The Shadow of the Gods Audiobook By John Gwynne cover art

The Shadow of the Gods

Book One of the Bloodsworn Saga

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The Shadow of the Gods

By: John Gwynne
Narrated by: Colin Mace
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Set in a brand-new, Norse-inspired world and packed with myth, magic and bloody vengeance, The Shadow of the Gods begins an epic new fantasy saga from best-selling author John Gwynne.

After the gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrið.

Now a new world is rising, where power-hungry jarls feud and monsters stalk the woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power for those brave - or desperate - enough to seek them out.

As whispers of war echo across the mountains and fjords, fate follows in the footsteps of three people: a huntress on a dangerous quest, a noblewoman who has rejected privilege in pursuit of battle fame and a thrall who seeks vengeance among the famed 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....

©2021 John Gwynne (P)2021 Hachette Audio UK Action & Adventure Epic Fantasy

Critic reviews

"John Gwynne is one of the modern masters of heroic fantasy." (Adrian Tchaikovsky)

"John Gwynne writes fantasy with the heart of a hero and the inventiveness of a master mage." (Sebastien de Castell)
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I generally enjoyed this but I am in no hurry to listen to the next. I am not sure if my problem with this is the writing or the narration but I think it is the writing. The story and world building are interesting and original (notwithstanding the Norse flavour). The structure and pacing made it very hard to get into. Of the POV characters, only one held my interest before half way through the book. But my biggest frustration was the conceit of using old Norse style wording intermixed with modern. Every use of “thought cage” took me out of the story. Occasional use would add colour and interest. The way it was done was distracting.

The bones of a good novel but hard to listen to

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Damn that was good. Narrator is good and story is great. Give it a listen.

Wow.

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The three main characters are great. Storyline is awesome. Just overall an exciting book that I enjoyed.

The graphic descriptions

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Lyrical. It could have been a lovely book but I kept losing the plot ( right to the end)

Lyrical, but a very difficult listen

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I've basically copied and pasted this review for all 3 books in the series as nothing changes. The story is engaging, the characters interesting, and the author has created a memorable world.

However, this is all ruined by the narrator. He has a stilted way a reading, like he forgets words and has to concentrateon them. The character voices do not match the description the author actually wrote into the story, best example of this is Lik-reefa. The story will say "she yelled" or "he snarled" etc and the narrator just reads it with no inflection.

If I wasn't enjoying the story so much I would have quit after this book due to his terrible "performance".

Good story, terrible narrator

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The world building is good, the characters are lacking, the prose is acceptable. And that's it. It's acceptable.
After all the internet hype, the book was pretty underwhelming. Nowhere near Abercrobmie or Robin Hobb level. It is building up for something big to happen and it just doesn't happen. There is no climax. Written more like a chronicle, events described with little emotion. Worst characters I've read in years.

3 stars. No more, no less.

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Loved the characters

Loved the story

Narration great too

Would recommend - just about to start the second book

Fantastic

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This is a great fantasy book.
I haven’t been captured by a fantasy book like I was with this one for a very long while.
The story is great, especially with the myth elements included.
The characters are pretty well thought out and the narrator is also amazing.
I am very excited to start the second book.

Great fantasy with a bit of myth

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Characters were kinda boring, not really my cup of tea. Im not too into vikings, I like the Gods though, from alot of Pantheons. but yeah, this was a little meh

A lot of vikings

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John Gwynne has transitioned from one believable world to the next. This story takes you on a ride that never allows you to breathe beyond the gasp it takes to get to the next chapter. Shield wall to Shield wall, this saga drags you through mud, blud and gore to a breathtaking end. Definitely a story worth your time!

A master storyteller at work

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