If you liked
Books like American Gods
by Neil Gaiman
American Gods is Neil Gaiman at his most expansive: a road novel, a gods-walking-among-us novel, and a sustained interrogation of what America has done with the religions its immigrants brought. If you finished it and needed another book of equivalent mythological ambition, these are our picks.
The shortlist
What to read next
The Ocean at the End of the Laneby Neil Gaiman
“The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman 2013 review. A middle-aged man returns to his Sussex childhood home for a funeral and remembers something he had carefully forgotten. Late Gaiman at his most patient and most personal.”
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRueby V. E. Schwab
“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab 2020 review. A young Frenchwoman in 1714 trades her future for immortality and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. V. E. Schwab's standalone literary fantasy.”
The Fifth Seasonby N. K. Jemisin
“The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin 2015 review. On a continent where seismic activity defines life, three women's stories converge as a fifth season begins. Hugo Best Novel 2016, the first volume of the Broken Earth trilogy, and the most important fantasy debut of the 2010s.”
Mistborn: The Final Empireby Brandon Sanderson
“Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson 2006 review. A street urchin named Vin discovers she can use magic by ingesting and burning metals, and a crew of thieves recruits her for the impossible: kill the immortal Lord Ruler.”
11/22/63by Stephen King
“11/22/63 by Stephen King 2011 review. An English teacher discovers a portal to 1958 and decides to stop the Kennedy assassination. The single best late-King novel and the rare time-travel book that earns its 849 pages.”
The House in the Cerulean Seaby TJ Klune
“The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune 2020 review. A caseworker is sent to evaluate a remote orphanage that may contain the Antichrist. The Mythopoeic Award winning cozy fantasy.”
FAQ
Common questions about American Gods read-alikes
- Should I read The Ocean at the End of the Lane next?
- Yes. Same author writing shorter and more autobiographical, with the same mythological scaffolding used to do literary work. Many readers prefer Ocean to American Gods.
- I want more Neil Gaiman.
- Anansi Boys (2005) is the American Gods companion. Stardust is the romance. Sandman is the comics work that built the worldview. Neverwhere is the early novel that introduced his urban-fantasy register.
- I want another gods-walking-among-us novel.
- Addie LaRue (V. E. Schwab) is the closest match — the gods-bargain premise handled in a literary register. Outside the catalog, Lev Grossman's The Magicians and Susanna Clarke's Piranesi are the canonical picks.
- I want another secondary-world fantasy with this much ambition.
- The Fifth Season is the highest-craft pick. Mistborn is the most tightly plotted. The House in the Cerulean Sea is the cozy cousin.
The original