BOOK REVIEW: The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

Introduction

John Gwynne is the author of the popular epic fantasy series’ The Faithful and The Fallen, Of Blood and Bone, and The Bloodsworn Saga. Malice, the author’s debut novel and the first book of The Faithful and The Fallen won the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Debut in 2012, while the other three novels of the series, Valour, Ruin, and Wrath, were all shortlisted for the David Gemmell Legend Award for Best Fantasy Novels of 2014, 2015 and 2016, while Wrath won the BookNest Awards for Best Traditionally Published Novel in 2017.

The Bloodsworn Saga, the author’s most recent fantasy work, is inspired by Norse mythology, Beowulf, and Ragnarök and in it, we follow a grim world of mercenary bands, monsters, and fallen gods. The Shadow of the Gods won the 2021 Stabby Award for Best Novel of 2021. The second installment, The Hunger of the Gods, won the publicly voted FanFiAddict Award for Best Traditional Book of 2022. The third installment, The Fury of the Gods, was an instant New York Times Bestseller (About John Gwynne).

I read The Faith and The Fallen in 2022. I liked it, but it is not a series I see myself reading again any time soon. Ultimately, this series is about a war between good and evil; between the forces of Elyon, led here by Corban, and those of Asroth, led by Nathair. Malice (specifically) is also a coming-of-age story where we see Corban grow up and begin his training as a warrior. One of the things that this series is worth reading for is the relationships between the characters, and I particularly loved the relationship between Maquin and Fidele; inevitably, this relationship developed into a romantic one. However, I was gutted by how it ended and to this day I still think that Maquin deserved better. Also, the budding relationships between Coralen and Corban on the one part and Veradis and Cywen on the other are barely touched upon or developed and I would’ve liked to see more of that. I know that this is not a romantic series, but I still would’ve liked to see that in the books.

I tried reading Of Blood and Bone, but I couldn’t. Not because the books were bad, but because I felt that I needed to take a break from this author. Four years later, I picked up The Shadow of the Gods. Visit the author’s website here.

What is The Shadow of the Gods about?

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne is the first book of the Bloodsworn Saga. It is a “tale of vengeance, loyalty, and survival” set in a world “scarred by the conflicts of the gods and where the main characters are each driven by their own quests for vengeance, justice, and glory. As whispers of war echo across the land, fate follows in the footsteps of three warriors:  A huntress on a dangerous quest, a noblewoman pursuing battle fame, and a thrall seeking vengeance…All three will shape the fate of the world as it once more falls under the shadow of the gods (Official Summary of The Shadow of the Gods).

Narrative Style

The Shadow of the Gods has a multi-POV narrative style. The chapters alternate between three perspectives―Orka, a (retired) warrior who seeks vengeance after her husband is killed and her young son, Breca, is kidnapped; Varg, an escaped thrall who seeks the truth behind his sister’s murder; and Elvar, a young woman who flees her birthright in pursuit of glory. Each characters’ storylines converge at the end of the book, “creating a slow-burn buildup that accelerates into intense action.”

Character Analysis

Orka

Orka is a fierce and battle-hardened woman who lives a relatively quiet life with her husband, Thorkel, and their son, Breca. Their life changes when a wounded fell-wolf scares the herd of deer they were hunting in the woods close to their steading; Orka starts following the wolf’s blood trail and it leads them to Asgrim’s steading, where Orka and her family find Asgrim and his wife dead and their son, Harek, missing. Orka was once a warrior, but she is now a mother and wife. She loves her son and husband fiercely, and she would do anything to protect her family. She is “determined, protective, loving,” but also ruthless and “fierce as an inferno” (Review: The Shadow of the Gods [The Bloodsworn Saga #1] by John Gwynne). When Breca is kidnapped and Thorkel dies from his wounds trying to protect Breca and their home, however, Orka’s thirst for vengeance is unleashed and she sets out to hunt for the man who took her son and to avenge Thorkel’s death. Orka is not someone you want to mess with, and she is one of the most-loved characters in this series. Later, it is revealed that she was once the leader of the Bloodsworn and that her name is Orka Skullsplitter. That tells you everything.

Varg

Varg is a thrall who kills his owner after learning that his sister has been murdered and he escapes to Liga. He wants to avenge his sister’s death and is searching for a Galdurman or Seiðr-witch to perform an akáll. An akáll is an invocation or ritual used to reveal the last moments of a dead person. His search leads him to the Bloodsworn, who have a Seiðr-witch thrall. Svik, a veteran Bloodsworn, however, tells Varg that Vol only performs rituals for the Bloodsworn. So, if he wants to hire the witch, he must become a Bloodsworn. This is the beginning of Varg’s journey, where he finds friendship and family. However, his occasional moments of happiness are marred by the fact that his sister is not with him and that she remains unavenged.

