Book #25 - Shadow of the Gods

Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne is the first book in the Bloodsworn trilogy. When I set out to read this book, I didn't realize it was part of a trilogy - I thought it was a stand-alone book, so I haven't planned to read the rest of the series. However, having finished this book, I might continue later in the year. I started this book on June 9 and finished on June 21. Though this is not among the longest books I have read, it definitely was one of the more difficult to get through, as I'll explain later.

Summary

Shadow of the Gods takes place in Vigri∂ (pronounced "Vigrith"), a fictional continent resembling the Nordic cultures of Earth. We follow separate narratives of three characters: Orka, a mother and former warrior; Elvar, a warrior in the Battle-Grim; and Varg, an escaped slave who joins the company of the Bloodsworn. All three of these warriors are seeking something - Orka seeks her stolen son, Elvar seeks fame in battle and to escape the grip of her father, and Varg seeks justice for his sister's murder. However, none of them end up finding what they seek - though they find many other things along the way.

Initial Reaction

Here is a generic viking to break up the text

My inital reaction to this book is that I wasn't a huge fan of it. As I reached the halfway point, I was starting to struggle. I didn't want to pick it up and read it anymore; it was going so slowly and kept jumping between characters and I was getting frustrated that the stories weren't converging. I asked on Likewise (an app which I recommend if you want book, movie, and podcast recommendations) about the experiences of other readers and someone recommended using the audiobook instead, so I actually read this book both ways - I read along with the audiobook sometimes, read the book by itself, and listened to the audiobook. I agree that this helped with the reading experience, especially with pronouncing the Norse words which have unfamiliar characters (I actually had to keep a vocabulary list so I could keep track of the unfamiliar words and letters).

That being said, as I neared the end some connections between the stories began to emerge and I started to enjoy the book more. I have no notes or tabs for the first half of the book, but the second half is practically overflowing with sticky notes (I used sticky notes rather than in-book annotations because this is a library book. Alas, my budget does not allow for the unlimited purchase of boat-loads of books). In the end, I do think I would read on to the second book, if only to find out what the heck happens after the cliffhanger.

What's Important?

The part of this book that stood out to me most was the writing style. While some of it is very descriptive and sometimes poetic, some of it is written in sentence fragments (I have a sticky note that says "why are there so many sentence fragments"), which creates a choppy, almost violent experiences that fits with the characters and the cultures represented in the book. Check out some of my favourite quotes at the bottom of the page.

Rating

I give Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne 2.5 stars out of 5 and one spicy pepper.

It took me a very long time to start enjoying this book, but eventually I didn't hate it. The world building is very good, if sometimes difficult to follow, and the characters are interesting. The thematic material is difficult to discern, but I don't mind that so much as following a good story. It felt like there were three completely different stories happening, and not until the last 50 or so pages did I see any connections between them come up.

I would recommend this book to adults who enjoy Norse culture. It reminded me a lot of the video game Skyrim, as they draw from similar inspirations. I recommend it for adults mainly because of the gruesome battle scenes and hard-to-follow story, but teens may enjoy it as well.

I feel like I would like this book more if I read it again, or maybe listen to the audiobook instead. If I get around to doing that I will update this post.

It was certainly not my favorite read of the year, but I didn't hate it. I think I will read the next books if I find time.

Favorite Quotes

This is freedom, to sail with sheild-brothers and sisters on a journey for fair battle-fame and dragon-hoarded treasure. In search of fabled Oskutre∂.

"Fear is good," Røkia said. "It sharpens the senses, makes you faster, stronger. It is the forge of your courage and will help you kill your enemies."

Svik frowned at her. "It makes me want to piss my breeches and run away."

Life is for the living, happiness for the taking.

Orka looked back over her shoulder. Darl lay behind them, the fortress silhouetted on the hill with the great eagle-wings spread wide, catching the risen sun and blazing golden, the River Drammur coiling about the town's feet like a sleeping serpent. Meadows and rolling hills lay between the fortress and the farm they were staying upon, the meadows filled with fields of ripening barley and the hills dotted with herds of goats and sheep.

"All plans go wrong," Orka said with a shrug. "And when this one does, we will improvise."

She looked and Mord and Lif and saw...the hestiation that hovers like raven's wings over impending battle, when the possibility of death looks you in the eye. Fear can be ice or fire in the veins, freezing the body or setting a blaze withing it.