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 …
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.
So much potential but then it is just one battle scene after another.
I liked the overall theme and the three main characters' plot lines, each driven by their individual motives.
The book takes a lot of time starting off, about a quarter of the book where not much is happening. And the main story was too foreseeable, and just too much hack and slash.
Not bad in general, but nothing that made me want to read the next book.
I was so excited for this book due to its premise and the high-rate reviews. I wanted to like it, but it ended up being a disappointment for me. I will start with the positive aspects, for which this book still deserves a couple of stars. First, it is a well written book, well-thought and with graphic descriptions. Unfortunately, that's it for me. Not even the dragon was a good ground enough to keep going. Why it did not work for me? 1. Plot: absent. Practically, nothing happens. Each chapter is about a battle of some sorts. I can argue of course that something might happen later on in the book and I just missed it. Yes, true. However, even in the hughest-rate reviews the lack of plot is mentioned and that did not give me any hope to go on. 2. Characterization: that's probably the main …
DNFed at 35%.
I was so excited for this book due to its premise and the high-rate reviews. I wanted to like it, but it ended up being a disappointment for me. I will start with the positive aspects, for which this book still deserves a couple of stars. First, it is a well written book, well-thought and with graphic descriptions. Unfortunately, that's it for me. Not even the dragon was a good ground enough to keep going. Why it did not work for me? 1. Plot: absent. Practically, nothing happens. Each chapter is about a battle of some sorts. I can argue of course that something might happen later on in the book and I just missed it. Yes, true. However, even in the hughest-rate reviews the lack of plot is mentioned and that did not give me any hope to go on. 2. Characterization: that's probably the main reason why I abandoned this book. We followed three characters, but they all sound pretty similar and besides for their name at the beginning of each chapter, I could not really say who was talking. Plus, I did not feel any connection for the characters. We are not told their motivations, so that I could get an impression of what the story could lead nor to feel any emotions for their choices. 3. World: the world did not catch my interest. The old gods are now dead and their bones are valuable, dragons feed on teeth. Ah. The author makes use of norse-inspired and partially invented words, of which I could not always find the meaning on the internet and this made my reading experience pretty frustrating. Sometimes, I could figure it out from the context or from viking-inspired TV series but was not always sure if what I imagined matched what the author meant. A glossary would have been of great help.
Even if this book did not work out for me, I will still give the author a chance and read his other series. maybe that will work better for me.
