Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Shadow of the Gods

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

59 reviews

trash_reader_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I was really only interested in Orka's point of view. Varg complained way too much about every single thing. I didn't get interested in his point of view until maybe the last 100 pages. And Elvar? I didn't care about her point of view until the second to last chapter. And it really didn't have anything to do with her, just what happened while we were following her.

All three characters were following their own paths and this book contains 3 completely different and separate plot lines. They don't marge until the very end, and even then it's only Varg and Orka. ELvar's point of view just kind of sets up the plot for the second book at the end.

This kept me entertained for the most part, but I wasn't as involved as I had expected to be considering how popular this book is, so it took me a lot longer than anticipated to finish, and even then it was with help from the audiobook. I don't really have much to say besides being on the verge of boredom for 2 out of 3 of the points of view.

Hopefully I enjoy the second book better now that things have finally picked up.

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iamahmedkhalifa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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saltycoffee's review against another edition

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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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andy_sfc_reads's review against another edition

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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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