Look, I have a bone to pick with John Gwynne. Eighteen hours. EIGHTEEN HOURS of Norse-inspired fantasy that I absolutely did not need to add to my already overflowing queue. And yet here I am, having devoured the entire thing across maybe two weeks of commutes, completely hooked on a story about dead gods and their very inconvenient bones.
The thing is, I almost bounced off this one. The first couple hours throw a LOT at you - unfamiliar names, three different POV characters, a world that's basically post-apocalyptic but make it Viking. My 6 AM brain was struggling. But somewhere around hour four, something clicked, and suddenly I was that person on the train who forgot to get off at my stop because I needed to know what happened next.
Colin Mace and the Art of Viking Gravitas
Okay, so Colin Mace isn't Ray Porter (who is?), but the man brings something essential to this audiobook: weight. His voice has this rumbling, weathered quality that makes every scene feel like it's being told around a fire in some mead hall. The way he shifts between characters - from Orka's fierce maternal determination to Varg's barely-contained rage to Elvar's ambitious young warrior energy - it's genuinely impressive.
I've seen some people online say they couldn't connect with his narration, and I get it. He's not doing theatrical fireworks here. It's more like... controlled intensity? There's a restraint to his delivery that some listeners might read as flat, but for me it worked perfectly. This is a brutal, unforgiving world, and Mace sounds like someone who's seen some things. Storm of Swords has that same unforgiving brutality, though Roy Dotrice takes a completely different narrative approach. The gravitas fits.
One thing I will say - if you're not used to fantasy audiobooks with lots of unfamiliar terminology, this might be a rough ride. There are moments where I genuinely had no idea how to spell what I was hearing (is it Vigrio? Vigrid? I still don't know). But honestly, that's a genre problem, not a narrator problem.
Three Stories, One Obsession
Here's where Gwynne really got me: the three POV characters are all searching for something they've lost. Orka's looking for her kidnapped son. Varg is hunting the people who enslaved his sister. Elvar wants... well, Elvar wants glory, which feels different, but there's something driving her too. And the way these stories slowly, slowly start to weave together - it's the kind of plotting that rewards patient listening.
I'll be honest, I was most invested in Orka's chapters. There's something about a middle-aged mother who can absolutely destroy anyone who threatens her family that just hits different. She's not a young chosen one. She's tired, she's practical, and she will end you. More of this in fantasy, please.
Varg's sections with the Bloodsworn mercenaries gave me strong "found family of violent misfits" energy, which - yes, I'm a sucker for that trope, sue me. Elvar's chapters were probably my least favorite early on, but they pick up significantly in the back half.
Eighteen Hours of Slow Burn That Actually Pays Off
This is not a fast-paced book. I want to be clear about that. If you're looking for something to power through a gym session, this probably isn't it. The worldbuilding is dense, the pacing deliberate, and Gwynne takes his time setting up pieces that won't pay off until way later (or, I suspect, in the sequels).
But here's the thing - the payoffs that DO come? Brutal. There are a few scenes in the last quarter that had me genuinely tense on a crowded train, trying not to visibly react. Gwynne knows how to build to a moment, and Mace's delivery in those climactic scenes is perfect. No over-the-top dramatics, just this steady, inevitable weight.
I listened at 1.25x for most of it, which felt right. Any faster and I would've missed worldbuilding details. Any slower and some of the setup chapters would've dragged.
Queue It or Skip It?
Perfect for: Long commuters who want something immersive, fans of Joe Abercrombie or Mark Lawrence, anyone who's ever thought "what if Vikings but with monster hunting and dead god magic." Also great for road trips - my boyfriend Kevin and I actually switched to this for a drive down to LA and he got hooked too.
Skip if: You need action every chapter, you're not in the mood to learn a new fantasy vocabulary, or you really need a narrator with more vocal variety. Also maybe skip if you're squeamish - there's a lot of blood and vengeance happening here.
Time to Start Book Two
I finished this knowing I was going to immediately start the sequel. That's really all the recommendation you need, right? The ROI on eighteen hours of commute time was absolutely worth it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have more dead god bones to hunt.
