In the Shadow of the Gods: A Bound Gods Novel

by Rachel Dunne

Overview

With In the Shadow of the Gods, Rachel Dunne makes her breathtaking debut with this first book in a dark epic fantasy trilogy, The Bound Gods, in which a mismatched band of mortals led by a violent, secretive man must stand against a pair of resentful gods to save their world.

Eons ago, a pair of gods known as the Twins grew powerful in the world of Fiatera, until the Divine Mother and Almighty Father exiled them, binding them deep in the earth. But the price of keeping the fire lands safe is steep. To prevent these young gods from rising again, all twins in the land must be killed at birth, a safeguard that has worked until now.

Trapped for centuries, the Twins are gathering their latent powers to break free and destroy the Parents for their tyranny—to set off a fight between two generations of gods for control of the world and the mortals who dwell in it.

When the gods make war, only one side can be victorious. Joros, a mysterious and cunning priest, has devised a dangerous plan to win. Over eight years, he gathers a team of disparate fighters—Scal, a lost and damaged swordsman from the North; Vatri, a scarred priestess who claims to see the future in her fires; Anddyr, a drug-addled mage wandering between sanity and madness; and Rora and Aro, a pair of twins who have secretly survived beyond the reach of the law.

These warriors must learn to stand together against the unfathomable power of vengeful gods, to stop them from tearing down the sun . . . and plunging their world into darkness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062428134
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/21/2016
Series:	Bound Gods , #1
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	1,119,911
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Living in the cold reaches of the upper Midwest with her beast of a dog, Rachel Dunne has developed a great fondness for indoor activities. Her first novel, In the Shadow of the Gods, was a semifinalist for the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award before being picked up for publishing. For as long as snow continues falling in Wisconsin, Rachel promises to keep writing. 

Editorial Reviews

04/04/2016
Dunne’s gripping epic fantasy debut opens 800 years after Patharro and Metherra, the parent gods, cast their twin offspring, Fratarro and Sororra, down from the heavens for the sin of wanting there to be more to their lives than what their parents decreed. The twin gods have been bound to the well-hidden and powerless land of Fiatera. As the book begins, strange occurrences signal changes that might presage the twins’ restoration. Massed against this threat is a motley group: a heretic priest named Joros and his magic-using slave, Anddyr; Scal, a Northman and former Fiateran prisoner; a pair of sewer-rat siblings pretending they’re not twins; and a visionary priestess. The gods have brought this group together—but which gods, and to what purpose? The interesting concept will keep readers involved as the story gradually unfolds. With at least two sequels planned, this installment is mostly setup, but Dunne’s polished prose and well-rounded characters make it a strong start. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Dunne’s debut novel is visceral grimdark fantasy with ruthless religions, deeply conflicted characters, and a bleak, hostile setting. This trilogy is off to a gritty, gutsy start.” — Beth Cato, author of The Clockwork Dagger, on IN THE SHADOW OF THE GODS

“Brutal and cold, In the Shadow of the Gods is a stunning début. A must-have for fans of dark fantasy.” — Michael Fletcher, author of Beyond Redemption on IN THE SHADOW OF THE GODS

“The gods have brought this group together - but which gods, and to what purpose? The interesting concept will keep readers involved as the story gradually unfolds. Dunne’s polished prose and well-rounded characters make it a strong start.” — Publishers Weekly on IN THE SHADOW OF THE GODS

“The gritty mythos and conflicted characters are compelling enough to bring the reader along to the last page...and to the coming sequel. Antiheroes carry the day...in this dark tale of pragmatism and survival.” — Kirkus Reviews on IN THE SHADOW OF THE GODS

“Joros is an interesting character, full of suprises to both readers and to those around him, and able to draw others to himself while maintaining some mystery. This novel is full of battles and blood, but never loses the heart of the story amidst the chaos.” — RT Magazine (4 stars) on IN THE SHADOW OF THE GODS

“The compelling characters coupled with the dark mythology that balances fresh and evocative all wrapped up in immersive prose amounts to a debut novel that I found quite impressive. In fact, the novel feels more polished and with a more mature voice than most debuts often have.” — SFFWorld

From the Publisher

Brutal and cold, In the Shadow of the Gods is a stunning début. A must-have for fans of dark fantasy.

Michael Fletcher

The compelling characters coupled with the dark mythology that balances fresh and evocative all wrapped up in immersive prose amounts to a debut novel that I found quite impressive. In fact, the novel feels more polished and with a more mature voice than most debuts often have.

SFFWorld

Joros is an interesting character, full of suprises to both readers and to those around him, and able to draw others to himself while maintaining some mystery. This novel is full of battles and blood, but never loses the heart of the story amidst the chaos.

RT Magazine (4 stars) on IN THE SHADOW OF THE GODS

Dunne’s debut novel is visceral grimdark fantasy with ruthless religions, deeply conflicted characters, and a bleak, hostile setting. This trilogy is off to a gritty, gutsy start.

Beth Cato

2016-03-30
Five strangers form a tense alliance to stop the release of two gods bound centuries ago in Dunne's debut novel, a semifinalist for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel (2014). Long ago, the creator gods hurled their twin children into the bowels of the Earth—justified punishment for ambitious pride, as most of the world believes, or a cruel sentence passed by insecure parents fearful of their own creations, according to the preachers of the Night. Joros, a violent and ruthless priest, has devoted his life to the release of the bound Twins, but resentment drives him to turn against his former colleagues, bringing with him Anddyr, a powerful mage chained to him by drug addiction and emotional abuse. In the bitter north, a boy named Scal grows into a fearsome but lonely warrior—but the creator gods have plans of their own for him, revealed through a scarred, oracular priestess with a temper. As Scal grows, so do Rora and Aro, twins who have survived the odds, and the death sentence leveled against all twins, by hiding in the underworld. Their paths are disparate, but they alone can stop the terrible threat of the gods at war, for these gods are not good or evil but rather demanding and alien forces who would battle without caring about the human cost. If there is goodness to be found here, it is in small, vulnerable moments: sharing a coat against the cold, singing to help another sleep. Dunne takes some time to unite the cast, resulting in a plot that only comes together in the third act (and which relies on a MacGuffin quest). All the same, the gritty mythos and conflicted characters are compelling enough to bring the reader along to the last page...and to the coming sequel. Antiheroes carry the day—and maybe save it—in this dark tale of pragmatism and survival.

Kirkus Reviews

Narrator Alex Wyndham leads the listener through a plot that provides many points of view but not a clear idea of who the good guys are. Dunne’s debut in the genre of fantasy is the start of a trilogy about gods who are the parents of twins who were exiled many years earlier. Wyndham delivers a narration that maintains a sense of ambiguity about the story’s heroes and which of this society’s religious practices have meaning. He subtly differentiates the large cast of characters and, as the twins gain power, captures the tone of urgency that makes a confrontation seem inevitable. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2019 - AudioFile

Narrator Alex Wyndham leads the listener through a plot that provides many points of view but not a clear idea of who the good guys are. Dunne’s debut in the genre of fantasy is the start of a trilogy about gods who are the parents of twins who were exiled many years earlier. Wyndham delivers a narration that maintains a sense of ambiguity about the story’s heroes and which of this society’s religious practices have meaning. He subtly differentiates the large cast of characters and, as the twins gain power, captures the tone of urgency that makes a confrontation seem inevitable. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2019 - AudioFile