Amazon Prime's upcoming American Gods is based on a Neil Gaiman book: All you need to know

American Gods is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning 2001 novel by English author Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn lead character called Shadow.[caption id="attachment_3322300" align="alignnone" width="825"] Neil Gaiman's book cover, Ricky Whittle as Shadow. Image courtesy: Creative Commons[/caption]So what is American Gods' all about?The story starts with the very cynical Shadow finding a the stranger sitting next to him on a plane, who already knows his name and his history. From this meeting onwards, he is part of a plot that cheats probability. He is befriended by eccentric characters who appear and disappear at will, and have tasks for him that are never fully explained.Meanwhile politely sinister men in black suits stalk him as he travels across the States. His wife Laura has been killed in a car accident, but she comes back from the dead not only to speak to him but also to intervene in the plot.An interesting fact about the novel:The 'Gods' in the novel actually exist. But they only continue to live if people keep believing in them. They look like normal people and live among us, and they range from ancient Egyptian deities like Thoth and Anubis to more abstract, modern gods like Media and Technology.Cast and Crew: Bryan Fuller who has also directed Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, Heroes and Michael Green (The River, Kings, Heroes) are writers and showrunners, while David Slade (Hannibal, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) is directing the pilot and additional episodes.FremantleMedia North America is the studio; their execs Bryan Craig Cegielski and Stefanie Berk executive produce the series along with Fuller, Green, Slade and Gaiman.Ricky Whittle plays Shadow Moon, Ian McShane plays Mr Wednesday and Gillian Anderson is joining the cast as media, the mouthpiece of the Gods.Though the book is really interesting, and one of Gaiman's finest books, the trailer doesn't look very promising, partly because of Netflix's inability to translate their great shows into trailers (Brad Pitt's War Machine didn't look really interesting either but the concept is engaging).The series is going to stream in Amazon Prime in April 2017: