Scan barcode
A review by fouroffivewits
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
5.0
When gods go to war, it is no small thing.
The Shadows of Gods by John Gwynne is a Scandanavian-inspired grim and dark book that nevertheless avoids the common pitfalls that come with the label of grimdark fantasy. It is not grim for grim’s sake, as in, it is not without hope and light moments. It just presents a challenging world to survive and thrive in. Characters don’t die for the cliche shock of it; it is violent and heartbreaking rather than causing eyes to roll when they do.
The tone and the writing style remind me a lot of Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher books. There are no wasted words. The world isn’t fair; it’s full of dangers like the monsters known as the vaesen, the people with the blood of the fallen god’s in them known as tainted, and in general, hard-ass warriors that make survival rates relatively low. However, it is not without light. It has hope for the future, strong bonds between friends and family, laughter among comrades, and general feel-good moments.
The rest of my review can read read at
https://geeklyinc.com/the-shadow-of-the-gods-review-brutal-but-fun/
The Shadows of Gods by John Gwynne is a Scandanavian-inspired grim and dark book that nevertheless avoids the common pitfalls that come with the label of grimdark fantasy. It is not grim for grim’s sake, as in, it is not without hope and light moments. It just presents a challenging world to survive and thrive in. Characters don’t die for the cliche shock of it; it is violent and heartbreaking rather than causing eyes to roll when they do.
The tone and the writing style remind me a lot of Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher books. There are no wasted words. The world isn’t fair; it’s full of dangers like the monsters known as the vaesen, the people with the blood of the fallen god’s in them known as tainted, and in general, hard-ass warriors that make survival rates relatively low. However, it is not without light. It has hope for the future, strong bonds between friends and family, laughter among comrades, and general feel-good moments.
The rest of my review can read read at
https://geeklyinc.com/the-shadow-of-the-gods-review-brutal-but-fun/