 Multiple POV’s
Such an interesting and intriguing, that I always wanted to read to see what was happening. There was something about the characters and how well that they were written that kept me interested in what was going on. The way that John Gwynne writes his characters are so well written, which makes them interested in what was happening to them, he makes you feel a connection in different ways. Even when you may not like certain characters you still want to know what happens to them. I am glad that I get to read this is it was so interesting, as soon as I started reading it for the night, I didn’t want to put it down. The way that the books is written in amazing, as it made me want to keep reading. It has made me so interested in what may happen next in the series, and I am very excited to read it and find out what happens next.

As the title suggests, the gods may be dead, but their influence is still shaping the world. The gods killed each other in a final battle, but bits of them remain in the form of bones, in the fell creatures called vaesen that were driven from the underworld, and in the blood of those humans who are descended from their worshippers. These humans are called the Tainted which indicates how they are regarded by the rest of the world. They are enslaved and hunted because of the danger they represent.

The book follows three protagonists. Orka, a hunter, who lives with her husband and son in a steading a few miles away from a village. But a tragedy forces her back into the world, and into conflicts she thought she had left behind. Varg is an escaped thrall who manages to find a place in a famous warband, but he still seeks to revenge his sister. And Elvar is a young warrior in another war-band which earn their money by killing vaesen and hunting the Tainted. For the last two characters it′s interesting to see how the war-bands are similar but different in their leaders and organisation. Orka tends to go her own way, although picking up strays on her journey.

I loved the world building and descriptions in this book. From the day to day life of eating and travelling, to the epic dimensions of the old gods remains. And I liked how the author recognised the importance of such things as the quality of clothing and embroidery, and what that revealed about the wearer. The Norse elements are well incorporated, but also given original twists so it never struck me as hackneyed. I was reminded of a non-fiction book I read recently ″Never Greater Slaughter″ by Michael Livingston, which provided some interesting and vivid interpretations of Viking and Anglo-Saxon texts.

I had read the first chapter of this book as a sample in the back of another book, and that was enough to make me interested in reading it. (That definitely works as an advertising ploy!) But I was a bit concerned about how dark the book was going to be. There are a lot of deaths, some of them distinctly gory, but I didn't find it as grim as I was expecting. The element that uplifts the story is the relationships between characters: friends, comrades, families – both found and blood. I was invested in what happened to them, and I′m eager to read the next book and find out . Although as some of the characters are potentially on opposing sides this could prove problematic. I think this is a good book for fantasy action fans.

I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley

To be quite honest, I don’t really know how to go with this review, because on one hand this is an amazing book and I can see why a lot of people loved it. Really. But on the other hand, I didn’t love it as much as I was expecting. Mind me, I enjoyed it a lot, and I devoured it even if it is quite a chunky book (around 500 is not the chunkiest of all, but it is a start, right?) because I was quite intrigued by it all, but I was hoping to fall in love with it and this just didn’t happen. It was one of those books that I could not put down while I was reading it, but once I put that down I wasn’t really eager to go back to it, strangely enough.
Anyway, as I was saying this has a lot of things going on for it. We have an interesting new world, with some interesting creatures and some fascinating landscape, especially so if you like the winter and unpolluted nature. The Norse inspiration is quite strong here, for the setting sure (it reminded me of the wonders I saw when I visited Norway, a couple of years ago), but also for the lore of this world and for the culture.
And I really loved the culture and the society there. I loved to see fierce women side by side with fierce men. It is a hard and harsh world, where nothing is free or easy, sure, but everyone can reach the fame (if you are not one of the Tainted, sure) and the glory and find their own place in the world. Mind me, it is not easy, and not everyone has the same opportunities, and sure there is as much injustice and corruption and fallacy as in every human society, this is not a perfect world, and it is not just or fair or easy. At all. But you can see some hard work that pays back, and this is a thing that I really appreciated. (Also, I am not an expert by any means, but I think that the author did a lot of research for this work, kudos for him!).

