claremont and george lucas.
American gods is doing exactly what neil gaimans book. When shadow moon is released from prison early after the death of his wife, he meets mr. Shadow walks south for several hours through what he assumes to be southern wisconsin. Wednesday, only to be interrupted and kidnapped by the dangerous technical boy, who wants answers as to wednesdays plans. Shadow moon is serving three years in prison when he gets an unexpected early release for reasons we wont get into here. Season 2 of the starz series american gods raised more questions than it answered. The book was published in 2001 by headline in the united kingdom and by william morrow in the united states. In this video, i will dive into one of those questions. In the book, its eventually revealed that shadow is a demigod the son of a god and a human woman. Nonbookreaders, however, tend to react to the premiere with confusion. In season 2, the battle moves towards crisis point. As the reincarnation of the norse god baldur and a manifestation of the mysterious king of america, shadow acts as a bridge in the novel.
For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. On the plane, he encounters the enigmatic mr wednesday, who claims to be a refugee from a distant war, a. I know, i got no concrete evidence to back this up, but in my mind, shadow moon which sounds. According to the showrunners of american gods, the first season of the show will cover about the first third of the book, with many changes. Howbeit, this profiles has numerous s p o i l e r s about shadow, the setting and the events in the book.
The character of shadow moon baldur in american gods. This is the first book of the chronicles of the shadow war trilogy, followed by shadow dawn and shadow star plot. Fresh out of jail, shadow moon finds himself recruited as a bodyguard for the enigmatic mr. With volume 1, we get the entire first miniseries, which takes us into a world of old gods, new gods, and a shadow that looms in the background. Wednesday passes zorya utrennyaya the books and sets the binoculars down in front of zorya polunochnayas door. If the literary shadow moon is a singular, imaginative creation, ricky whittlewho plays shadow in starzs american gods adaptationis likely as close as the real world is ever going to get. Repeated references to the king of america occur in the first season. American gods was a 2001 novel by major genre author neil gaiman. Gaiman has created a character who, by all appearances, seems to be an average, somewhat uninteresting guy. The coin shadow took from mad sweeney gives him protection from the death and points out his powers as the sun god 1. Wegen eines missgluckten raububerfalls sitzt shadow eine haftstrafe ab.
As the reincarnation of the norse god baldur and a manifestation of the mysterious king of america, shadow acts as a bridge in the novel between the old gods and the new gods, between gods and men, and even between life and death. The novel is a blend of americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn shadow. Caught in the middle of this war between old gods and new are excon shadow moon ricky whittle and his recently deceased wife laura emily browning, who comes back to. As we read the novel, shadows character become more and more complex and we realize how he is. She is a vapid, cheating, whining woman who later stalks shadow out of what she thinks is love, but what turns out to be a mix of guilt, desperation, and compulsion from the coin raised her from the grave. Unlocking the 7 most baffling mysteries of that premiere. At the start of the chapter, an excerpt from oflahertys hindu myths explains that the hindu gods are less godly, but a completely different type of beingarchetypes that symbolize the life and roles of all humans. Basically, my theory is that gaiman decided to make speculative and hod one combined character. American gods 2001 is a fantasy novel by british author neil gaiman. Show watcher only so i could be way off on this but i have a theory on the true identity of shadow moon. He is a seemingly ordinary man from the midwest, who is caught up in the war. So far, viewers know little about him, leading many to wonder.
He is a seemingly ordinary man from the midwest, who is caught up in the war between the old gods and the new gods when mr. American gods reinvents itself through its black protagonist. Starz announced only one episode into american gods season 2, that the adaptation of neil gaimans beloved novel, will be getting a. Shadow moon gets out of jail only to discover his wife is.
Shadow american gods novel neil gaiman character profile. The character of shadow moon baldur in american gods from. Gaiman has created a character who, by all appearances, seems to be an. American gods star unsure of the shows future after. Peak human physical characteristics, clairvoyance has prophetic dreams, enhanced. The show is based on a book of the same name by author neil gaiman, and there are spoilers about shadow to be found there. American gods, a new tv adaptation of the famed neil gaiman novel, is not going to be an easy journeybut its worth the time and effort. Shadow moon is an exconvict who is caught up in the war between the old gods and the new gods when mr. Shadow moon is a racial enigma in american gods, the fantasy novel by neil gaiman. The american gods quotes below are all either spoken by shadow moon baldur or refer to shadow moon baldur. It also explains why loki is so hellbent on getting a certain stick at the end of the novel.