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A review by xkrow
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
(May contain some spoilers)
Wow, that's a lot of action.
Gwynn is definitely good at writing it, but personally, it become a little TOO much when almost every other chapter's mid-point or climax was about a fight. It was harder for me to care when all of our main characters would keep coming out of fights practically unscathed, especially near the end.
I was also strangely annoyed by the excruciating level of detail the town of Snakavik was introduced with, just to be left behind after a few chapters? I felt like a false set-up to me, personally.
Another little annoyance was when near the end (keeping to vague), it was so, so blatantly obvious that a character's action was clearly a set-up for something coming up, and yup, it pays off literally in the next chapter. It felt a little too convenient and unnatural.
Getting the negatives out the way, here's some positives, cuz overall, I did like the book!
1) I think the worldbuilding it pretty neat, and Gwynn is certainly dedicated to not breaking the illusion. The material with the gods, the Gauldermanns and Seiðr-witches was neat. There is also the subtle stuff with particular word choices and terminology (bairn, thought-cage, the constant weapons and armor) that propel you into the world. Gwynn definitely knows his stuff.
2) I thought the characters were pretty cool! They can get a little one note when like a 3rd of your exposure to them is through their fights (seriously, why? I get the Vikings fought, but THIS much?) but each brings something new to the table so that was neat. Varg's slave-background contrasts well with Elvar's slave-capturing introduction, building a fundamental tension there, and then Orka is just pretty cool. She's also pretty funny ("I'm beginning to think that's always your first plan." Orka shrugged. "It is a plan I like").
3) On the overall, its a lot more set-up than payoff, but I'm interested in seeing where this goes, especially with the ending that changes the status-quo and reveals new info about our characters.
4) Despite my complaints about the fights, I also don't think there's a part of the book that's I'd describe as "bad" or genuinely "boring". It's pretty evenly spread out, but I definitely liked the more focused second halves of all of their arcs.
5) Clarity is also something I value in an author, and Gwynn's prose does pretty good in that department, never leaving you confused or wondering as to wtf is going on (unless, of course, that's the intention).
Wow, that's a lot of action.
Gwynn is definitely good at writing it, but personally, it become a little TOO much when almost every other chapter's mid-point or climax was about a fight. It was harder for me to care when all of our main characters would keep coming out of fights practically unscathed, especially near the end.
I was also strangely annoyed by the excruciating level of detail the town of Snakavik was introduced with, just to be left behind after a few chapters? I felt like a false set-up to me, personally.
Another little annoyance was when near the end (keeping to vague), it was so, so blatantly obvious that a character's action was clearly a set-up for something coming up, and yup, it pays off literally in the next chapter. It felt a little too convenient and unnatural.
Getting the negatives out the way, here's some positives, cuz overall, I did like the book!
1) I think the worldbuilding it pretty neat, and Gwynn is certainly dedicated to not breaking the illusion. The material with the gods, the Gauldermanns and Seiðr-witches was neat. There is also the subtle stuff with particular word choices and terminology (bairn, thought-cage, the constant weapons and armor) that propel you into the world. Gwynn definitely knows his stuff.
2) I thought the characters were pretty cool! They can get a little one note when like a 3rd of your exposure to them is through their fights (seriously, why? I get the Vikings fought, but THIS much?) but each brings something new to the table so that was neat. Varg's slave-background contrasts well with Elvar's slave-capturing introduction, building a fundamental tension there, and then Orka is just pretty cool. She's also pretty funny ("I'm beginning to think that's always your first plan." Orka shrugged. "It is a plan I like").
3) On the overall, its a lot more set-up than payoff, but I'm interested in seeing where this goes, especially with the ending that changes the status-quo and reveals new info about our characters.
4) Despite my complaints about the fights, I also don't think there's a part of the book that's I'd describe as "bad" or genuinely "boring". It's pretty evenly spread out, but I definitely liked the more focused second halves of all of their arcs.
5) Clarity is also something I value in an author, and Gwynn's prose does pretty good in that department, never leaving you confused or wondering as to wtf is going on (unless, of course, that's the intention).