The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

Review by: Samantha M. Siciliano

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Quick Summary:

The Shadow of the Gods is a POV Norse fantasy that follows the journeys of three main characters: Varg, Orka, and Elvar. It’s kind of an apocalyptic read in the sense that the gods had fought an insane battle and ended up destroying themselves, so those left behind are finding new ways of life (about 300 years later). There are epic sagas, character developments, and world building. The one thing I loved about this fantasy was that there were no flashbacks. You were finding out the past of the three main characters when they talked about it with others.

The Review:

Boy oh boy, where in the hell do I start?! This book was fantastic. I should preface this with the fact that this book was picked out by my wonderful husband as he knows I love Vikings, mythology, and character development. This book had it all! This was my first experience reading John Gwynne and he freaking knocked it out of the park! When I first started reading the book, I kept on forgetting that this was fantasy and there was magic (that wasn’t overpowering in the sense that they could knock out whole armies) both natural born and learned and mythology. 

The first thing that I loved was that he placed me right in the thought- cages of the characters. I was learning about their lives, their motivations, and their pasts as I was reading. At the end of almost every chapter (which were mostly short and great for an ADHD mind), I was wanting more from that character and was upset that I had to read a new character! I loved that I was able to predict quite a few things, but there were some twists that I did not see coming in which my jaw dropped! There were several times I told my husband that I was loving this book and wanted to read more but couldn’t because I was tired and afraid I would miss some important detail. 

The world building was so much fun! I was taken into mead halls and taverns where I could smell the smells and almost taste the foods. Then there are places like Snakavik which is a ginormous head of a skeleton in which a large community lives in! There is an actual city, in the head of a former god. HOW FANTASTIC IS THAT?! Or the Boneback Mountains which is the spine of a former god! I was onboard amazing ships with large crews. I travelled through acres of woods. And there was a map to help me understand where I was relative to each of the characters I was reading about. 

Okay here’s where I talk about the characters, and if you don’t want spoilers… well I would stop here! I really just need to write about them and I want to talk about them to anyone who will listen! I liked how these tropes were not new, but fresh. They weren’t the exact stereotypical tropes you read about in every fantasy book! I have heard that Gwynne likes to pull the rug from underneath you when you least expect it, so I will keep looking to see if one of these characters (please don’t be Orka or Varg) will die. I don’t think my heart will be able to handle it!

We will start with Varg first! Varg is a thrall (slave) that escapes his enslavers and enters into a life of being a Bloodsworn member. First, of all, I had absolutely no idea that the whole time I was reading, the name Varg means wolf. To find out he was part of the Tainted (part human and part descendent of a god). He belongs to clan Ulfrir, which is the wolf god. IT WAS LITERALLY IN FRONT OF MY FACE THE WHOLE TIME!!! But I had figured out he was Tainted before too long when he would talk about his life as a thrall. The thing I loved about Varg is he didn’t know much about being a Viking and life in the Bloodsworn, which was really nice because I was able to learn about Viking customs and traditions as well as the brotherhood/sisterhood of the group. They are fiercely loyal to each other and want to protect each other. Also, I really enjoyed watching Varg go from only having a great relationship with his sister and not trusting others, to learning to embrace others and care about them as they did him. He definitely had the most character growth in my opinion. His motivation to find out what happened to his sister was what drove him into this new life and it was great to see him find a new home.

Then there is Orka. Orka had to be my favorite character, just because I am hot headed and understand a need of protecting those closest to me. Orka is married to Thorkel and they have a son named Breca. They live on a farm, have a few animals, and 2 vaesen. Their names are Spert and Vesli and they help protect the farm. Unfortunately, Orka’s farm is attacked by outsiders, killing Thorkel and kidnapping Breca. Orka’s motivation is to find her son and demolish anybody who stands in her way. But before she parts to find her son, she ends up going into the town nearest to her house and seeing two acquaintances of hers, Mord and Lif, beaten and tied up for trying to kill a person in the Jarl’s guard. She releases them and they join her on her mission even though she really doesn’t want them too. I think the main reason is that she doesn’t want to be responsible for any more people and their fates as she knows how dangerous the mission she is on will be. Orka’s actions are very much guided by her morals and how her son views the world, and I thought that was really cute as it showed her softer side, which wasn’t easy to always see with her aggressive behavior. She is a badass warrior that I just want to keep talking about but won’t as I’m not going to completely spoil the book for the readers!

Then there is Elvar. I would say she was the least interesting out of the three characters to me, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t like reading about her! Her character motivation wasn’t something I expected. She is a member of the Battle Grim, but she has a royal bloodline. I really appreciate that she wanted to make her own name for herself, not just stay royalty and live a life she wouldn’t have enjoyed. She has a chosen family of Grend and the Battle Grim. Grend is always there protecting her and keeping an eye on her as he had made an oath to Elvar’s mother… I need to know more about Elvar’s mother. She has a close connection to the group’s leader, Agnor who is a very strong, smart, and strategic warrior. Elvar is not a weakling. She fights with her heart and spirit and truly wants to earn her own battle fame. She must make two very difficult decisions in the book and I did appreciate those mental battles and unclear maneuvers. 

I would rate this book a 5/5! I was wanting to read all day and night, urging myself to read just one more chapter! I loved the beautiful character developments of not only the main characters, but the secondary characters as well. The world building was not overwhelming and there weren’t flashbacks that lasted 30 or more pages! None at all. I’m on my next adventure to figure out what the hell happens to all of the characters in book 2! Thanks John Gwynne!

IN CONCLUSION, READ THE FRACKING BOOK!

Up Next: The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne