What Themes Of Belief And Identity Are Explored In 'American Gods'?

It was in the Era of Harmony, trillions of years ago, when Chaos first arrived. To stop all existence from growing rampantly and exhausting all sustenance, the Creator of the universe took on Chaos as its body, the void as its vigor, and black holes as its jaw—a combination to create a world-ending coffin, devouring the seas and setting lands aflame, reducing all to ashes! Later, millions of years ago, the gods waged wars against each other when the same coffin appeared out of nowhere, massacring their ranks and decimating the divine realm. Since then, it had gone missing, but its name continued to echo throughout the universe, leaving both gods and demons in fear! Millions of years later, a youth was buried alive and fused with the coffin where he was kept, and he became an undertaker whose name was heard throughout all worlds. "I'm really bad at saving lives, but I'm quite good with ending them," he said quietly with a cool visage. "I possess the Coffin of the Gods, and I can send anything and anyone to their deaths: humans, worlds… or even the gods themselves!"

Everyone knows the mythology of the gods. What happens if what is known was manipulated by the gods themselves. Our favorite triplets are back. This is their story of how they came to be. Follow along as they grow up and find friends, enemies, and their soul bonds along the way. This is book #2 in the series. They weren't supposed to exist, yet here they are. "We have to keep them protected" Zeus roars. "That doesn't mean we have to keep them locked up." Aphrodite states. The gods turn as they hear the door opens slamming against the wall. There stand the triples. A look of surprise spreads across everyone's face. "What the hell did you do to your hair and are those tattoos?" Poseidon asks. "We dyed it, and yes they are tattoos and we also got a few body piercings" Kylani answers. "We will not stay hidden away or kept locked up. We have no interest in this life. We are going to walk on the earth with the supernatural and humans. They accept us more than you do." Mykenzie announces. The girls vanish at that moment. Chris stands there with a look of regret in his eyes. He knew this was coming. They wanted sweet, innocent goddesses like their mother and aunts. What they got was an attitude in a 5'4" package only doubled. "I told you not to force your ways upon them. They have been independent since birth. You brought this upon yourselves." Hades tells them

“But I have lifted my voice in pain to pray to you too. Am I irrelevant? I have done that since I was born. Do I not matter? Do the gods segregate as well?” “Feisty…” he replied, but before he could continue, I glanced at the edge of the cliff for a second, then turned back to him and smiled. “I refuse to be useful to these people you love so much. Even in my death,” I said as I jumped off the cliff. It was the beginning of my complicated fate with the gods and the end of my suffering with werewolves.

Aria wakes up one morning to her parents fighting about her, again. Little does she know that this fight will change the course of her life forever. In a world where most the Myths are real, Aria will find love, heartbreak, adventure, and the power of a new goddess.

I was Apollo’s most devoted follower, the lover he handpicked from a sea of worshippers. With me, he’d always shed his divine arrogance. He was so tender, so attentive. I actually thought he loved me to the bone. Until seven days before our Consort Ceremony, when I used my gift of prophecy to peek into our future together. I expected to see a lifetime of blinding love. Instead, I saw him violently tangled in the sheets with my adopted sister, Cassandra. Wrapped around him, Cassandra giggled. "You're so good to me, my Lord. Thanks to you, I'll finally get my sister's Sight and take her place as High Priestess." And Apollo—my god, my lover—smiled down at her with pure adoration. "Whatever makes you happy, little bird. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have played pretend for this long, let alone allow her to become a god's consort." In that split second, my heart turned to ash. My faith shattered into a million pieces. With seven days left until the ceremony, I didn't confront them. Instead, I fell to my knees before the altar of Hades, Lord of the Underworld. "I offer you my gift of prophecy. I will be your most loyal follower in exchange for your sanctuary." "Please. Take me away from here. Take me somewhere Apollo can never find me."

Ukiyo Fujii is an ordinary student who desired to have the most beautiful voice and become the greatest idol of all time. One day, while walking at a shrine, she accidentally to met a god who offered to grant her this wish. Little does she know that in return, this god has to live with her. This dark god, Shinrin Kurai, was exiled to earth by the higher gods as punishment. As part of his plan to return to the godly realms, he needed the help of a human with a strong desire and passion inside her heart. Now, beginning his journey with Ukiyo Fujii, other former gods started to interfere turning their adventure to a deadly quest. To protect Ukiyo, Shinrin may risk losing his freedom and the ticket to return to his realm forever. Drawn into Ukiyo's world, will he choose to stay with her? Will Ukiyo accept him when she finds out that this gift is not permanent and he used her as living bait for his return?