The world-building is exceptionally well developed, and you can lose yourself in here. It was pure bliss! And we have also an interesting cast of characters. They are a lot, every one of them well developed and with their own unique personality, and with each of the main ones we have a thread in the story. And in the beginning they don’t have converge at all and you don’t even see how they will converge (and to be honest, they won’t really converge until the end, and not even then) but you follow along because you know that you are in for a great adventure. And the adventure is promptly delivered to you, that’s for sure.
Sadly I think that my main problem was with the characters. I am a highly characters driven reader, and this means that I need to connect with the characters, I need to really feel them and be hooked by them, by their story, by their dialogues, and by their persona. And it was a bit hard for me with these characters. This is not to say that I didn’t like them. I have liked all of them, but I didn’t manage to deeply connect with most of them.
My favorite was Varg. I loved to see him making his path in this world, and I really loved his new family. Found family is one of my favorite tropes, and in there we get a great example of it. And I am pretty curious to see how things would develop with them in the next book. And I appreciated a lot also all the members of this new family, they all are worth meeting!
And then we have Orka. She is an amazing character. She is intense, resolute, and quite frankly, insane. She is impulsive too, to put it mildly. But she is also strong-willed and caring, in her own ways. And she is freaking good as a warrior!!!! Reading about her fighting was amazing! And from time to time she reminded me a bit of Logen Ninefingers from The First Law series by Abercrombie. And this was a big bonus!
And, last but not least, we have Elvar. She was the least favorite of mine, but I am not saying she is not a good character. It is just that I could not deeply connect with her. She was interesting, sure, and she is a strong-willed and fierce young woman, who is deadly in her own right. But there was something lacking for me. She is also with some pretty interesting characters, that help along and I was not bored when I was reading her chapters, but I had the hardest time with her.

And with some really interesting main characters, we have a lot of side characters who are alive and intriguing. The fact that I didn’t love this book as much as I was hoping is not as bad as it can sound. Sure, I was hoping to be more involved by all of this, and sure there was something lacking in it for me, but I had an amazing time reading it and it was marvelous to explore this new world, and to get to know the religion, the lore and to see all the creatures that we meet. It is a solid book, and an amazing start for an epic series, that’s for sure!

The Shadow of the Gods is the first book of The Bloodsword Saga. It's an epic Norse inspired fantasy, full of vengeance, quests, magic, and monsters.
The story is told as a three "point of view" by three great characters.
Varg and Orka were my favourites, Orka is one fearless woman.
This is the first John Gwynne that I have read, so will definitely be reading more of his work, and will definitely be reading the second in this series.
Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for the ARC.

This book had a slow start. But writing and worldbuilding was good, so I didn't mind slow pace at first.

However, there was something else I struggled with. You know, writing multiple POVs story can be very tricky. Some characters have more exciting plotline than the others. Some characters have more engaging inner monologue than the others. It is hard to maintain the balance between separated POVs so of course readers are going to pick their favorites. And once that happens, others POVs become boring. And that is what happened to me with this book.

I really liked Varg's POV and his chapters. They were quick paced and fun to read. I enjoyed being in his head.
Orka's POV was meh. I had problem connecting with her on personal level and found her chapters unenjoyable.
Also I struggled with Elvar's POV big time. I didn't care about her storyline and found myself super bored whenever I came across her chapters. All I wished was get back to Varg's POV.

Unfortunatelly, Varg's chapters were not enough to make me invested in the book. So even though I really really tried, this novel was not for me and I abandoned it at 31%.

I think it has probably been years since I’ve read a High Fantasy novel. I used to read a lot of them but fell out of love with the genre after getting a little tired of all the heaving bosoms and horrible things happening to female characters so that the male characters could have their story moved forward. All that said, I’ve heard a lot of hype about this book and when I saw it on NetGalley I requested it honestly not expecting to be approved given my lack of review history for Fantasy but thank goodness I was.

This book is good. I mean it’s really good. I’ve already recommended it to multiple people and I’m trying in vain to get my non-reader husband to read it. At first, I was feeling a little bit of trepidation because I normally sail through books in about a day, but the little % in the corner of my corner was not going up despite many page clicks. This book is long but it’s really ok because it’s worth it.

So what’s it about? It’s essentially a Norse inspired fantasy, the first book in a duology, in a world where the gods are dead and humans eke out a tough and oftentimes, brutal existence. There are three different points of view, Orka, a tough as nails wife and mother. Varg, an escaped Thrall (a slave essentially) and Elvar a young female warrior. There are a lot of twists and turns within the story, some I saw coming and some I absolutely did not and I liked how I was kept guessing throughout. The author did a really great job of making the story threads slowly come together in a clever and sophisticated way.

There’s a lot of violence and conflict but it makes sense within the scope of the story and I didn’t feel like it was gratuitous. The action scenes were written really well and my heart was literally pounding during some of them. I read the final few pages before I went to bed and I couldn’t sleep properly because I was so excited and fired up reading it. I liked how women were equal warriors to men without comment. A lot of similar books try to make some super duper Mary Sue type warrior women but in this book, it was just an accepted and normal part of this world which was refreshing to read. Two of the three main characters are women too so big yay for that.

The gods and mythology of the book are clearly inspired by Norse mythology but they aren’t direct carbon copies, more of a firm nod. I’m guessing there will be more of this in the next instalment which I’m looking forward to finding out more about as I would have liked a bit more of this. The author clearly knows their stuff about Viking society, weapons, warfare etc and the world-building feels realistic and complex.

I only had a few niggles. There are a lot of supporting characters and I found them quite hard to keep track of sometimes. Both Varg and Elvar are part of a larger fighting group and these groups kind of melded into each other for me sometimes. I had to keep trying to remember who was a member of the Bloodsworn and who belonged to the Battle Grim and what their particular quest or mission was at that particular moment. It’s maybe just my old decrepit brain but I struggled a bit sometimes.

A pronunciation guide might have been good too. Maybe there’s one in the print book but googling seemed to suggest different ways to pronounce the eth, particularly in Scandinavian languages. I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to pronouncing things properly and I wasn’t sure if I was doing so in my head because some of the words just didn’t seem to work logically going by how online guidance said it should be pronounced.

Anyhoo, suffice to say this book is a cracker and I can’t wait for the next instalment which is out in April. April! Ye gods, it feels like a long time to wait.

Synopsis: It is 300 years after the twilight of the gods, when the gods killed each other. Their tainted children, all those who have the blood of the gods within them, life as thralls in the Norse land of Vigrið. 

The story follows three warriors: Varg is a former thrall who seeks revenge for the murder of his sister, if only he knew them. He is about to find a new home among a group of mercenaries called the Bloodsworn. Orka is a mother and a warrior on a mission to find her kidnapped son and take vengeance. Elvar seeks battle-fame and an undying name among another group of mercenaries, the Battle-Grim, who hunt trolls and other tainted because they give good money.

“You are Berak Bjornasson, and the blood of the dead god Berser
flows in your veins. You are Tainted, you are Berserkir, and you are
wanted by three jarls for murder, blood-debt and weregild. And
now you are mine,” Agnar said, and smiled. “You will fetch a fine
price.”

All three have some mystery in their past which unfolds only late in the story.

Review: Shadow of the Gods starts a new series, The Bloodsworn Saga, by John Gwynne. I haven't read anything yet by this prolific author, but it shows that this isn't his first novel. One can literally feel how much Gwynne, a Viking re-enactor, loves the Nordic way of living with all its mythology.

He sprinkles his love with a lot of world-building, stuffed with Islandic terms and sentences. You'll find blóð svarið, a blood oath, or nålbinding caps, and other terms similarly like the typical Nordic trope of blood eagles. The only negative thing I can say about strange terms is Gwynne's notion of "thought-cage" for the mind - he uses it so often, 70 times in summary, and each time it drew me out of the immersion.

Magic goes through runes and Icelandic sentences: 

Blóð drekans, lík rífa, voldugur, sameina og binda, brenna þessa hindrun,
opna leið fyrir herra okkar

The reader doesn't need to know the meaning (though my ebook reader readily translates them on the fly), but they let you immerse yourself in this world just like all the well-chosen names do. Those battle descriptions with shield-walls, stabbing spears, wounds, shouts will suck you in and provides a sense of reality opposing the otherwise clear Fantasy setting.

It's not exactly our mediaeval Viking world. The gods of Vigrið were real there, magic is happening right now, and their god-blood gives the Tainted advantages in battle that others can only dream of. It is an original world, mixing elements from Bernard Cornwell's Last Kingdom series (including "arselings"), and Viking's Lagertha and Ragnar Lothbrok plus a lot of magic and gods. A world which is as beautiful as cold, and Gwynne invites you to live within its snowy landscapes.

Gwynne takes his sweet time setting up the novel. Not that there aren't enough fights, sense-of-wonder, or suspense in the first half. But the story doesn't clarify, where all is heading to, why there are three characters, and what they have to do with each other. While this might sound slow, it isn't: the story sucked me in and kept me on my toes from start to finish. Towards the end I pushed through in a marathon read, because I couldn't put it down anymore.

All three main characters are interesting, and well-motivated. Some readers will prefer Orka as a tough mother, and the only one fighting for her own instead of being part of a warband. Elvar's story is slower in the first half and really takes speed in the second half. For me, it was Varg and his way into the Bloodsworn mercenaries. Both groups of mercenaries have secondary characters which are fully fleshed out and have interesting stories of their own right. They remember me of Glen Cook's Black Company. Yes, it's a harsh and dark world, full of murder, aggression and fighting.

I'm very looking forward to the second book in the Bloodsworn saga, The Hunger of Gods, which is about to appear this April. 

Highly recommended for fans of darker, epic fantasy with multiple point of views, full of scary monsters, magic, and gods.

I have a theory that every book can be improved with a dragon. Well, just look at that cover! I loved this book. Set in a world full of rich Norse mythology, The people of Vigrio live in the aftermath of a war that killed all the Gods but one. The descendants of the Gods are hunted and slaughtered. Their world is cruel and dark, full of war bands vying for riches and thralls.
Gwynne introduces us to 3 new characters, Varg, (an escaped thrall on the run) Elvar (trying to prove her worth as a warrior) and Orka (who is a Goddess and my new hero!)
The world building and character crafting are second to none in this novel. There's a huge cast of varied and engaging characters. Gwynne is a masterful storyteller. I love how the narratives of the protagonists are slowly starting to converge. This a unique, dark and gritty fantasy which I can't wait to continue.
Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review an arc of this incredible saga.

I loved this book!!! I love norse inspired stories and this was so we'll written that I was gripped from the start. Can't wait for the other 2 books in the trilogy

This book. THIS BOOK. 4✨

It’s so epic, cruel, magical and enthralling. Filled with old magic, epic monsters and bloody battles

You follow three POVs

Orka - Utter badass, Mother, Wife and did I mention Badass ?

Varg - confused and is trying his best - also run away slave who is hell bent on vengeance

Elvar - If warbands were corporate offices she’d be a strong ass CFO and be rocking pant suits 24/7. She strong, focused on her career, epic fighter who battles with her own conscience as well as frocking giant beasts

I loved the animals that followed Orka especially! Spert and Vesli are just !!! So cute.

The world itself is very Norse/ Viking based. The fighting is a perfect balance of detailed but not confusing - impressive but not overly gross. The magic system is so well thought out an balanced, the Godkin are such an amazing introduction and the plot twist are ones that I NEVER saw coming. The type where I have to put my book down and silently scream for a min.

This book is such a wild amazing ride if you are questioning reading it just …. Just do it

Huge thanks to Orbit books and John Gwynne for the opportunity to read this book !

So I did not know that this was a rerelease of a book published in 2020…. And a book I already read.

From what I remember this had fantastic world building, interesting characters and was inspired by Norse mythology- which I loved!!

Thanks to the publisher for sending me this book in exchange for a fair review!

The Shadow of the Gods is a fantasy book set in a norse-inspired setting. You follow three characters and over the book you discover who they really are, and the secrets hidden from the reader and from the characters themselves. Each character has a strong driving force and personality, and I really enjoyed reading from the perspectives of a mother, a thrall and an (ex) noble.

I really enjoyed this book. The pacing was great, despite the longer length of the book. Any time I wasn't reading this I was thinking about reading it! Although, as with many first in the series fantasy books, it did take me a while to get into and understand the world properly. But that added to the mystery and suspense- and I think I'll appreciate the first 1/3 of the book more on a reread. The plot was so compelling and thrilling- the last 1/3 of the book in particular featured so many twists and turns and BETRAYAL (still not over it). I can't wait to be back in this world when the sequel comes out soon!

You'll enjoy this if you like fantasy books with interesting characters and norse mythology.

Absolutely fantastic read, one of the best ever, a future classic. Highly recommended to all readers of fantasy.

ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.

Reading The Shadow of the Gods is equivalent to witnessing a new brilliant legendary Norse-inspired epic fantasy series in the making.

“Sometimes there are no choices. We are swept along in a current not of our own choosing… I will be the current. I will be the course.”

By this point, does it still come as a shock that I ended up loving this? I’ve read all of Gwynne’s books—twice for The Faithful and the Fallen—and I have absolutely loved them all; every book by Gwynne is on my favorites shelf, and this one is no exception. I have done the beyond-epic cover reveal—illustrated by Marcus Whinney—to The Shadow of the Gods, and this novel was easily my number one most anticipated book of the year. Honestly, I did think of deleting my social media for a while due to being triggered seeing so many people receiving The Shadow of the Gods much earlier than I did. Yes, it was that painful to me! My expectations and anticipations for The Shadow of the Gods were as high as Yggdrassil, and Gwynne exceeded them. Again. I have spread gospels about Gwynne’s books for four years now, and as always, there’s no sign of this stopping ever. This book is evidently as epic as the cover art. The Shadow of the Gods is the first book in The Bloodsworn Saga series by John Gwynne. It is a new series in a completely new world that differs from The Banished Lands. So yes, you’re safe to start here if you haven’t read any of Gwynne’s books before; you will be missing one of the greatest epic fantasy series, though.

After the gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrið. The Shadow of the Gods revolves around three different main characters with their own respective quest in the new age of storm and murder: Orka, Varg, and Elvar. Their storylines of blood, death, battle-fame, and vengeance are seemingly separate for almost the entirety of the book, but rest assured, their paths eventually converged, and my god, it was such an electrifying convergence. Ever since I finished reading The Faithful and the Fallen in early 2017, I’ve mentioned several times that it would be amazing if Gwynne one day decides to write a Norse-inspired epic fantasy series; well, here we are. This is one of Gwynne’s bloodiest books so far; that’s saying a lot. Seriously, if you’ve read Gwynne’s previous books in The Banished Lands Saga, you should know how bloody this book is when I said that. But with that in mind, then you’ll also know that the key elements that made Gwynne’s books so damn lovable are all evident in this phenomenal start to a series. Yes, family, camaraderie, the pursuit of fame, and loyalty in superbly-written characters are still vital in Gwynne’s storytelling.

“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.”

Gwynne has always been excellent at characterizations; this is one of his most tremendous assets as a storyteller, and he has consistently maintained this since his debut. And even then, I’m still pleasantly surprised by the creation of the character Orka. I don’t want to say too much regarding this character; I didn’t know anything about her except that readers loved her, and I have to echo the same sentiment on this. I will say this instead, in one book, Gwynne has certified Orka as one of the best characters to ever exist in the entire genre. Orka’s story was cover-to-cover compelling, and she’s an extremely well-written character. Although it’s true that she numerously displayed extraordinary skill and talent in battles, what I loved most about her isn’t exclusive to that; it’s the way she prioritized her family over everything else. Her character’s development and interaction with Thorkell, Breca, Lif, and Mord gave her the necessary characterizations that made her rampage and destructions towards her enemies so rewarding.

“You and Breca are my home. Wherever we are together, that is home to me.”

Then there’s also the next main character: Varg. Varg seeks vengeance for his sister’s death, and he wants to know what caused her death. To achieve this objective, Varg has his fate intertwined with The Bloodsworn. Immediately from his first two chapters where he battled Einar the Half-Troll, my attention and investment in his story were sparked already. Considering that camaraderie in a hard world and found family are some of the main themes in The Shadow of the Gods, I do believe that Gwynne has portrayed them effectively through Varg’s chapters. It was immensely heartwarming seeing Varg, who has been alone all his life, gradually develop friendships with the members of the Bloodsworn. Remember, the series is named The Bloodsworn Saga, so obviously, The Bloodsworn is an important group of people within the book/series. Also, Varg’s chapters were filled with humor due to the character Svik. I can’t even begin to say how much I enjoyed reading Svik’s cheese and porridge story; I can’t wait for you all to read it. There’s also this gem that may be linked to The Lord of the Rings:

“Get moving, Varg No-sense… Or are you waiting for an eagle to swoop down and carry you the rest of the way?”

Admittedly, Elvar’s chapters took me half of the novel to get invested; I was worried that Elvar would be the first time I ever felt bored with Gwynne’s main POV character. Fortunately, I was proven wrong in the second half of Elvar’s story. The thing with Elvar is that her character’s motivation and internal conflicts haven’t been ignited yet until we reached the halfway point. In the first half of the novel, her chapters consist of her adventures with her Battle-Grim companions. Once that candle of characterizations was lit, I became so much more immersed in her character and plotline. I’m not kidding; her story exploded magnificently in the second half of the novel. There’s a very admirable quality in Elvar’s character that I enjoyed; she won’t submit to a life of servitude, and instead, she chooses freedom and battle-fame. Similar to Varg’s story, the decision and importance of choosing your own family is a key driving force of her character.

“Men die, Women die, all creatures of flesh and blood die, but battle-fame survives. To become a song, a saga-tale told from generation to generation. That way we will live forever. That is what I want, what all of us want.”

With three POV-characters, The Shadow of the Gods means that this is Gwynne’s lowest POV-characters count so far in his career; for Gwynne’s first book of a series, Malice utilizes seven (six main + one side) POV-characters, and A Time of Dread has four POV characters. The decision to narrow it down to three POV characters worked in favor of the narrative because Vigrið is a relatively smaller place compared to The Banished Lands, at least for now. It’s been a year since I’ve read A Time of Courage, the last book in Of Blood and Bone trilogy by John Gwynne, and I am once again reminded just how “safe” so many other epic fantasy books are. No one is ever safe in his books, Gwynne excels so much at characterizations, and this isn’t only applicable to his protagonists but also antagonists. If you’re a new reader to his works, Gwynne is a merciless author; you will always fear for the protagonists, and you will always want retribution towards the enemies. It is one of the best parts about reading his books, and I, for one, am utterly grateful for this. Not many fantasy authors can—or have the bravery to—achieve this fearless feat.

“Fear can be ice or fire in the veins, freezing the body or setting a blaze within it.”

The more I read fantasy books, the more I wish that more authors are as gifted as Gwynne at writing battle scenes. Seriously, he’s a genius at this. For me, his exceptional battle-scenes are also what puts Gwynne above so many other fantasy authors. Let’s take Orka, for example, she is a new challenger to The Bloody-Nine from The First Law by Joe Abercrombie; her calculated rampaging madness and unflinching brutality were insane, intense, and incredible. The vivid chaos of being in the Shield-Wall and how deadly it can inflict is back again here. Then there are also more monsters—trolls, vaesen, näcken—and magics involved now. The Shadow of the Gods is imbued with jaw-dropping action sequences; seax stabbings, axe splitting skulls, the battle between humans, monsters, and The Tainted—people with cursed blood—all felt splendidly immersive and real. Brandon Sanderson is often known for his climactic final chapters that earned the title of Sanderlanche (Sanderson’s Avalanche). That term is well-deserved, and it’s unbelievable that Gwynne, who has delivered epic tempestuous climactic action sequences constantly, still doesn’t have a term for his achievements. From now on, I’m going to call Gwynne’s final chapters in his books the Gwynnado (Gwynne’s Tornado). The last 15% in The Shadow of the Gods was a maelstrom of breathtaking savagery. The crimson convergence of carnage, violence, and emotions was totally enthralling, and it will leave you begging for more.

“Fear is no bad thing,” Orka said. “How can you be brave if you do not feel fear?”
“I don’t understand,” Breca said, frowning.”
“Courage is being scared of a task and doing it anyway.”

Lastly, before I end this review, I want to mention that The Shadow of the Gods contained Gwynne’s most detailed world-building yet. As mentioned several times already, this is a heavily Norse-inspired fantasy series inspired by Ragnarok and Beowulf. The details in the character’s appearances, clothing, weaponry exhibited Gwynne’s passion for this world and Viking mythologies. The history of the Battle-Plain—shattered realms caused by the war of the gods that destroyed the world a long time ago—plus the intricacy of the environment and landscape truly transformed Vigrið into a location that felt so real. Snaka (Snake, the father of gods), his sons—Ulfrir (Wolf), Berser (Bear), Rotta (Rat), Orna (Eagle) Lik-Rifa (Dragon)—and Oskutred were definitely Ragnarok-inspired world-building. And I loved how Gwynne connects these mythical beings into the current events of the story with the inclusion of the Tainted. As I said, the Tainted are people with cursed blood that mankind hates and hunts. They’re descended from the gods I mentioned earlier, and depending on the cursed blood, each Tainted is capable of channeling their blood to enhance their own respective abilities and power. I personally wouldn’t call The Shadow of the Gods as The Last Kingdom or Vikings inspired; these are massive oversimplification and generalization that doesn’t give this book the recognition it deserved. The Norse-inspired God of War video game is a much more epic and apt comparison.

Between Malice, A Time of Dread, and The Shadow of the Gods, Gwynne just crafted his most well-polished start to his series yet. As a gratifying bonus, Gwynne’s reputation earned him my faith that the rest of the series will get better and better. Both Wrath and A Time of Courage are included in my “Masterpieces” shelf, and I’m sure the concluding volume to The Bloodsworn Saga will follow the notion. The Shadow of the Gods marked the beginning of a new bloodsoaked and legendary superlative Norse-inspired epic fantasy that future readers will praise, remember, and memorialized. The Bloodsworn and Battle-Grim are carving a bloody path across Vigrið, and I will be proud to say that I was there during the birth of this saga-tale. Welcome to the Battle-Plain. I await your enlistment into the Bloodsworn.

“Remember, we are Bloodsworn, bound to one another. Stand or fall, we are sworn to each other. That is our strength.”

Official release date: 6th May 2021 (UK) and 4th May 2021 (US)

You can pre-order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping) | Bookshop (Support Local Bookstores!)

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

“Death is our constant companion, a whisper in our ear, but when you see a friend fall…nothing prepares us for it, even though we’ve waded through a river of the dead.”

The Shadow of the Gods is set in Vigrid, a Norse-inspired world, and is the first book in the Bloodsword Saga.
Let me first start by saying that I am from a small Nordic country called the Faroe Islands, and I know how to speak Faroese, Danish, and I can read Swedish and Norwegian. Furthermore, I have grown up hearing about Nordic creatures such as the Nix, the Seal Women and Huldufólk. So did this book feel Norse inspired? Absolutely!

The Shadow of the Gods is filled with Norse terminology, myths and creatures. I love seeing names used, such as Sigrun, Agnar and Einar, commonly used in the Faroe Islands. It was a joy to be able to read and understand the Nordic (Icelandic, I think?) used in this book. If you are looking for a Norse-inspired fantasy, then The Shadow of the Gods is the perfect book for you.

John Gwynne is one of the best contemporary fantasy authors when writing a story with multiple POVs. We follow three distinct storylines, and Gwynne masterfully switches between the POVs. The pacing is terrific, and tension and stakes are gradually raised throughout this story, making the reader engaged in each plotline. This book is going to break your heart, so bring tissues!

Orka, Elvar and Varg are well fleshed out, with depth and complex motivations, which make these characters incredibly memorable. I love Orka! It is rare to see a compassionate and badass mother in fantasy. Orka is fierce, loyal and protecting and has the potential to become one of my all-time favourite characters.
Furthermore, the world-building is phenomenal. Gwynne expertly uses Norse inspiration in his world-building, making Vigrid feel vast and fascinating. The world of Vigrid is filled with harsh terrain, mythical creatures, forbidden magic and gods.

My only “criticism” is that Elvar’s storyline starts at a slow pace. However, since you are following multiple POVs, the story never feels dull, and Elvar’s plotline picks up at the 50% mark.

In conclusion, The Shadow of the Gods is a fantastic introduction to the Bloodsworn Saga, filled with memorable characters, phenomenal world-building and heartache. This book is perfect for readers that love Norse inspiration and epic fantasy. I am already anxiously waiting for the sequel!

