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A review by pagesplotsandpints
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
2.5
<b>Read Completed 8/28/24 |</b> 2.5 stars
Sadly, this was a big disappointment for me. I was very excited to read it and hoped that I would finally find a new favorite fantasy book, but I just never got into it. I tried in the beginning and things felt promising but despite my eagerness towards this book, I could NOT get attached to any of the main characters.
When it comes down to it, I feel like THE SHADOW OF THE GODS is a character-driven fantasy book. That's definitely not something that keeps me from reading a book. I've read many character-driven fantasy books, some of which turned out to be my all-time favorite books ever, but I just couldn't connect to any of these characters. There was a little bit of action to kick off the book along with some character development for their introductions, but after that, it started to get a little boring.
<b>Orka</b> was my favorite POV at first and I liked getting to know her family.But that didn't last long. I really liked her husband and thought I'd get to see some good character development, but then the author kills off her husband and gets her child kidnapped and that's the end of that. Once this happened, Orka really doesn't develop as a character at all. It's a single-minded focus, and that was not terrible, but I got bored when she encountered different characters every other chapter who flitted in and out. There wasn't much to her and I couldn't have cared less about the other characters when I was already struggling to get a hold of a main character.
<b>Varg</b> was also quite and interesting character when I first met him and I really liked his introduction. He probably has the most growth and most interesting arc in the end, but his chapters also grew fairly dull as I waited for more of anything to happen.
<b>Elvar</b> was by far the most boring chapter because in half of her chapters, she's not even the main character!! She's not making decisions, things are barely happening to her. Again, already struggling to make a connection, could not care less about the minor characters. She gets into a relationship with someone and "no one commented on it" so why do I care? No feelings, no emotions.
The book (and series) is based on Norse mythology and history, which is something I know little to nothing about. Shouldn't be a big deal but I felt like a lot of it was going over my head. There are some interesting creatures in this world, but there's not a big description on what they are and what they do. Most of it is like a one or two-liner, but I feel like I was TOLD and not SHOWN. I really would have loved to spend a little more time with them to watch them in action, incorporate them into the story a bit more. The times we do see them, it's just to thrown them in and they don't really DO anything to be a part of the story, at least not that's important. Oh, and for all of you waiting for that big dragon on the cover.... don't hold your breath, because it's only a thing for the last 5% of the book.
I would have rated it a little higher but I was just soooooo bored. These characters did not draw me in and I just didn't care about them. I had moments where things got more interesting but then it waned again.
And I don't EVER want to read the words "thought-cage" again to refer to someone's mind. This would ONLY have been a good choice of words if it was related to some magic somehow, like a "thought-cage" was something more than just a person's thoughts. But it wasn't. It was a weird choice, took me out of the story every time, and didn't make sense why it was the only thing described different. Would your heart be your feelings-cage? No. I cannot read another book where that's a thing.
Sadly, this was a big disappointment for me. I was very excited to read it and hoped that I would finally find a new favorite fantasy book, but I just never got into it. I tried in the beginning and things felt promising but despite my eagerness towards this book, I could NOT get attached to any of the main characters.
When it comes down to it, I feel like THE SHADOW OF THE GODS is a character-driven fantasy book. That's definitely not something that keeps me from reading a book. I've read many character-driven fantasy books, some of which turned out to be my all-time favorite books ever, but I just couldn't connect to any of these characters. There was a little bit of action to kick off the book along with some character development for their introductions, but after that, it started to get a little boring.
<b>Orka</b> was my favorite POV at first and I liked getting to know her family.
<b>Varg</b> was also quite and interesting character when I first met him and I really liked his introduction. He probably has the most growth and most interesting arc in the end, but his chapters also grew fairly dull as I waited for more of anything to happen.
<b>Elvar</b> was by far the most boring chapter because in half of her chapters, she's not even the main character!! She's not making decisions, things are barely happening to her. Again, already struggling to make a connection, could not care less about the minor characters. She gets into a relationship with someone and "no one commented on it" so why do I care? No feelings, no emotions.
The book (and series) is based on Norse mythology and history, which is something I know little to nothing about. Shouldn't be a big deal but I felt like a lot of it was going over my head. There are some interesting creatures in this world, but there's not a big description on what they are and what they do. Most of it is like a one or two-liner, but I feel like I was TOLD and not SHOWN. I really would have loved to spend a little more time with them to watch them in action, incorporate them into the story a bit more. The times we do see them, it's just to thrown them in and they don't really DO anything to be a part of the story, at least not that's important. Oh, and for all of you waiting for that big dragon on the cover.... don't hold your breath, because it's only a thing for the last 5% of the book.
I would have rated it a little higher but I was just soooooo bored. These characters did not draw me in and I just didn't care about them. I had moments where things got more interesting but then it waned again.
And I don't EVER want to read the words "thought-cage" again to refer to someone's mind. This would ONLY have been a good choice of words if it was related to some magic somehow, like a "thought-cage" was something more than just a person's thoughts. But it wasn't. It was a weird choice, took me out of the story every time, and didn't make sense why it was the only thing described different. Would your heart be your feelings-cage? No. I cannot read another book where that's a thing.