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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
i shouldn't have liked this as much as I did. goddamit. the writing is extremely straightforward, sometimes leaning into dull, the exposition dialogue is a bit clunky and the worldbuilding is a bit too entwined, but goddamn did i have fun. this is one of those books that are TRULY fast-paced, neck-breaking paced i dare say, and action-packed. there's battle scenes every other chapter, at the least. it begins as a conflict of man vs. man and, by the end, the plot reveals itself as a conflict of man vs. deities, as claims the title of the book, and the character arcs for all three of the main characters (with perhaps the exception of Elvar, who i found the flattest of the three) are very interesting and will keep you wanting to read. the overarching plot is very interesting too, in my humble opinion. if you don't mind the flaws and love the good stuff, you'll love this book. in spite of myself, i know i sure did.
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have to confess that when I was working my way through the first quarter of the book, I had a few gripes. I felt like Gwynne's decision to write a plethora of comparisons, using 'like' to describe certain scenes in what felt like every few lines was unnecessary. However this did eventually fade into the background as I was thoroughly absorbed into the world and storytelling. I found it difficult to celebrate Varg's new found family life while knowing so little about him and his past life, however I learned that his introduction through this group worked just as well as parts of hin were slowly revealed. I found myself gasping out loud on multiple occasions at the many betrayals and twists and cheering during the scenes of Orkas battle rage fueled slaughters. I'm now thoroughly hooked and drawn into the world and am very much looking forward to reading the sequel!
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Decent world building and character building. Just found it a little hard to get into and to maintain active interest.
It's a first-in-the-series kind of book, in that it skims the surface of a lot of world-building elements. It takes a while to get going. I thought everything was done well. The whole book was entertaining. There's plenty of action throughout. The characters were the only thing keeping this from being 5 stars. None seem particularly deep. There's not a lot of introspection or commentary. They're all Vikings and the only thing that separates one from the other is whose head each is trying to cut off. That said, I'm hooked.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced