A review by kaziaroo
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

adventurous dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Setting? Great. Loved the Scandinavian-inspired environment, culture and mythology. Characters? Meh. Not bad, but not memorable either. Plot? Barely there until the middle of the book, and the first half failed to make me care enough to be invested by the time it came around. There were a couple of events later in the book which made me think "that might have been exciting, if it had happened 200 pages ago". A lot happened throughout the book, which was full of violence and bloodshed, but little of it actually mattered towards anything.

Varg and Elvar's chapters were so similar, I had trouble remembering which side characters were members of the Battle Grim and which were Bloodsworn, and I kept forgetting which events happened to Varg and which to Elvar. Varg's story and character development were the most interesting, but it was ruined by the confusion with Elvar. Orka's story was more distinct, but I don't resonate with revenge as a plot point and her character didn't grow in any significant way, so I felt indifferent towards her.

A common measure I use to decide if I enjoyed a book is, if the main character died right now, would I care? If the physical setting was suddenly destroyed, would I be sad? If the characters didn't get what they desired, would I hurt with them? For this book, the answer to all three has to be no. It just didn't do it for me, and I don't plan on finishing the series.

If you're a fan of vikings and Norse mythology, you might love this, but casual readers will probably be disappointed.
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