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leylakara 's review for:
The Shadow of the Gods
by John Gwynne
I really wanted to love this book. Norse-inspired dark fantasy, old gods, grief-fueled quests—everything should have worked. But around 70% in, I found myself wondering if the story was going anywhere beyond three warbands all walking toward the same location.
The world is vivid and brutal, the prose rich, but sometimes it felt like I was wading through mud—literally and narratively. I struggled to connect with the characters emotionally, even when their arcs were deeply personal. Maybe the payoff comes in later books, but as a standalone? I’m not quite sure what this one was trying to say beyond “life is hard and vengeance is blood-soaked.”
Not a bad book by any means. Just… not the journey I hoped for.
The world is vivid and brutal, the prose rich, but sometimes it felt like I was wading through mud—literally and narratively. I struggled to connect with the characters emotionally, even when their arcs were deeply personal. Maybe the payoff comes in later books, but as a standalone? I’m not quite sure what this one was trying to say beyond “life is hard and vengeance is blood-soaked.”
Not a bad book by any means. Just… not the journey I hoped for.