Una saga que integra continuamente elementos nórdicos de una manera tan eficiente que es para aplaudir. La tradición, leyendas e idiomas nórdicos. El uso de los lenguajes por ejemplo en la magia le da ese toque de realismo. Y eso no es nada. Una ambientación de lo más cuidada y muy bien desarrollada. I live on the south coast of the UK with my beautiful wife, three sons and my daughter, and an assortment of animals (at the moment three dogs, a horse and a lamb who thinks she's a dog). Brother. How have I had such good fortune to find these people, after so many years of loneliness and pain?” Gwynne is best known for his critically acclaimed series The Faithful and the Fallen, but thankfully you don’t need to be familiar with the author’s previous works to enjoy The Shadow of the Gods. Itis a totally new series set in a totally new world, making it accessible to longtime fans and newcomers alike.

Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Ares is the POV Character of this chapter and during this chapter he meets with Posiedan of whom he finds is still very angry over what happened with the Empire of Numeron. During this early part of the chapter the two discuss their mutual invovlement in the Rise of the Atlantian Pantheon and how much they had both invested in that attempt. The arrival of Odin brings them to talking of what went wrong with the Pantheon and they agree that if they tried again they would do things differently, leading to the three leaving eachother and Ares thinking on doing what they did with the Atlantian Pantheon again but this time have a single person in charge and they would act alongside this individual. Get moving, Varg No-sense… Or are you waiting for an eagle to swoop down and carry you the rest of the way?”Of course, it helps that author John Gwynne is a legit Viking re-enactor. When he’s describing a warrior’s kit of gear, there is zero suspension of disbelief required. It is thoroughly obvious that the man knows what he’s talking about when it comes to weapons and the innumerable Viking/Norse elements that he’s layered into the story. There is a sense of authenticity to Gwynne’s world that makes it so easy to immerse yourself in it, and sets it apart from other Norse-inspired stories. I received an uncorrected proof copy of The Shadow of the Gods in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to John Gwynne and Orbit Books.

The three narratives are generally kept very separate right up until the end with only a minimal amount of crossover. This means that the readers end up getting three distinct stories with a unique group of characters set within the same book. I think that this was a pretty cool way to start the wider series off, especially as it let the reader see more of the universe, while also expertly establishing the main protagonists and their storylines. At the same time, limiting the narrative to only three major characters (I understand that Gwynne usually uses more), also ensures that the story does not get too fractured, and that the reader has time to get properly invested in each storyline. I had a wonderful time reading each of the three storylines, and I honestly enjoyed each of them pretty much equally. This is pretty rare for novels that use multiple POV characters, as there is usually one narrator or storyline that the reader enjoys more than others. I will admit that Elvar’s storyline did take me a little longer to get into, but I become extremely hooked on it after a few chapters. If I had to choose an absolute favourite storyline, I would say that the Varg chapters were really appealing to me, and I enjoyed seeing his cool story of redemption, as well as his fun companions. While the stories were primarily kept separate, a few overarching plotlines and a couple of supporting characters are shared between the three arcs. While subtle, it does perfectly set up an overarching conspiracy that has major implications for the entire plot and which sets up the next novel perfectly. This makes for a pretty epic novel, and it is one that no fantasy fan will be able to easily put down. This book! Now I can say yes I fully understand why is Gwynne so hyped and now I'm motivated again to read the Faithful and the Fallen. I also have to thank my friends, I probably wouldn't have read this book without them since they decided to buddy read this book and I decided to join them.

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These are the kind of passages you’ll get with Gudvarr’s POV chapters. Reminiscent of Glokta, right? We recieved a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you to Orbit Books for the review copy! The chapters for this book are very short. For me, this made it even harder to connect to the characters. We rarely got to spend much time with one before switching to another. No, this is my home”, Orka said, placing her palm over Thorkel’s chest. “You and Breca are my home. Wherever we are together, that is my home to me.” There are a couple of comedy characters in this book which are done tastefully. They’re there to break up the main characters’ serious storylines and stressful journeys. They do this with stories, funny quips and a wonderfully intelligent way of breaking tension when it is needed most.

En este punto ya he comprobado que Gwynne tiene la costumbre de darme de lo mejorcito en batallas que he leído. Sangre y aceros se cruzan. The plotline in The Hunger of the Gods starts immediately from where The Shadow of the Gods ended. The three main POV characters—Orka, Varg, Elvar—from the first book have to deal with the aftermath of their respective conclusion. It is worth noting that the three main POV characters in The Shadow of the Gods didn’t have an intersecting storyline or chapters until literally the last chapter of the book. In The Hunger of the Gods, the story, conflicts, and missions of Orka, Varg, and Elvar converged in several sections. Essentially, the three returning main characters embarked upon their own respective rescue mission. The themes of loneliness, found family, forgiveness, courage, glory, and leadership are still dominant in this brutal Norse-inspired fantasy world and series. However, Gwynne has added two new POV characters into The Hunger of the Gods, and I think they added the extra depth that the series needed. But before we get to that, I will tell you what I loved about Orka, Varg, and Elvar’s POV first. Sieðr-witch – seiðr (pronounced say-der) a form of magic relating to the telling and shaping of the future, often viewed as similar to shamanism Indescriptible lo que crea este autor desde personajes, momentos y escenas que hay que leerlo para entender lo difícil que es para mi explicar el nivel de detalle y de precisión de John Gwynne. Mejor ni hablemos de lo que engancha.

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I’ve not enjoyed characters this much in a book, let alone a fantasy book, since I read Joe Abercrombie’s The Blade Itself. The Shadow of the Gods summary – 5/5 A whole lot of plot leads to a fast paced book, which is a advantage for a lot of people. In that same vein, there are a lot of action scenes in this book. They are well crafted, with immersive details and short, snappy sentences. These characters are Orka, an ex-warrior who lives with her husband and son at a quiet steading, Varg, a thrall who is running to escape his slave masters, and Elvar, a young warrior who is trying to find battle fame with the monster hunting warband the Battle-Grim. They all have deep and interesting pasts of which we are given more details of as the story progresses. Through the eyes of these characters, I was engrossed from the very first chapter and by about the fourth chapter I was chuffed to see that Gwynne had worked his magic again. First of all huge thanks to the publisher and author for approving my request on NetGalley and it goes without saying that this is my unbiased review/opinion.