Review: The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

Title: The Shadow of the Gods
Author: John Gwynne
Series: The Bloodsworn Saga #1
Genre: Adult Fantasy/Epic High Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Edition: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's |

 

 

Synopsis:

THE GREATEST SAGAS ARE WRITTEN IN BLOOD. 

   A century has passed since the gods fought and drove themselves to extinction. Now only their bones remain, promising great power to those brave enough to seek them out.
   As whispers of war echo across the land of Vigrid, 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.
   All three will shape the fate of the world as it once more falls under the shadow of the gods.

 

********************* 

 

 This book took me an embarrassingly long time to read. I kept putting it down, not from lack of interest or enjoyment, but because I got a little overwhelmed with the characters. Some of them, in my brain, had similar(ish) names. And I kept losing track of who was who. (It's also taken me quite sometime to write this review out because life stuff)

 

This is a very fast-paced book and while I did start this... a while ago, I still remember events at the start of this book from how well it was written. Orka was a fast-favorite character for me. She's the one I wish I was most like. She's a mother, who is fiercely protective of the ones she loves and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect them. I do like Varg and Elvar, but I was always more excited to read Orka's chapters.  

 

As for Varg, I sympathize with his mission. He wants to avenge his sister, who was murdered. Varg is a Thrall, or slave, and has been for most his life He is very brash and doesn't always think ahead. He acts like he's on some kind of time crunch to avenge his sister's murder but I don't know why he feels that way. I am curious of what his role is going to be in the wider story, especially after finding out what he is near the end of the book.

 

Elvar, for me, had the least interesting storyline until near the end of the book. While I do like her character she is the most "forgettable" of the three POV characters. I understand what she wants in life, one that is separate from her family and their status to form her own path in life. But she beyond that she is a little, for lack of a better word, boring. I do hope to see more for her character in the rest of the series.

 

I am very invested in the main plot in what I am calling the cult of people stealing children who are "tainted" (aka have a connection to the dead Gods) and what they are trying to accomplish.