Awesome piece of fantasy. I mean if the cover isn't convicting enough to make you read it, I don't know what I can say that will... Read it!

5/5

First of all, thanks to the author and publisher for approving my ARC request.

The Shadow of the Gods is Probably one of the best first entry to a fantasy series till date.

The author sets the tone of this norse inspired epic in the first chapter itself... Beautiful to look at and Brutal to live in...

Entirety of this book is told through 3 POV characters: Orka, Elvar and Varg. Each character with an unique voice. Even though Orka and Elvar's characters were absolutely fantastic to read my favourite chapters were Varg's. Varg and his Bloodsworn companions were an absolute delight.

This book is definitely the bloodiest work of John Gwynne and probably his best too IMO and cements his position as one of my favourite authors of all time.

Without spoiling anything, The Shadow of the Gods is Fast paced, Gritty, Bloody and well put together. A 500 pages of delight. Looking forward to the next entry in this series

This was such a great book! I love Norse mythology, so the worldbuilding in The Shadow of the Gods was perfect for me. There are three main characters: Orka, a woman trying to rescue her kidnapped son, Varg, a man seeking vengeance for his dead sister, and Elvar, a young woman travelling with a war band determined to become great. I loved all three characters, but I think that Elvar was my favorite. There is a lot to learn about this world, but I never felt like the information was being dumped on me, and I never felt like I didn't have enough information to understand. This is such a rich world, with three action-packed storylines that begin to converge by the end of the book. I really, really loved this book, and I'm so excited for the sequel.
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I was so hoping to get this one! I got into it as soon as I got the ARC and god was it good. I'd never read this author before, but I've been wanted to read him forever so this new series is the perfect way to start. The mythology, the world, the plot, those characters, wow! Everything is top level! I highly recommend it if you love fantasy!

Rating: 10/10

Thanks to the publisher and author for an advance reading copy of The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga #1) for review consideration. This did not influence my thoughts or opinions.

The Shadow of the Gods is a masterclass in storytelling. It is epic, gritty fantasy with an uncompromising amount of heart. A near-perfect combination of Vikings and Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom, but with a fantastical flare that Gwynne executes flawlessly.

I didn’t know a perfect book existed until I turned the last page. The wheels in my mind have been churning for hours, attempting to grind out the perfect words to completely voice my love for this novel. I really don’t believe the words exist and that is probably why I have been racking my brain, coming up with literally nothing.

Like the synopsis states, the story follows three (3) distinct storylines: Orka (the huntress on a dangerous quest), Elvar (the noblewoman who has rejected privilege in pursuit of battle fame) & Varg (a thrall who seeks vengeance among the famed mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn). While we see all of the action through their eyes, there are several key characters you will become very familiar with as the tale progresses. My favorite, outside of our main protagonists, was Svik. He is definitely the comic relief for such a grim tale, and his story (around the halfway point) in which he bests a troll nearly killed me. But to be honest, there wasn’t one character written that I thought really needed more fleshing out. Each played their part in the exact manner required.

The world-building goes without saying. If you’ve read the author’s first couple of series, The Faithful and the Fallen or Of Blood & Bone, you already know this aspect will be comprehensive and elaborate. While the former two (2) series took place in The Banished Lands, The Bloodsworn Trilogy takes place across Vigrid, the Battle-Plain. Gwynne calls it “a new world inspired by Beowulf, Ragnarok and Norse mythology” and that about sums it up. It is a land full of harsh terrain, warbands, monsters, gigantic bones of dead gods and more. Oh, and a massive dragon (though you probably already collected that from the brilliant cover by Marcus Whinney). There are also some aspects I’d LOVE to talk about, but trust me, you are better off finding them out for yourself.

Look, if you have made it this far in my review and you still haven’t preordered yourself a copy, can you just trust me? If Vikings are your thing (and they probably are considering you read my review of a novel inspired by Norse mythology), then do the thing.