Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

27 reviews

theo221's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Grief and Slavery

changelingreader_adrian's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Was a temporary DNF because it wasn't catching me and I had other stuff I needed/wanted to get to, but I liked this enough to pick it back up once a hold on an audiobook I forgot I placed came in. Very slow for like the first half-ish and then got really going and good. So. Medium pace is the best I can give it since it's slow and then pretty fast

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol, War, Body horror, and Murder

Testicles and descriptions of them are a bit weirdly there, so be prepared for that

saltycoffee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Child abuse, Grief, Torture, Trafficking, Blood, Murder, Slavery, Xenophobia, Classism, Confinement, War, Animal death, Death of parent, and Gore

andy_sfc_reads'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This was my first incursion into Norse inspired epic fantasy books and I have to say I am throughly impressed. From the descriptions of nature, the world building, and amazing characters Gwynne's writing has me gripped and I can't wait to continue with the saga. 

The best story arc for me is definitely Orka's. She's such an interesting combination of savagery, fierceness and femininity. 

Varg grew up on me as the story progressed and I can't wait to see where the author takes him. Nevertheless, the bright gems in his chapters for me were the secondary characters such as Svik Rokia, Glornir and the rest of them so, I'm excited to see what's next for them 

The only reason why this does not get 5 stars is Elvar. 

Compared to the other two her motivation as a character and as a warrior was so "basic" 

Although TIl recognise that 

in the end she has now bigger and tougher challenges to overcome and wrongs to avenge. Over all her storyline was boring to me. If it weren't for all of the magical and political aspects going on around her I would have skipped some of her chapters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Death, Slavery, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, and War

dogearedbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

Blood. Everything comes down to blood. 

This novel was amazing and captivated me from the first sentence. Orka and Varg were the stars. Vengeance driving them forward. Blood on their hands and death in their heart. Elvar was the weakest point in the story, and I actually prefer some of the side characters in her sections then to her. All POV's are important binding together like a woven tapestry, leading to a brutal ending for a first novel. 

Death sits on the shoulders of all characters in this novel, her wings casting wide shadows. It is heartbreaking, violent, and one of my favourite novels of 2022.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Blood, Death, and Violence

eegekay's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, War, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Gore and Body horror

Minor: Fatphobia

poekie9080's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense fast-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: Violence, Grief, Physical abuse, Cursing, Death, Murder, Slavery, Death of parent, Gore, Kidnapping, and War

Moderate: Torture and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit

britreads'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

A great start to a new series. The beginning was a bit slow, but once the action picks up, it really gets going. By far my favorite POV was Orka. I love a strong woman seeking revenge. I also enjoyed Varg’s perspective and his journey into this mercenary/treasure seeker world. While I wasn’t that invested in Elvar’s story, I think the book’s ending left her in an interesting spot and I’m curious to see where she goes in book 2. 

This world is so unique. There’s a mountain range built around the bones of a dead god and there’s strange magic and scheming nobles and all the things that make fantasy so fun to read. No spoilers for the ending, but I can’t wait to read about the fallout from this ending. I see why many people speak highly of this book and I’m eager to read more of Gwynne’s work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Blood, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Grief and Kidnapping

kabrahams's review against another edition

4.75

Well that was epic! I need to get my hands on the sequel already because I'm not ready to leave this Norse-inspired world of monsters and vengeance. We follow three POVs, Orka who is desperate to find her kidnapped son, Elvar, a warrior who has rejected noble life to pursue glory and is headed to the final resting place (battle ground) of the gods, and Varg, a former thrall determined to avenge his sister who falls in with a band of ruffians. While Orka's POV was my favorite, all were riveting and full of action. Also, I love the phrase "thought cage."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Self harm, Child abuse, Child death, Slavery, and Grief

seanml's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense slow-paced

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

3.75

John Gwynne is a wonderful modern fantasy writer, and continues to be. This series continues with his signature style of multiple character points of view that slowly weave together as the story goes on. Plus, it’s Norse-inspired which you don’t see a lot of in fantasy for whatever reason. Oh yeah it’s hyper-violent, but luckily without the usual caveat that “it’s historically accurate so there needs to be rampant misogyny!” 7.5/10. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Trafficking, Body horror, Kidnapping, Medical content, Grief, Slavery, Stalking, and Vomit

Minor: Alcohol, Child abuse, Confinement, Torture, and Animal death