Elvar

Elvar is a young woman who wants to make a name for herself as a warrior with the Battle-Grim, a band of mercenaries who hunt down the Tainted. She is the daughter of one of the most powerful jarls in the land, yet she flees her noble family’s plans to carve her own name in the world. Elvar is probably the least liked of the POV characters in this book because her storyline is the hardest one to connect with. However, a woman wanting to make her own decisions and live her life the way she wants to live it is not something to scoff at. Elvar is also the character whose storyline is slower than the other two, but she is the only character who can help us understand warriors such as Agnar and the Battle-Grim. The Battle-Grim and the Bloodsworn are two sides of the same coin, and understanding their nature is important for us to understand the plot of the story.

World-building

The Bloodsworn Saga is set on Vigrið, the Battle-Plain. “Vigrið is a broken land, still recovering from the world-shattering war of the gods that ended with the Guðfalla, the last battle among these beings around the great ash tree, Oskutreð. Now, 300 years after the fall of the gods, humans still struggle to survive amidst the remnants of these fallen gods and the incursions of the Vaesen―monsters driven to the surface after the Eldrafell volcano erupted, spewing fire and molten rock into the Vaesen Pit” (Book Review of The Shadow of the Gods, Speak Friend and Enter). The gods are “mythical primal beings represented as animals, and their blood is the source of the supernatural powers of the Tainted” (Bloodsworn Saga Wiki). The Tainted are descendants of the gods and they are central to the plot of The Shadow of the Gods. Their blood grants power, but it also brings fear, hatred and enslavement. Collars forged from the chains of the dead gods are used to control them. Spoiler Alert: Orka, Varg, and the other members of the Bloodsworn are all Tainted. Seiðr-witches like Uspa and Vol are also linked to the gods, tainted with the blood of Snaka, the Eldest of the gods, and also thus enslaved. Galdurman, on the other hand, like Skalk, are sorcerers who practice rune magic through rigorous study. Mercenary bands like the Battle-Grim, on the other hand, hunt Tainted, capture them, and sell them as thralls. “The tales speak of an ancient war between the gods that culminated in the Guðfalla, the final battle of devastating proportions that turned Vigrid into a graveyard of gods. A place in which the blood of the gods still flows through the veins of Vigrid’s inhabitants. But in this world where the gods and their kin once lived, thrived, and were worshipped, such worship is now forbidden, and those who display any of the gifts that would mark them as possessing even a hint of the deific blood, the Tainted, are despised and mercilessly hunted” (Review: The Shadow of the Gods [The Bloodsworn Saga #1] by John Gwynne).

The world-building in this series is unconnected to anything that the author has written before, yet themes such as love, family (including found family), friendship, and loyalty are found throughout all of the books of The Faithful and The Fallen as well as The Bloodsworn Saga that I have hitherto read. The Bloodsworn Saga is heavily inspired by Norse mythology and if you’re familiar with this lore, you’ll see it clearly on the pages. I have basic or rudimentary knowledge of it, but it did not escape me that Oskutreð, for example, is another version of Yggdrasil, the tree of life, in Nordic folklore and which is also a massive, sacred ash tree (now believed to be a yew tree) inhabited by a dragon. The Guðfalla, or the fall of the gods, is inspired by Ragnarök, while Snaka’s magic, seiðr-magic, is Freyja’s magic, the goddess of love, sex, beauty, death, and witchcraft. She is the leader of the Valkyries, the goddesses who choose who is to die in battle. Freyja takes half of these dead to her hall, Sessrumnir, and the other half to Odin’s mead hall, Valhalla. Rune magic, on the other hand, is Odin’s magic.

Conclusion

I first read this book in 2022, when the following two installments hadn’t come out yet. Back then, I really liked it and I thought that it was a solid first book of a new series. In March, I picked it up again so I could finish the series. The third and final book of the series came out last year, and I want to finish the series. However, I will say that John Gwynne, though good and a very popular writer of epic fantasy today, is not one my favorite authors in the genre. I don’t, for example, buy his books the day they come out and when I finish one of his books, I have learned that I cannot pick up the following installment right away; I have to take a break in between. This is more on me than on the author, but I have also yet to fall in love with one of his books.  

Rating

I Liked It and Will Probably Read It Again.