Book Review: The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga, #1)

I’ve been yearning to dive into a rich fantasy series as of late but I find the genre has become so oversaturated with the Romantasy sub-genre that it’s become difficult to find a story or setting that appeals to my own tastes.  I’m fairly flexible with it comes to fantasy settings, but when your worlds and stories only serve as backdrops to an overly predictable and generic romance plot, it puts be majorly off the story.  When I think of fantasy, I think of high stakes, dark and rich world building with compelling characters that exist within it. The story needs to work in conjunction with the characters, one shouldn’t be offset by the other in order to deliver a memorable experience. That’s why I was happy to discover a new fantasy series with the Bloodsworn Saga by John Gwynne in which I recently read the first entry titled The Shadow of the Gods.

Shadow of the Gods is set in the land of Vigrið, in which tribes of humanity live their days in the shadow of the old gods.  Over a century ago, the old gods fought in a mighty war which drove them to extinction, despite being dead however, their influence clearly remains in the world of men.  Their essence is spread through the Tainted, humans who develop enhanced abilities owed to their associated gods.  While the land seems somewhat at peace as of the present day, the threat of a new war looms on the horizon as Tainted children as being taken for an unknown purpose. This narrative follows the perspective of three central characters. Orka is a huntress who lives a remote life with her husband and son, despite their isolation however, tragic conflict soon erupts at their homestead and it sends Orka on a personal journey for revenge.  Elvar is a mighty warrior of the Battle-Grim warband, running away from a noble upbringing, we see Elvar come to terms with her place in the world as the warband set forth on a journey unlike any they’ve taking up before.  Finally there’s Varg, an escaped thrall who seeks the means to avenge his dead sister, this journey will have him join the ranks of the Bloodsworn as they take an unprecedented job rife with danger.

Having never read a book by John Gwynne before, I was majorly impressed by the way he was able to both define a richly detailed world; all the while laying out an engrossing plot through the lens of not one but three central characters. Doing just one of those things is a tall order in itself, but I can tell Gwynne has a lot of experience writing for this sort of Viking-era setting so he seems to do it in his stride. The setting of this book is brilliantly realised; I loved the way Gwynne is able to setup a lot of the lore and mythology of the world without it feeling like you’re reading a history book. A lot of the exposition comes naturally as the pages balance the plot alongside it.  Gwynne gives the reader just enough context to comprehend the basis of a sequence while also giving you enough of a hook to follow along.  I love how despite the three characters central plots being notably independent of one another, you slowly realize how things are overlapping and converging into one central plot by the end.

What truly helps this books appeal though is its characters.  Orka, Elvar and Varg are all excellently constructed characters, each with their own unique characteristics and personalities.  Their motivations and reactions feel genuine and there’s so much depth layered into their backstories. Following along with each of their personal plots felt easy as there was a lot of distinction given to each of them.  Orka is my favourite of the bunch, a proud mother who would go to the ends of the earth and back to protect those she loves, Gwynne puts so much effort into defining her as an empathetic character yet she’s able to take charge and dispatch a situation with complete ease.  Besides Orka my second favourite character is Varg, coming from a low-end life, seeing his personal aspirations come into conflict with the new band of brothers and sisters he’s join makes his struggle a lot more interesting to follow. Elvar is a good character too, she’s got a nice layer of complexity that stems from her upbringing and her struggle to take a role of leadership. 

Tonally Gwynne puts a lot of effort into making this as much of a period accurate tale as possible on the account of it being a fictional interpretation of a Viking-era setting.  The descriptions lean heavily into that period but it’s not at all distracting I found.  There a great sense of gritty realism when it comes to the combat sequences, you get a real idea of the fight that is taking place and Gwynne pulls no punches when it comes to describing the bloody and messy ways creatures and enemies face their end. The mysticism and wordplay around it the world can be a bit tricky to grasp in the initial stages, but I feel Gwynne utilized a lot of his words consistently throughout the course of the book that you’ll come to grasp them by the end point. 

I’m so happy I found and picked up Shadow of the Gods one day while I was out perusing my local book store.  It’s the definitive fantasy story I’ve been searching for in such a long time. It’s a world so deeply woven with mythology and lore that you’ll feel entrenched to learn more about it, take that along with the compelling and engaging narrative of each of the three central characters, you have a book well worth reading for any self-respecting fantasy fan.  I cannot wait to see how the Bloodsworn saga picks up from here, I’ll be hopping into Hunger of the Gods very soon!