Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

7 reviews

singalana's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-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

3.75

Maybe I read this book at a bad time, but getting through it felt like a chore. It’s a shame because it’s in no way a bad book!

The Shadow of the Gods is the first instalment in a Norse mythology-inspired fantasy series by John Gwynne. This is not his first series, but I haven’t read this previous work. I’d classify this book as grimdark - if you’re a fan of epic battles, grisly deaths and vengeance-fueled characters, this book might be for you. 

In this fantasy world, the gods have killed each other in a fearsome battle and nearly destroyed the world in the process. Those with the gods’ blood in their veins are hunted and enslaved. We follow three main characters; Orka, Varg, and Elvar, who all have their quests and secrets. 

Two out of the three main characters are women: Orka, who lives in the wilderness with her family, and Elvar, who is a member of a mercenary group called the Battle-Grim. Varg is trying to find out what happened to his sister. All the characters are interesting, and I found myself caring for them, especially Varg and Orka.

The world is rich and interesting, and it’s revealed bit by bit. I enjoyed the writing in every other aspect except one: the author loved to use the word “thought-cage”, which in this instance refers to the thinking mind. The word appeared in almost every chapter, and every time, it managed to jolt me out of the story. 

I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading this book: the blurb is absolutely useless and tells nothing about the book. If I had seen this in a bookstore, I would not have bought it based on that. Alas, I got it as a gift, so here we are. Perhaps the lack of a blurb hurt my reading experience because I had no idea where we were headed with the story. Since this is a series, the first book was pretty much a set p for the series. Even though a lot happened, I felt the book really started to intrigue me only in the last third or so. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, War, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Grief, Animal death, and Slavery

Minor: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Cursing, Child abuse, Excrement, and Alcohol

star_charter152's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Cursing, War, Grief, and Slavery

Minor: Excrement, Pregnancy, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury

siomhaw's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, War, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Kidnapping, Classism, Death, Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Slavery

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Body shaming

Minor: Excrement

booksandteatime's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Slavery, Torture, Death, Excrement, Gore, Murder, Violence, Vomit, and War

mikah_wazowski's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Blood, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, and Excrement

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Animal death

silasreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Slavery, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Kidnapping, Trafficking, Torture, and Confinement

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Excrement, and Vomit

This book is brutal in its description of violence. Not for the squimish.

gaia_dea's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Violence, War, Blood, Death of parent, Excrement, Gore, and Slavery

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Excrement, and Fire/Fire injury