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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.
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
lausiusplau's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, War, Animal death, Blood, Kidnapping, Body horror, Classism, Murder, Slavery, and Violence
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
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
valjeanval's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My book club billed this one as "reading Skyrim," and I think that's pretty spot on for better and worse. The characters and setting are all pretty excellent with great world building. I especially enjoy viking warrior mom even if I kept misreading her name as Okra instead of Orka. Honestly, I appreciate everything Gwynne does to subvert the patriarchal norms of historical fiction and saying, this is still fiction. This is fantasy. Let's just make a society where the genders are more or less even because we can.
The plot, however, is meandering and constantly interrupted by random encounter fight scenes. Fun to play as a game, less fun to read. And those fight scenes are gory to a level that I just don't enjoy. It also suffers from being only half a book, and I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to pursue the sequel right away. We shall see, but overall, a unique piece of norse-inspired fantasy though not entirely my cuppa.
The plot, however, is meandering and constantly interrupted by random encounter fight scenes. Fun to play as a game, less fun to read. And those fight scenes are gory to a level that I just don't enjoy. It also suffers from being only half a book, and I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to pursue the sequel right away. We shall see, but overall, a unique piece of norse-inspired fantasy though not entirely my cuppa.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Torture, Child abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
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
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
meowster18's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book was a journey that I was willing to go on from page one. This was beautifully written. Entirely immersive. I felt everything from the love of Thorkiel to war of the Battle-Grime and Bloodsworn, To Orka’s pain and rage, and lastly Varg’s and Elvar journey to discovery and Battle-Fame. A must read. The ending had me gasping and yelling “no f-ing way!”. Can’t wait to sink my teeth into the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, War, Alcohol, Cursing, Kidnapping, Grief, Violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, and Body horror
Please look up trigger warnings for this book. It is very goreyshahdirose's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Grief, Slavery, and Kidnapping
Minor: Animal death
hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Death, Slavery, Body horror, Child abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Gore, Blood, Genocide, and War
sinaprst's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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? It's complicated
4.75
this was ngl one of the best fantasy books I've ever read!
the plot, the lore, the characters, the monsters, the magic, the fighting, all of it is just amazingly written and really sucks you into this beautiful and compelling but deadly world, where nothing and noone ever feels save...
... and the ending just leaves you wanting for more!
(the beginning was a bit slow though, which is the only reason why I'm not rating this 5 stars)
recommended reading ambience: https://youtu.be/ERW4uLhNoH8?si=9qcRSMORewkBwLev
the plot, the lore, the characters, the monsters, the magic, the fighting, all of it is just amazingly written and really sucks you into this beautiful and compelling but deadly world, where nothing and noone ever feels save...
... and the ending just leaves you wanting for more!
(the beginning was a bit slow though, which is the only reason why I'm not rating this 5 stars)
recommended reading ambience: https://youtu.be/ERW4uLhNoH8?si=9qcRSMORewkBwLev
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Murder, Blood, and Cursing
Moderate: Kidnapping, Animal death, and Torture