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A review by riththewarluid
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
TL;Dr I enjoyed this book a lot and would recommend this book to anyone looking for an extremely violent Norse-inspired romp with incredible world building, who doesn’t mind excessive non-English phrases/words or reading “thought-cage” over and over.
Pros: the world building is SO cool, and I really felt immersed in a fantastical mirror of our own earth. Loved the hints of international politics we got with Gravka and Sulich (but also so many questions about why Sulich is with the Bloodsworn?). Orka’s storyline is my favorite, as I feel like she is the most complicated of the three main characters and is the most dynamic to read about. The last few paragraphs of the book broke my heart!! Varg and Elvar were interesting but just felt more trope-y and I didn’t see a ton of actual growth with them; maybe in the next book. I’m curious to see what happens with Elvar in particular in the next book, and I’ve got real questions about Ilska and the Ravenfeeders?? Mostly about why [name redacted] is pro-liberation of the tainted but is ok with the kidnapping and enslaving of tainted kids????
Cons: this book is clearly primarily a set up for the rest of the series. Because each of the character’s stories start in media res you don’t have a clear sense of where they are coming from or where they want to go to, until maybe the last few chapters of the book, which makes the story hard to get into. The writing style is very adjective and metaphor heavy, which is fine but not always my cup of tea. The thing that bothered me the most was the use of “thought-cage” to just mean mind. It felt clunky as opposed to immersive, and it was used so much that it got annoying. There’s also a lot of foreign language used, which doesn’t bother me except when it’s not translated (or isn’t easy to figure out based on context), which is often the case for various spells. But I was reading this on a Kindle, so maybe there’s an easy glossary that I just didn’t see.
Pros: the world building is SO cool, and I really felt immersed in a fantastical mirror of our own earth. Loved the hints of international politics we got with Gravka and Sulich (but also so many questions about why Sulich is with the Bloodsworn?). Orka’s storyline is my favorite, as I feel like she is the most complicated of the three main characters and is the most dynamic to read about. The last few paragraphs of the book broke my heart!! Varg and Elvar were interesting but just felt more trope-y and I didn’t see a ton of actual growth with them; maybe in the next book. I’m curious to see what happens with Elvar in particular in the next book, and I’ve got real questions about Ilska and the Ravenfeeders??
Cons: this book is clearly primarily a set up for the rest of the series. Because each of the character’s stories start in media res you don’t have a clear sense of where they are coming from or where they want to go to, until maybe the last few chapters of the book, which makes the story hard to get into. The writing style is very adjective and metaphor heavy, which is fine but not always my cup of tea. The thing that bothered me the most was the use of “thought-cage” to just mean mind. It felt clunky as opposed to immersive, and it was used so much that it got annoying. There’s also a lot of foreign language used, which doesn’t bother me except when it’s not translated (or isn’t easy to figure out based on context), which is often the case for various spells. But I was reading this on a Kindle, so maybe there’s an easy glossary that I just didn’t see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War