A review by adastrame
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This novel is set in a post-Ragnarök viking society, which has lost none of the fierceness of what one would expect of vikings. The premise and the worldbuilding are really awesome, and the novel has a bunch of interesting characters that go through quite a development. 

Despite all this, I found the book difficult to read. The writing style is not really my style, and tries too hard to emulate Old Norse and Old English poetry and <i>kenningar</i> at the expense of comprehension. Regardless, now that I'm invested, I'll have to read the next two books...