Reviews

I didn’t love this book but I didn’t hate it either. I thought the first 200 pages were excellent, the next 200 were a slog and then the last 80 or so were great. The last pages brought the book together well and I will think about reading the next in the series but I am unsure if I can commit. I found the book a little slow passed and sometimes so many pages past between different character perspectives that I forgot what was happening. Some areas had too much detail while others seemed to have too little.
I enjoyed the character of Orka and Varg was okay but I found other characters I didn’t really care about at all.
The world building was good but some areas of mythology seemed to lack detail. It was clear there was Viking influence but not enough detail on Norse mythology was included to make me believe it was Norse inspired and I sometimes struggled to see the links that the author has intended.
The book was brutal yet artful, and language use was engaging but I feel that it can’t top other books in this genre.

kriss1's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

stayspeedy181's review against another edition

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adventurous dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

samm394's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

ctirpak's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Very good ending

chelseabug96's review against another edition

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3.0

I started this book, and immediately felt like it would put me into a reading slump. For my first John Gwynne book, I felt a bit disappointed. I did not care much for the characters or their stories… UNTIL half way through the book. It was a slow start, but definitely a good read. John Gwynne excels at pulling the reader onto the battle field, feeling the pain of the characters, and tying it all into a nice neat bow. I will be reading the rest of the series! BE WARNED: this story has 0 romance elements to it… if you came for a fantasy tale mixed with romance, you will not get it. I was recommended this book by someone who typically recommends paranormal romance/ fantasy romance so I was expecting that.

stmcmurry's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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