Book Review | The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
The book I’ve been excited to get to on my TBR for so long is The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne. Seriously, I don’t think that any other story has been hyped up for me as much as this one was. Excessive hype can be a double-edged sword, though; on one hand, it got me excited for the book, but on the other, it raised my expectations to unbelievable levels. So the question for today’s post is: did The Shadow of the Gods live up to the hype? Let’s get into that in today’s spoiler-free review of the first book of John Gwynne’s Bloodsword Saga!
What Is It?
If you somehow don’t know what The Shadow of the Gods is, this is a nordic fantasy story that follows the perspectives of three different characters: Elvar, Varg, and Orka. Each of them has a unique storyline that is gradually being interwoven with those of the other cast members and the world itself. The gods have long been dead, and some even call them myths and legends, so most concerns of the people in this world are regarding a looming war. As the story goes on, however, it becomes apparent that there are other, more dire matters to consider.
Excellent Characters
The strongest part of The Faithful and the Fallen, the series by John Gwynne that I read prior to starting The Shadow of the Gods, is absolutely the characters. He wrote some excellent characters and brought many of their stories to a magnificent close. He is continuing this trend of great character work here in The Shadow of the Gods. In fact, I don’t think that there’s a character in this book that I don’t like as much (if not more) as my favorite characters from The Faithful and the Fallen. All of them are simply remarkable.
It’s tough to pick a favorite character, in light of that; every character in The Shadow of the Gods is worthy of being a favorite for one reason or another. The viewpoint characters in particular are all strong and distinct. We’ve got a runaway slave with some dark deeds in his past, a powerful warrior mother hunting down her enemies, and a woman who is part of a mercenary warband that kills monsters and sells people (an oversimplification, but I want to keep this spoiler-free).
The Stakes Aren’t Simple
The Shadow of the Gods does a great job of creating compelling stakes, motivations, and goals. This story isn’t black and white or cut and dry. I am genuinely not totally certain who I should be rooting for, just yet. There are some definite evil people, but there are also some morally questionable (or outright wrong) good guys. To be honest, now that I’m finished with the book, it feels like I’m in a position where I shouldn’t be rooting for any singular person. There isn’t a definitive wrong or right side.
And I like it.
This is what I was hoping for in this book, and it’s what I’m getting. Sure, we have some good guys, but their morals are questionable. Moreover, when we meet some bad guys, I can understand where they’re coming from. I’m beginning to suspect that we may yet have some betrayals in the coming books, which I’m excited about. I can’t wait to find out what side everyone ends up on!
Strong Writing, Stronger Combat
John Gwynne’s writing is at its absolute strongest in The Shadow of the Gods. This is what I expected, given how much growth I’d seen in his skill over the four books he wrote in the previous series that I read. Now with The Shadow of the Gods, his writing is simply superb. I absolutely flew through this book, finishing it in less than five days (which, with my schedule, is pretty quick). I had the hardest time putting this book down each night, always being eager to turn the page and start the next chapter. I haven’t had that feeling in a while, so kudos to The Shadow of the Gods for giving it back to me.
Combat, though, is the strongest point of writing in this story. The world is awesome, the characters are great, the dialogue is believable, but the combat is compelling. I am a huge fan of John Gwynne’s combat writing and have always found it to have just the right amount of detail and length. His ability to write fantastic combat scenes continues its upward trend with this book, and I’m extremely impressed that his writing allowed me to keep track of otherwise overwhelming battles.
Overall Rating
After all of this glowing praise for The Shadow of the Gods, I imagine it comes as no surprise to hear me say that this is a five-star read. It’s wonderfully written, has an excellent cast of characters, and features an outstanding, robust world with lore and magic that I cannot wait to learn more about. There’s so much here that I still don’t understand; I’m eager to see what comes next and will be diving into The Hunger of the Gods immediately!
The characters, foreshadowing, combat, and world-building in The Shadow of the Gods is simply wonderful. I have nothing but glowing praise to offer this book. So, five stars to John Gwynne’s The Shadow of the Gods. Not only is it my favorite John Gwynne book, but it’s also now my favorite book that I’ve read so far in 2022. This was a fantastic ride and I’d recommend it to anybody who wants a unique, rich fantasy story.
Conclusion
This may be the best book recommendation I’ve gotten since I started my channel (and began posting more frequently on this website). The Shadow of the Gods is right up my alley and is absolutely fantastic. I loved every minute of it and absolutely burned through the story. I’m sitting here at the end of the first book, satisfied and yet clueless as to where the story is going to go from here. What an awesome start to a series.