The Shadow of the Gods

By: John Gwynne

Narrated by: Colin Mace

Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

From acclaimed fantasy author John Gwynne comes the first in the Bloodsworn trilogy, an epic of wild lands and wilder magic, where not all monsters fight with tooth and claw...and the treasures of the gods come at a price.

This is the age of storm and murder.

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

Now, power-hungry jarls carve out petty kingdoms, and monsters stalk the shadow-haunted woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power, promising fame, and fortune for those brave - or desperate - enough to seek them out.

As whispers of war echo over the plains and across the fjords, fate follows the footsteps of three people: a huntress searching for her missing son, a jarl's daughter who has rejected privilege in pursuit of battle fame, and a thrall who has cast off his chains and now fights alongside the famed mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn.

All three will shape the fate of the world, as it once more teeters on the edge of chaos.

For more from John Gwynne, check out:

Of Blood and Bone series: A Time of Dread, A Time of Blood, and A Time of Courage

The Faithful and the Fallen series: Malice, Valor, Ruin, and Wrath

©2021 John Gwynne (P)2021 Orbit

Critic reviews

"Gwynne, a Viking reenactor, puts in the work, with fine historical details that make the story come to life. Fans of the era will be delighted with the accuracy. This is a duly exciting start to the series." (Publishers Weekly)

first time reader if Gwynne

Excellent narration of a intriguing story. Gwynne is incredibly descriptive, something lacking a lot in today's stories. I found myself making up excuses to find time to listen. I highly recommend this story and eagerly await the next book .

Enjoyable read

My first introduction to John Gwynne and I will look for more of his work. As with most fantasy novels I had some initial difficulty following new character names and vocabulary when listening to the story versus reading. Fortunately with this story it didn’t take me long to catch on to the character names and care about the what happened to them and the plot was familiar but still made interesting. I look forward to the next installment of the series.

Great

Awesome start to this series . .. . .. . . . . .

Amazing

This book was absolutely amazing from the characters, to the world building, and to the writing and reading. I’d recommend it to anyone who is into fantasy with a bit of grittiness. Definitely a 5 of 5!

Amazing story with one drawback

The writing and performance are both top notch and I’m excited for more books in the series. My only complaint is the stupefying repetition of the word “thoughtcage.” I don’t know if it would have made less of an impact while physically reading the book, but hearing it over and over again became like a hammer against my eardrums. Not nearly enough to keep me from enjoying this and seeking out the future entries, but damn - I just wish there’d been some substitutions to keep things from getting so repetitive.

Narration and pacing is seriously lacking

I sincerely felt like this book would have been so much more enjoyable if there was a different narrator. As it was I couldn’t finish it. I know the author is fantastic as I have read other series by him. I feel like having John Lee or Simon Vance or pretty much anyone with voice modulation and tonality would have made this a much better experience.

Amazing storytelling

loved it all the plot twist and theories that got prove to be true

Creative, entertaining but storylines/groups too similar

Loved the book and will be picking up Wrath right away. My only issue was that the secondary and tertiary characters started to blend together. It’s hard to refer back while listening to an audiobook so at times when characters in the warbands or some antagonists in the plot were referred to, I kept having this feeling of wait who was that again.

All in all a fun read. I’ll be back for more.

Best book of the year.

Not only is this my favorite book to come out the year of its release. This may be one of my new all time favorites.

Absolutely loved it!

Let me just say the women in this story are completely different from what I’ve ever read. Particularly orca. Let me tell you she might be the best character I’ve ever read! I just love her so much! Varg grew on me. Unsure of him first. Elvar had her own unique story and she is amazingly strong as well. Bravo! 10/10