Reviews - The Shadow of the Gods

7.09k reviews for:

The Shadow of the Gods

John Gwynne

4.17 AVERAGE

codycumro02's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

honestly the beginning of the book had me rating this lower. after you figure out who is who, and what some of the common references are it’s a lot less clunky. but “thought-cage” will always read clunky

larsad's review against another edition

3.0

3.5*

Orka's and Varg's POV are nice to read. They are interesting characters. Elvar was not such an interesting character, which made her storyline not as pleasant to read.

Also, I had hoped the three characters met each other earlier in the story, and would have a common goal. This wasn't the case.

I hope the next book has a common goal for the multiple POV's.

l4z's review

DID NOT FINISH

DNF at 50%. I tried so hard with this one, pushing through every step of the way. I wanted to like it I really did. It lacked engagement and creative descriptions. Glossary should of been at the beginning of the book, I had to keep flipping to the back to figure out the language, and the glossary was only 2 pages long so it could have been included in the story or at the front of the book at least. Really frustrated me with many parts, I just had to stop reading it, which is not a usual for me!

dogofthesun's review

4.0

i shouldn't have liked this as much as I did. goddamit. the writing is extremely straightforward, sometimes leaning into dull, the exposition dialogue is a bit clunky and the worldbuilding is a bit too entwined, but goddamn did i have fun. this is one of those books that are TRULY fast-paced, neck-breaking paced i dare say, and action-packed. there's battle scenes every other chapter, at the least. it begins as a conflict of man vs. man and, by the end, the plot reveals itself as a conflict of man vs. deities, as claims the title of the book, and the character arcs for all three of the main characters (with perhaps the exception of Elvar, who i found the flattest of the three) are very interesting and will keep you wanting to read. the overarching plot is very interesting too, in my humble opinion. if you don't mind the flaws and love the good stuff, you'll love this book. in spite of myself, i know i sure did.

alisonstar87's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

daemongal's review against another edition

4.0

I have to confess that when I was working my way through the first quarter of the book, I had a few gripes. I felt like Gwynne's decision to write a plethora of comparisons, using 'like' to describe certain scenes in what felt like every few lines was unnecessary. However this did eventually fade into the background as I was thoroughly absorbed into the world and storytelling. I found it difficult to celebrate Varg's new found family life while knowing so little about him and his past life, however I learned that his introduction through this group worked just as well as parts of hin were slowly revealed. I found myself gasping out loud on multiple occasions at the many betrayals and twists and cheering during the scenes of Orkas battle rage fueled slaughters. I'm now thoroughly hooked and drawn into the world and am very much looking forward to reading the sequel!