The English writer John Gwynne is widely known in the West for his epic fantasy works. The author became popular thanks to two different series (The Faithful and the Fallen and Of Blood and Bone) in the same universe. Unfortunately, both of them have not been translated into Ukrainian. In 2021, the writer began a new trilogy «The Blood Oath Saga», which finally cemented his reputation as a master of dark epic fantasy. It’s very cool that Yakaboo Publishing acquired the rights to it and has already released the first book «Shadow of the Gods», and the second, «Hunger of the gods» is being prepared for release in early May. The series is inspired by Norse mythology, skillfully combining the harshness and cruelty of those times with a modern pace of presentation. I’ve already read the first volume, I’m excited for the second, and in the article below I’ll tell you why you should do the same.
Author John Gwynne
Translator Alyona Voronkina
Publisher Yakaboo Publishing
Language Ukrainian
Number of pages 592
Cover Solid
Year of publication 2025
Size 140×215 mm
Website yakaboo.ua
The events of the «Blood Oath Saga» trilogy take place in a world called Vigrid. Centuries ago, gods fought and died here, leaving behind not only legends but also very concrete consequences: fragments of bodies that are still hunted for as powerful artifacts, and blood in the veins of some descendants that can grant power.
The novel «Shadow of the Gods» has three main characters whose storylines unfold in parallel. There is Orka, a warrior with a painful past who tries to save her son while struggling with her own nature. Varg is a former slave who became a warrior and now seeks to understand his true nature. And Elvar is an ambitious girl who wants to prove that she is as worthy of glory as the warrior men, and to do so, she joins a mercenary unit.
Despite the absence of a single protagonist with whom the reader constantly follows, each of the lines maintains a high level of tension, and all three are presented with different intonations and motivations. In this respect, and in terms of tone, mood, and complexity of characters, the book resembles Joe Abercrombie’s series «The First Law». But visually and in terms of vibe, it is similar to his series «The Shattered Sea», as well as to Konstantin Valde Ulyanov’s novel «The right of the strong».
John Gwynne presents the world he invented as harsh, cruel, and ruthless. And this ruthlessness is not just a background, but the key mood of the novel. Here, people do not dream of changing the world; they want to survive, take revenge, and protect what is theirs. And they have to pay for it. Sometimes a very high price.
The writer skillfully avoids banalities when creating characters and the world. For example, the warrior Elvar is not «a girl who dreams of adventure», but a cold, calculating, and in some ways even cynical heroine. Later, she will experience both love and loss, which will transform her even more.
Orka is not just a mother who wants to save her son, but a woman with a dark past that hides something terrible. And Varg — is not «chosen», but a victim and a former slave who is turned into a tool.
All of this takes place against the backdrop of classic Scandinavian motifs: runes, berserkers, trolls, drakkars, icy expanses, and real mythology, so to speak. Here, the gods are not omnipotent patrons, but traitors who destroyed the world, fought each other, and eventually fell.
The worldbuilding is one of the book’s strongest points. Vigrid’s world is alive, albeit unfriendly. Here, every settlement has its own atmosphere, every group has its own identity, every faith has its own shadow. John Gwynne doesn’t explicitly explain how the economy or politics work, and that’s his strength. He shows how the world works through the actions of the characters: through the contracts that mercenaries sign, through the rituals that priests perform, through the body of a dead god that has become the most valuable commodity, which is dismantled, kept a little for themselves, and sold for fabulous money.
But the best thing about «Shadows of the Gods», — is the fights. There are many of them, and they are very different. Face-to-face combat, ambushes, sieges, sudden attacks — all of this is described without unnecessary romance and with detailed realism. That is why you can feel the weight of the sword, the smell of blood, and the real fear of a fatal blow. The author does not idealize violence, but he does not avoid it either: it is part of the world, and the writer does not hide this brutal truth, sometimes even putting it on display.
The novel unexpectedly has an emotional depth. The themes of parenthood, loss, self-sacrifice, revenge, and self-discovery run through every storyline.
The only thing that I think someone might not like is the sometimes monotonous visual world with too much ice, stone, and gray. It definitely enhances the atmosphere and creates the right mood for the reader, but in some episodes it starts to merge into a single tone.
And, of course, this is just the beginning of a trilogy where the pieces are being placed on the board and the main events are only expected, so some of the storylines end abruptly or too openly. But you already know that the second novel is coming out in just a few weeks, so you won’t have to wait long for the continuation of the incredible adventures.
«Shadows of the Gods» has an adequate quality of publication, and most importantly — a stylish, atmospheric, and understandable genre cover. There were some scandals around it even before the book’s release with the use of AI, but everything seems to have been fixed. The main image looks epic and immediately tells the reader what awaits them. This is something that many genre books from various Ukrainian publishers lack. The font here is easy to read, the paper is pleasant to the touch, and they didn’t bring in a lace.
I also saw a video where people found a lot of typos, translation errors, name mismatches, etc. For the sake of interest, I decided to count them myself while reading and noticed a total of six pages, which sometimes could indeed have several translation errors, inconsistencies, etc.
If the novel hadn’t been so fascinating, and I hadn’t plunged into it, I might have found more. Or maybe not. In any case, it’s definitely a sticking point for at least a proofreader, and we hope they will fix it in the reprint because the book deserves it.
The main thing is that you are aware of these problems, but I must say that this did not affect my reading at all, but I know people who are very concerned about this and have the right to be.
