dogofthesun 's review for:

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

4.0

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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.