4.5 / 5 stars

Thanks to Orbit Books and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Shadow of the Gods is one of the most epic novels I have read in a long time. It is brutal, awash with gore, as it is a Norse-inspired historical fantasy setting. The book had me attached to each character's personal stories and witnessed their tales of love, loss, and redemption. This is a world where the Gods fought each other and became corrupted, hence they saw humanity as nothing as more than thralls. The humans fought against them and then vowed to hunt them down, for this is a world of Dead Gods whose essence has survived in some humans, who can possess the power of the Gods. Or they're known as tainted. And the tainted aren't respected well enough in this world, for they are seen as violent, dangerous, and above all, a threat. This is the very simplified version of what I give you here.

The worldbuilding is impressive and I already felt I was in that land where Orka lives with her family, Varg on his quest to become more than remaining a thrall for the rest of his life, and Elvar seeking glory and adventure. The book cover does exactly what it says on the tin and we come across so many stories. Characters who want vengeance realize this world is brutal, and it will chew you up and spit you out if you don't adapt to it. Living in a world of Dead Gods and Bounty Hunters and Slavers reminds me of how far humanity has fallen in this world. Blood and battle are more ordained, more celebrated than living a life of prosperity. For us humans, why did we worship Gods in the first place? To give us a sense of security? To answer the question of why we were put here in the first place? What was the purpose of a God in the first place? A higher being with powers that would bless our lives yet show us our humanity? We worshipped Gods because we did not have the answers to the questions we sought. Nowadays, it isn't so. In this world, however, most of the Gods turn on each other, fighting each other, betraying each other. To live in a world like this is only for the tough, not for the good-hearted. And those good-hearted are often taken away by evil and greedy people.

And there's plenty of them in Gwyne's world. There won't come a moment when you see young slaves being taken away from villages or where thralls who are your slaves are treated as common muck. There are tales of heroism, there are excellent battle sequences, and well-written dialogue, well-written descriptions. I loved the fact that there are different creatures in this novel inspired by Norse Mythology. My favourite were the Giant Ravens, Vesli, and Spert. You will soon see as you read this novel, that Breca is a character I grew to like. He is an innocent child trapped in this world of brutality and toughness. But he has a tough, resilient stance in this world. He isn't afraid, but he knows the ways of the world. I just wonder, are there any good Gods in this world?

I've submitted my amazon review as well

I wanted to love this book a lot because all my friends have nothing but amazing things to say about it but did I? Well… not exactly.
This is the first instalment in an epic fantasy series based in a Norse inspired world. The story progresses through the viewpoint of three characters- Orka, Elvar and Varg. I loved Varg from the very beginning. He is a runaway, a sort of underdog and has to prove his worth to the Bloodsworn, a group of mercenaries who have sort of adopted him into their fold.
Orka is a warrior mother who seems to be leading a life in disguise with her husband and son. She is afraid for her son as incidences of missing children abound near their settlement. I connected more to her son than to her and was kinda skimming and skipping through her pov chapters to get to Varg atleast until the halfway mark. Thereafter the author just gears it up to the top and it was one exhilarating action scene after another.
Elvar is a noblewoman who has thrown away her status to fight in a mercenary group. She wants to prove her battle might and make a name for herself rather than be married off to the highest bidder. Elvar’s chapters were my least favourite because I just couldn’t bring myself to like her for some reason. I just couldn’t connect to her even though her life was the most relatable out ot the three characters in the book. It was at the very very end of the book that I kinda warmed up to her a little bit but even then it wasn’t much.
Overall for the first half I was just skipping and skimming mostly and stopping to read only Varg’s pov chapters but the second half things finally started happening and Orka’s povs became just as compelling. Elvar’s were still a struggle until maybe the last 20%.
I didn’t end up loving the book as most of my friends did but I really liked it. Just as I was turning the point from like to love, the book ended but it ensured that I would keep reading the sequel to find out what happens next. Definitely recommended for fans of epic fantasies. It takes some time for the action to start but once it does, its a non stop, high octane, edge of the seat thriller. You would not be disappointed.
P.S the dragon on the cover is not just for show, but only the patient get rewarded 😂
Rating: 3.5 stars