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  • The Shadow of the Gods

  • By: John Gwynne
  • Narrated by: Colin Mace
  • Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (384 ratings)

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The Shadow of the Gods cover art

The Shadow of the Gods

By: John Gwynne
Narrated by: Colin Mace
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Publisher's Summary

Set in a brand-new, Norse-inspired world and packed with myth, magic and bloody vengeance, The Shadow of the Gods begins an epic new fantasy saga from best-selling author John Gwynne.

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

Now a new world is rising, where power-hungry jarls feud and monsters stalk the woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power for those brave - or desperate - enough to seek them out.

As whispers of war echo across the mountains and fjords, fate follows in the footsteps of three people: a huntress on a dangerous quest, a noblewoman who has rejected privilege in pursuit of battle fame and a thrall who seeks vengeance among the famed mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn.

All three will shape the fate of the world as it once more falls under the shadow of the gods....

©2021 John Gwynne (P)2021 Hachette Audio UK

Critic Reviews

"John Gwynne is one of the modern masters of heroic fantasy." (Adrian Tchaikovsky)

"John Gwynne writes fantasy with the heart of a hero and the inventiveness of a master mage." (Sebastien de Castell)

What listeners say about The Shadow of the Gods

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Perfectly believable female characters

I'm literally writing this review to countenance the idiot who couldn't believe that in a fantasy world where everyone has been fighting for their lives non-stop for hundreds of years that may be a woman might be able sit next to a man and row a boat without the need for explanation.

Please talk to a woman.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

non believable female characters

men and woman are different, if you want to put value then both in terms of rowing a galley or fighting, you are going to need to explain how that makes sense. magic, females in this world/ species are larger and stronger or whatever, explain/show how that dynamic manifests in this society.

otherwise it just makes everything so unrelatable and unbelievable.

And I know its fantasy, but dragons, trolls, magic all needs to be explained to make sense. you can use other authors work, or rely on the non fiction world. but this does neither, therefore it doesn't work.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome!

What an awesome story. I struggled for a long time to find something as good as The First Law series, but this looks like the beginning of something really good. Loved it! If you love Viking type stories, you won’t be able to get enough of this.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Excellent story - but too violent!

The story and world-building is excellent - But I could only get half way thru.. There is too much blood, gore and violence for me! Ok, kill the poor giant - but why do you want to cut his testis off in the process? And get sprayed by his blood! I feel we are trying to match the gore of the Colosseum? "Are you not entertained?"

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Just read any major fiction instead

Going to start a drinking game with this book. Drink every time a new character is introduced that you'll never get to know or care about, drink every time the narration says "thought cage" (as if the writer uses the same language as his characters)...you will be well pissed by the first hour👍
Obviously John Gwynne is a fan of GOT, Vikings, probably the Stormlight archives, Joe Abercrombie, and I even started to suspect, Twilight, in the end.
That's a credit I can't get back. Going to listen to Name of the wind... to wash the taste out of my thought cage.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Epic saga!

This book is awesome! John Gwynne is my newest favourite author. This story was lightning paced, full of battles, fights, gore and blood. The supernatural side is brilliant and the characters are great as well.
The mythology is awesome too. Its a current day Vikingr saga, loved it a lot.
Colin Mace is an excellent narrator here too, perfect gravity with a deep gravelly voice to match the theme.
Cannot wait for the next book.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing female characters

I'm just leaving a positive review because the first review I saw on here is a negative one about how the female characters are unrealistic. Apparently that reviewer can believe in a world with trolls and dragons and magic but not one where men and women are equal.

This book is amazing, the characters are bad ass. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves reading good books. I can't wait to read the sequel.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Can’t wait for the next one

Realistically this is a 8.5/10 but 4/5 stars doesn’t sound as good. Easily a top 10 book for the year

A liked a lot of the aspects of this book but the brilliant world was what has left me wanting more the most. Not telling every little detail or lore-dumping was a great choice as the wider lore/ past that had led to the current world is fed naturally through events or character interactions.
I want more of the world so badly that I’m going to run RPG sessions in the world to satisfy that itch till the next book comes out. I don’t usually read books for action sequences but these ones are so well written I’m beginning to change my mind on that.

I’d liken the writing to Jo Abercrombie strong characters moving the plot along/ being a part of major events less politics focusing on war bands or individuals rather than nations (for now at least there’s certainly setup for that sort of thing).
The book also sticks the landing
The performance is excellent but doesn’t go above and beyond (music or multiple narrators).

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

A very good book, I love both norse and fantasy genres and this satisfied my thirst. No teenage “I wont kill because I am a good guy” nonsense; violent, gory, real.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Tim
  • 13-12-2021

Great grimdark

Will definitely scratch that grimdark fantasy itch. Blood, gore and compelling characters. Did take about four hours to start placing names and getting familiar, but that's the part of any good fantasy world building. Will come back for the second in the series!

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