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The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn #1) by John Gwynne

March 30, 2022 by Seanchalant Leave a Comment

Rating: 9.5/10

Synopsis

Varg, the thrall with a secret.

Orka, the mother with a past.

Elvar, the princess with a dream.

Spread across The Banished Lands, a land near-destroyed by the war, and death, of the gods, they must fight for what they love. In the shadow of the gods lies dark magic, revenge and…The Bloodsworn.

Review

John Gwynne already wrote a near-perfect quartet (The Faithful and the Fallen) and trilogy (Of Blood and Bone) in the amazing Banished Lands saga. Can he do it again? If Shadow of the Gods is any indication, the answer is HELL. YES.

The Viking influence is as strong as it gets and fully displays Gwynne’s love for the culture. The lore is rich with detail and homages while adding enough to make it feel wholly original.

Where John Gwynne truly shines though, is in his characterizations. The characters burst from the page with personality. Varg’s journey of revenge and acceptance is touching and relatable, Elvar’s need to stand out from her family is believable and exciting. And Orka’s quest to save her family is brutal, heart-pounding and action-packed. Okra is bound to become a new fan favorite, up there with Maquin of Faithful and the Fallen fame.

Is this John Gwynne’s best book? No. Is it his best book one? Maybe. What I can say is that The Bloodsworn promises a heart-pounding/breaking adventure with the potential for absolute greatness. I eagerly await book two, tentatively titled Dead Gods Rising*. TRUTH AND COURAGE!**

*Just kidding, it’s called The Hunger of the Gods and it’s releasing April 12th, 2022

**yeah, yeah, wrong series. Sue me.

Filed Under: Action Fantasy, Adventure Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, High Fantasy, Reviews, Sword and Sorcery

About Seanchalant

Sean Conley (not Connery) aka Seanchalant is an proud father of three little nerds, AnaMaurin Victoria, Landyn Lawrence, and Raylan Aviendha Mae. He is a stay at home dad while his hardworking and wonderful fiancée,
Gabriella Oropeza brings home the 🥓 and he always has a book on his person. On the autism spectrum, he has a tendency to become an encyclopedia on things he enjoys. Raised on horror films (The Evil Dead series is #1) and Stephen King, his love of fantasy was born from Army of Darkness and Tad Williams; cultivated by John Gwynne and Mark Lawrence. He enjoys everything from epic fantasy to urban fantasy, grimdark to high fantasy. His favorite bands are The Beatles, Wu-Tang Clan and Built to Spill.

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