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ldenehy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
kajsaschubeler's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
📖 The Shadow of Gods by John Gwynne
📚 The first installment in the Bloodsworn Saga
👉 Published by orbit, 2021
📑 496 pages
🔖 The Shadow of the Gods are a story weaved from three tales.
That of Elvar, a young woman looking to earn her battle-fame with the Battle-Grim.
That of Varg, a former thrall looking for a way to avenge his dead sister.
And that of Orka, whose husband, Thorkel, and son, Becca, means the world to her.
All three live in a world that bares the wounds left by the fall of the Gods. Each try to make a life for themselves – by seeking fame, revenge, or peace.
But something stirs in the mountains and the woods, and the ships travelling the whale-road aren't always as friendly as they seem.
As the actions of unknown strangers interfere in each of their lives –
Elvar and the Battle-Grim are thrown into the beginning of a saga tale as they hunt down a berserker
Varg is offered the chance of a new life with the Bloodsworn
and Orka and her families life is forever changed as children starts disappearing in the night
– and soon each of them will have to decide what matters, and what is worth fighting for.
🏷️ John Gwynne paints a striking image of a country with great mountains, vast stretches of forrest, and an array of fjords that shape peoples lives.
It's is a cold, dark and dangerous worl to live in, but it is also a place where love has a chance to change the future of the world.
Gwynne is clearly inspired by the Nordic countries, their history and mythology, and it's a pleasure to recognise old saga-tales resting between the pages – resung and retold, shaped into something new.
📚 The first installment in the Bloodsworn Saga
👉 Published by orbit, 2021
📑 496 pages
🔖 The Shadow of the Gods are a story weaved from three tales.
That of Elvar, a young woman looking to earn her battle-fame with the Battle-Grim.
That of Varg, a former thrall looking for a way to avenge his dead sister.
And that of Orka, whose husband, Thorkel, and son, Becca, means the world to her.
All three live in a world that bares the wounds left by the fall of the Gods. Each try to make a life for themselves – by seeking fame, revenge, or peace.
But something stirs in the mountains and the woods, and the ships travelling the whale-road aren't always as friendly as they seem.
As the actions of unknown strangers interfere in each of their lives –
Elvar and the Battle-Grim are thrown into the beginning of a saga tale as they hunt down a berserker
Varg is offered the chance of a new life with the Bloodsworn
and Orka and her families life is forever changed as children starts disappearing in the night
– and soon each of them will have to decide what matters, and what is worth fighting for.
🏷️ John Gwynne paints a striking image of a country with great mountains, vast stretches of forrest, and an array of fjords that shape peoples lives.
It's is a cold, dark and dangerous worl to live in, but it is also a place where love has a chance to change the future of the world.
Gwynne is clearly inspired by the Nordic countries, their history and mythology, and it's a pleasure to recognise old saga-tales resting between the pages – resung and retold, shaped into something new.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death, Slavery, Blood, Grief, and Violence
dmeda03's review against another edition
Triggers
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Blood, War, Vomit, Murder, Violence, and Slavery
becs_l's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
_lazyreader_3565's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Violence, Gore, and Murder
tisjenna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gore
viselik's review against another edition
Just did not get into the book at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
plume_de_renarde's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Slavery, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Trafficking
Minor: Sexual content
jcooper221's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Amazing world building but man, what a terrible book. Story is boring, characters are all basically the same and have almost identical problems to overcome. Around the third time a significant character was kidnapped I realized Gwynne doesn't have any idea how to motivate characters to move from one place to another. Three POVs was definitely too many, he should have merged the two characters in war bands. I started to mix up which side characters belonged to which war band.
The worst blunder in this book was the lack of narrative motion. Nothing important happened in the first third of the story, Gwynne could have cut it out and nothing important would have been lost that couldn't be filled in with exposition. Minor spoilers here, butthere is no resolution to any of the plot arcs or conflicts raised throughout the story. It was about halfway through the book I realized I wasn't reading a standalone book, but part 1 of a story that's too long and suffers from too much meandering plotting from an author clearly struggling to fill up the blank space between critical plot points. Sorry buddy, but your idea isn't good enough to stretch across three books.
The worst blunder in this book was the lack of narrative motion. Nothing important happened in the first third of the story, Gwynne could have cut it out and nothing important would have been lost that couldn't be filled in with exposition. Minor spoilers here, but
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual content
vezreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
An absolutely epic fantasy!
Im not much of a high fantasy girlie, I was put off by series like Game of Thrones and thought this genre maybe wasn't for me. But this book may have changed my mind. It was refreshing reading a fantasy with nearly no misogyny at all, the battle scenes were really clear and crisp, the creatures in this world were so creepy and fascinating and the plot was really plotting. My favourite thing about it though was the characters, they were fantastic, I really fell in love with them. Their motivations were always really clear and even though they were flawed I couldn't help but root for them the whole way through (even when they were making the most ridiculous decisions). Loved This. Can't wait to read the next
Im not much of a high fantasy girlie, I was put off by series like Game of Thrones and thought this genre maybe wasn't for me. But this book may have changed my mind. It was refreshing reading a fantasy with nearly no misogyny at all, the battle scenes were really clear and crisp, the creatures in this world were so creepy and fascinating and the plot was really plotting. My favourite thing about it though was the characters, they were fantastic, I really fell in love with them. Their motivations were always really clear and even though they were flawed I couldn't help but root for them the whole way through (even when they were making the most ridiculous decisions). Loved This. Can't wait to read the next
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, War, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping and Vomit