The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga)

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These characters are Orka, an ex-warrior who lives with her husband and son at a quiet steading, Varg, a thrall who is running to escape his slave masters, and Elvar, a young warrior who is trying to find battle fame with the monster hunting warband the Battle-Grim. They all have deep and interesting pasts of which we are given more details of as the story progresses. Through the eyes of these characters, I was engrossed from the very first chapter and by about the fourth chapter I was chuffed to see that Gwynne had worked his magic again.

I was delighted by the beginning of the book, which included a character list and a summary of book 1. Very helpful! Ares is the POV Character of this chapter and during this chapter he meets with Posiedan of whom he finds is still very angry over what happened with the Empire of Numeron. During this early part of the chapter the two discuss their mutual invovlement in the Rise of the Atlantian Pantheon and how much they had both invested in that attempt. The arrival of Odin brings them to talking of what went wrong with the Pantheon and they agree that if they tried again they would do things differently, leading to the three leaving eachother and Ares thinking on doing what they did with the Atlantian Pantheon again but this time have a single person in charge and they would act alongside this individual. The Shadow of the Gods is the first book in John Gwynne’s most recent series its sequel has come out very recently. It’s a book that tells the tales of Orka, Elvar and Varg, three adults navigating a fantastical mytholgy-filled world based on Norse mythology. It’s a fantastic new entry into John Gwynne’s series. The Shadow of the Gods plot – 4.5/5 En este punto ya he comprobado que Gwynne tiene la costumbre de darme de lo mejorcito en batallas que he leído. Sangre y aceros se cruzan.It is a hard world, and we will not always be here to protect him from it. We are not just his parents, we are his teachers, too.” For millennia much of the world was ruled by emperors: a handful of individuals claimed no limit to the lands they could rule over and no limit to their authority. They operated beyond normal human constraint and indeed often claimed a superhuman or divine authority. In practice they ran the gamut from being some of the most remarkable men who ever lived, to being some of the worst and least remarkable.

The Shadow of the Gods is told from the POV of many different characters with the Titan that created the Man God or at least was the main proponent of creating the Man God being the POV and then his chapter would be followed by the Man God of whom would detail the fall of his life. As whispers of war echo across the land of Vigrið, fate follows in the footsteps of three warriors: a huntress on a dangerous quest, a noblewoman pursuing battle fame, and a thrall seeking vengeance among the mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn.

Read The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

The chapters for this book are very short. For me, this made it even harder to connect to the characters. We rarely got to spend much time with one before switching to another. If you’ve got a soft spot for Vikings and fantasy, then The Shadow of the Godsis the book you didn’t know you needed but have been waiting for. Shadow isthe first installment in John Gwynne’s Bloodsworn trilogy, and it starts off the the series with a bang. Imagine if all the creatures from Norse mythology — shapeshifting berserkers, trolls, giants and sea serpents— actually existed alongside Viking-style war bands, and you’ve got a relatively good idea of what you’re walking into here. If words like drengrand holmgang mean anything to you, or the very thought of a shield-wall gets you jittery with excitement, then make no mistake: this book is for you.

And it is really good. We got even more in depth worldbuilding, more time with the characters I loved in SotG, the mythology of the first book is expanded. Gwynne remains excellent at writing combat, and developing characters that you root for. Gwynne added two new POVs that gave us perspective on the villains and this added a lot to the brewing conflict. The ending of this book was incredible, even better than book 1!

A multi-layered and very detailed world is conjured up here, which seems so vivid with John Gwynne’s figurative language that you sink into this story. The characters have their rough edges and the character relationships are emotional and deep, so that you can also empathize with them. This author is not afraid to take away our joy, he often chooses sadness and betrayal for characters I had grown to love, which is why an even deeper connection to the characters was created. In addition, I have to credit the author for bringing in a cheese-loving character named Svik, and his story about his love for cheese is just hilarious and melts-in-your-mouth. For in him I have found my dream man. The tension in each story is tugging at your heartstrings and is complemented by strong protagonists that just make for brilliantly written storylines. At so many points I felt like I was in the video game Skyrim, which gave me an incredible atmosphere – just like this book. I am addicted to this book, to this world, to the characters and to the story and I really need the next book to satisfy my addiction. Una saga que integra continuamente elementos nórdicos de una manera tan eficiente que es para aplaudir. La tradición, leyendas e idiomas nórdicos. El uso de los lenguajes por ejemplo en la magia le da ese toque de realismo. Y eso no es nada. Una ambientación de lo más cuidada y muy bien desarrollada. With his latest incredible novel, the impressive John Gwynne once again shows why he is one of the leading authors of dark fantasy fiction. The Shadow of the Gods is a fantastic and captivating read that takes the reader on thrilling adventures with some exceptional characters. Featuring a powerful narrative and an intricate and grim new fantasy setting, The Shadow of the Gods is an outstanding and addictive novel that is one of the best fantasy books of 2021. A highly recommended read for anyone looking for their latest dark fantasy fix, I cannot wait to see where Gwynne takes The Bloodsworn Saga next, but you have to know it is going to be something particularly epic.

Indescriptible lo que crea este autor desde personajes, momentos y escenas que hay que leerlo para entender lo difícil que es para mi explicar el nivel de detalle y de precisión de John Gwynne. Mejor ni hablemos de lo que engancha. Each of the points of view are very different, and I found myself looking for signs of them coming together throughout but it’s honestly like three different stories almost for about… 90% of it maybe? I absolutely definitely liked Orka’s side of the story most of the three, but each of them were very unique and had their own exciting elements. I really loved reading the first part of the Bloodsworn Saga, The Shadow of the Gods, by John Gwynne and I’m already excited for the next instalment! One of the characters gave me Abercrombie characters vibes and I really enjoyed it. The Gods are a big part of the story in this entry which made the world-building and magic systems more complex and I am here for that. I’ve not enjoyed characters this much in a book, let alone a fantasy book, since I read Joe Abercrombie’s The Blade Itself. The Shadow of the Gods summary – 5/5

So, closer to the start of this year I heard about a new independent bookshop selling science fiction and fantasy books (perfection, right?) – The Broken Binding. Varg is finally getting used to life as a free man, he is also learning how to fight and how better to use his powers, his POV was always refreshing. Characters in a book that often be a huge deal breaker for me. However, I’m pleased to tell you that you’ll absolutely fall in love with some of the character in The Shadow of the Gods. Gwynne’s talent for world-building just by telling story is only matched by his ability to write genuinely engaging and interesting characters. The POVs in this book are slightly expanded. In book one the focus was pretty much on three main characters, however we get a little bit of a wider scope in THE HUNGER OF THE GODS and this makes sense given that the story is expanding considerably as well. That being said, I didn't mind the fact that we experience some other characters' journeys and it wasn't confusing as their stories intersect with the main characters much of the time. So Gwynne has definitely given us a broader view of the players in book two and the results are spectacular. Varg’s perspective is important for spoiler-ish reasons, but he’s entirely focused throughout the majority on finding his sister’s killer and getting vengeance (in a very Viking-like style, there’s quite a lot of that in this book). In a way he kind of falls into the Bloodsworn almost by accident, but as a former thrall he has a lot of character development in the story as he becomes a warrior as the rest of his new family are.