The Shadow of the Gods Audiobook By John Gwynne cover art

The Shadow of the Gods

Preview

Get this deal Try for $0.00
Offer ends April 30, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Shadow of the Gods

By: John Gwynne
Narrated by: Colin Mace
Get this deal Try for $0.00

$14.95/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends April 30, 2025 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $30.41

Buy for $30.41

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

From acclaimed fantasy author John Gwynne comes the first in the Bloodsworn trilogy, an epic of wild lands and wilder magic, where not all monsters fight with tooth and claw...and the treasures of the gods come at a price.

This is the age of storm and murder.

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

Now, power-hungry jarls carve out petty kingdoms, and monsters stalk the shadow-haunted woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power, promising fame, and fortune for those brave - or desperate - enough to seek them out.

As whispers of war echo over the plains and across the fjords, fate follows the footsteps of three people: a huntress searching for her missing son, a jarl's daughter who has rejected privilege in pursuit of battle fame, and a thrall who has cast off his chains and now fights alongside the famed mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn.

All three will shape the fate of the world, as it once more teeters on the edge of chaos.

For more from John Gwynne, check out:

Of Blood and Bone series: A Time of Dread, A Time of Blood, and A Time of Courage

The Faithful and the Fallen series: Malice, Valor, Ruin, and Wrath

©2021 John Gwynne (P)2021 Orbit
Action & Adventure Dragons & Mythical Creatures Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fantasy Essentials Fiction Historical Mystery Icelandic Sagas

Critic reviews

"Gwynne, a Viking reenactor, puts in the work, with fine historical details that make the story come to life. Fans of the era will be delighted with the accuracy. This is a duly exciting start to the series." (Publishers Weekly)

Featured Article: The top 100 fantasy listens of all time


When compiling our list of the best fantasy listening out there, we immediately came up against the age-old question: Is this fantasy or science fiction? The distinction is not as clear as you may think. Dragons, elves, and wizards are definitely fantasy, but what about wizards that also fly space ships? (Looking at you, Star Wars.) For the sake of fantasy purity, the top 100 fantasy listens include the best audio works in all manner of fantasy subgenres.

What listeners say about The Shadow of the Gods

Highly rated for:

Intricate Storyline Compelling Characters Rich World-building Unexpected Twists Expressive Vocal Range
Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,418
  • 4 Stars
    973
  • 3 Stars
    300
  • 2 Stars
    113
  • 1 Stars
    46
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,283
  • 4 Stars
    719
  • 3 Stars
    224
  • 2 Stars
    61
  • 1 Stars
    44
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,065
  • 4 Stars
    850
  • 3 Stars
    256
  • 2 Stars
    104
  • 1 Stars
    53

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Quite enjoyable.

I enjoyed this book and believe you will too. That is my review, good day.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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

Unexpected gem

Aside from a little lackluster emotion from the reader, this tale is one of the few monster and sword books that seem right. Not for teenagers and there’s no sappy romantic drama. This is a dark book and the descriptions and writing are set in their time. It’s no “modern take” with new age slang and speech. I enjoyed this much more than I expected to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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

Dark, brutal, and fantastic

From beginning to end, the imagery is beautiful and the various story arcs are amazing. The world building and the character development was masterfully done. I very much enjoyed the narrator too, despite the many negative reviews I saw, I found his voice to be a great fit and easy to listen to. Having just come from a narrator that I very much disliked, it was a great relief.

All in all it was a GREAT experience and I'm excited to explore more of his work. I plan on buying the physical book as well, so my wife can read it too. Highly recommend it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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

Pleasantly surprised

There is almost nonstop action in this book. It’s hard for me to get into books but this one did the trick. Voice acting was good for the number of characters this book had. My only complaint is that all the weird names and places made it hard to follow sometimes. I had to replay certain parts.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

Amazing Narration, Fantastic Story

This might be my new favorite work. The story was compelling and edgy. Everything about it was top notch. The characters were visceral and real, their emotions clearly written in a unique way for each.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

FANTASY ADVENTURE MASTERPIECE

THIS IS THE BEST FANTASY ADVENTURE BOOK I'VE READ IN A WHILE.
GWYNNE IS A MASTER STORY TELLER.
AVIDLY ANTICIPATING THE NEXT INSTALLMENT!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

👍

once you get into it it gets good but I don't feel like I had enough time to connect to the characters before the story got going.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Entertaining, but … strange.

Book is engaging and makes you want to listen more. But … it’s confusing at times. Almost as if you need a guide to understand who is who, the history and meanings of words. There will be multiple consecutive sentences where all these strange words and names are used and you’ll have no clue what the author is referring to.

Generally live Gwynne’s work. Mace is fantastic as always. Hopefully Gwynne can clean this up and make it make more sense.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Amazing

This book follows three main characters and their story to recover lost things. Give it a listen and you won’t be disappointed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Magnificent

This book is the first in a long time to make me immediately get the sequel. What a ride this story is.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!