Of all of Odin's sons it seems most likely that Shadow is Baldr, the 'shining God' and the good son. Through this vision Shadow discovers that he is Odin's son.

Near the end of the book, while Shadow is hanging on the World Tree, he has a vision of Wednesday and his mother getting together. It is alluded to that he is a Shaman because he can do things like make it snow, he can see people who are far away in his mind and know what they are doing, he has conversations with a buffalo headed man when he is dreaming, and people tell him several time that he looks Native American. As we read the novel, Shadow's character become more and more complex and we realize how he is the pivot on which the story turns. Gaiman has created a character who, by all appearances, seems to be an average, somewhat uninteresting guy.

an American treasure.Shadow Moon is the main protagonist of American Gods. 'Neil Gaiman, a writer of rare perception and endless imagination. a real emotional richness and grandeur that emerge from masterful storytelling.' -Peter Straub 'American Gods is sexy, thrilling, dark, funny and poetic.' -Teller, of Penn & Teller 'Saying Neil Gaiman is a writer is like saying Da Vinci dabbled in the arts.' - Minneapolis Star Tribune Those who are meeting him for the first time may be surprised at just how good he is.' - St. Those who are familiar with Gaiman's earlier work will find a satisfying yarn by a familiar master storyteller. by turns thoughtful, hilarious, disturbing, uplifting, horrifying and enjoyable - and sometimes all at once, in a curious sort of way. 'Mystery, satire, sex, horror, poetic prose - American Gods uses all these to keep the reader turning the pages.' -Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

Bram Stoker Award for Best Horror Novel.

It is, quite simply, a contemporary masterpiece. One of the most talked-about books of the new millennium, American Gods is a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth and across an American landscape at once eerily familiar and utterly alien. Wednesday, who knows more about Shadow than is possible, warns that a storm is coming - a battle for the very soul of America. His wife has been killed a mysterious stranger offers him a job. Released from prison, Shadow finds his world turned upside down.

American gods by neil gaiman