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I love reading fantasy books. Books about warriors, adventures, battles, heroism, villains, magic, sorcery and all those stuff, I love them. The first book series that satiated this thirst was A Song Of Ice And Fire by George R.R Martins. It satiated my thirst but still made me hunger for books like that. Recently, I got fascinated with the Vikings/Norse inspired theme. I just started the TV series, The Last Kingdom after watching a bit of Vikings and I wanted to read a book like it. This time around, I was going to imagine the scenes myself and play out the realities in my mind. So, The Shadow of The Gods came my way by personal recommendation. I wasn't skeptical about it at all. The cover of the book alone drew me in and the book wasn't disappointing at all.
This book is set in a Norse-inspired world named Vigrio; The Battle Plains. It is called the Battle Plains because centuries ago, the gods warred with each other and fell in a bloody battle. Their fall resulted in the breaking and splitting of a world that was once whole. The new world rose with desperate, ruthless and power-hungry jarls who would stop at nothing to expand their territories and hold a hand of power over regular folks. Also, monsters and other creatures called the Vaesen prowl and ravage the lands and woods, wreaking havoc on people and threatening their existence. There are the Tainted also. The Tainted are people who carry a drop of the blood of the gods within them. They carry some of the magic and power of the gods within them. This makes them hunted and if they are caught, they become thralled to regular humans. A looming danger hangs over the world as children are stolen, and a caged god is about to be set free by it's servants.
The novel is told through the perspectives of three characters; Orka, Varg and Elvar. Orka is a female warrior who has left a world of war and bloodshed behind to live peacefully with her son and husband. She is drawn back into this world when her husband is killed brutally and her son is stolen. Varg is a thrall who seeks nothing but revenge for his dead sister. He kills his master and breaks free from servitude and his path pushes him into the crew of the Bloodsworn where he must earn his place before gaining revenge. What he discovers about himself and his crew shocks him. Elvar is part of the crew of the Battle Grim. This crew are more invested in fame, glory and riches. They hunt down the Tainted and sell them to jarls for a price. They also hunt down trolls, vaesen and monsters of different kinds. Elvar is determined to earn her battle fame and name. She wants to break free from her father's judgment and opinion, which is why she is in the Battle Grim. Things start to go downhill when her captain decides to seek out the battle plains where the gods fell. This book details the journey of these three characters while also giving information about the other minor characters.
Well, this book is awesome. It's riveting, an absolute page-turner and will keep you at the edge of your seat. I totally loved it. The scenes were vividly described in exquisite detail by the author and I had no issues imagining creatively. My favorite character was Orka. She was a strong, brutal, fearless woman who would stop at nothing to avenge her husband's death and get back her son. Whenever it was her part of the story, I was always sitting in anticipation. To me, Elvar’s character was a bit useless in this book because I didn't understand what her role was, but maybe, in the next book, the author might enlighten us more. As for Varg, well… Varg is just Varg. I hope to find out what killed his sister though.
I wasn't prepared for the brutality, gore and gruesomeness of this novel, so if you don't like bloodshed, this book is not for you. As for lovers of Vikings and Valhalla stuff, this book is very very for you. Though the gods are different from Odin and Thor and co. John Gwynne wrote absolutely well and he might worm his way into being one of my top fantasy authors of all time (depending on the next book though :-P). I rate this book 4.6 out of 5 stars. I will be reading the next book in The Bloodsworn Trilogy this week. I can't wait to share my review on it!
Image designed by me
Book image gotten from author’s page
