Any authors who include this section in their books have a bigger chance of me reading their sequel ASAP rather than putting them on a backlog until their series is completed first.

However, I knew from the last quarter, and the end of the first novel, that she's going to be a crucially important character in The Bloodsworn Saga, and The Hunger of the Gods proved that. Orka (my fave), Varg, Elvar (a close second), Biorr, and Gudvarr set the tone and will do anything to achieve their goals in Vigrid. I love this book more than words can say and I absolutely love the world in which the Bloodsworn live and thrive.I loved that most of the characters are honorable to their family and friends, look out for each other, and recognize their mistakes. 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). Though some characters, like Svik and Einar, took more of a supporting role/backseat in this installment. Varg and the Bloodsworn begins their hunt for Skalk, who had abducted Vol, the cheif's wife and finally, Elvar and Battle Grim proceeds to fulfill their blood oath made to Uspa by rescuing her husband and son. John Gwyne's writing is so immersive you feel like you are right there in the thick of the action with the characters.

As the fair-fame band of trappers and slavers, they were already a bit murky and unlikable, but it's interesting to see their side of things. I was skeptical about Elvar in book 1, I couldn’t decide whether she was good or evil, now I’ve accepted that there’s no black and white here, she’s a selfish, power and fame obsessed woman and I love that, she knows what she wants and she goes for it, she did some awesome things in this book. I really enjoyed the depth of the connecting stories and how they are all running steadfast into one another. So I will do my best, although I feel like no matter what I come up with it won't come anywhere near doing this book or series justice. It's frequent for the middle book in a series to be the worst one (looking at you Mistborn), but thankfully this book breaks from that trend.My second series, of Blood and Bone, is set in the Banished Lands, the same world as the first series. My man Vard has the best character growth of any one in the books and I am loving his journey and seeing him become a true warrior is thrilling! Along their journey they meet new challenges and strengthen their friendships with their fellow warriors. But that's also the joy of reading amazing books, that anticipation for something that is potentially even greater down the road. Colin Mace does a really great job narrating this, and he gets across that build of tension to a great crescendo of an ending.

That being said, I didn't mind the fact that we experience some other characters' journeys and it wasn't confusing as their stories intersect with the main characters much of the time. Como un maestro herrero va forjando con cuidado cada detalle, con fuerza cuando se requiere a fuego y agua, nos muestra desde los detalles de la ropa o del entorno, las armas y técnicas de lucha cuerpo a cuerpo, la tensión y lo que se siente en esos momentos.The element of slavery or “thralls” instantly fills me with rage, and from the first book I’ve been hoping for an uprising or revolution. I'm not reviewing much anymore but given the fact that I wrote a not-so-positive review of book 1, this book totally deserves the praise! It was one of the things I struggled with in the first book, the new terms and keeping track of everyone. The first few pages of The Hunger of the Gods contained a detailed recap of The Shadow of the Gods, a character list and what happened to them before, plus Norse terminologies and pronunciations guide.

Sure, I empathized with Orka for example and desperately wanted her to find Breca but I did not feel any connection nor link with the characters. The Shadow of the Gods is absolutely stunning, one hell of an epic series opener, and a spectacular dose of Viking-flavoured fantasy.It may not be Abercrombie's level yet—to be fair, no one can do what Abercrombie did with Glokta—but I am pleased to see Gwynne trying out new things and making it work. At one point all of the POVs are travelling at the same time to different places and I'm like this is ludacrious haha. It’s incredibly touching because, on the way to fulfilling her vengeance, she takes time to help others in need when she does not have to. I remember that I didn’t feel as invested in Elvar’s plotline in the first book, but that was not a problem in The Hunger of the Gods. John Gwynne has certainly done his homework and created one of the greatest escape reads I've ever come across.