The Shadow of the Gods cover art

The Shadow of the Gods

Book One of the Bloodsworn Saga

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The Shadow of the Gods

By: John Gwynne
Narrated by: Colin Mace
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About this listen

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 Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Scary

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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)
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exceptional narration, enjoyed every word. highly recommend and can't wait for the next one

very pleasant surprise

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Amazing book, I couldn't stop listening to it. I would recommend it to anyone!

Amazing

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What a fantastic book. I can’t wait for the next one. I thought the last books were great but these are as good

Brilliant Book

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A bleak, Norse-inspired world in the aftermath of the death of the Gods or Ragnarok. A beautifully built world with a compelling story and fascinating characters.

I also absolutely loved the narration, something essential to my engagement with an audiobook. The narrator lends earthiness, poetry and humour to the story and dialogue.

Epic fantasy delight

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Love it. Only slight niggle for me is that most the names sounds very similar. Love the story though.

Great listen

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The atmosphere building in this story is quite unlike a lot ive read before. The world feels extremely empty in a good way. Not like there is supposed to be things, but you cant imagine them, but more like it is supposed to be an empty and open world. With few people in it. Storytelling and characters are also amazing.

Interesting and detailed.

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A roving tale,battles, magic, characters in depth, superbly detailed and well told. Loved it.

Riveting

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What just happened there?!!! And how could it end life that?!!
What a wild wild roller coaster

What On Earth!!!!

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I was gripped by this book, and as soon as I finished I went back to the beginning and started again (something I have never done before). I enjoyed it even more on the second reading.

Read twice

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Borrowing heavily at times from traditional Norse tales (sagas and eddas I think), this book is still a standalone piece of creative writing, and a pretty decent one at that.

I was happy to discover, when arriving at the end, there's another in the series.

The narration is very well done, and the only confusion I found was where I was with the characters, as I'm not used to Scandanavian type names.

New saga from old saga

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