If the fallen-god ruins and rune-marked dangers of Vigrið drew you in—Orka tracking her kidnapped son through vaesen-haunted wilds, Varg learning what it means to be Bloodsworn, Elvar and the Battle-Grim harvesting god-bones—then Anderson’s classic will hit the same vein. The Broken Sword plunges you into a brutally fated saga where skalds, elves, and trolls clash under the shadow of the Æsir, and the mortal hero Skafloc is bound by a cursed blade that exacts a terrible price. It carries that same storm-bitten, myth-deep mood—only sharper, older, and just as unforgiving.

You liked how The Shadow of the Gods never flinched—Orka’s axe work, the bone-deep consequences, the way warbands like the Bloodsworn and Battle-Grim make merciless choices. Abercrombie gives you that same iron taste: Logen Ninefingers’ muddy, desperate brawls; Glokta’s ruthless interrogations; deals that stain everyone who makes them. It’s brutal, human, and endlessly tense—the kind of story where every fight costs you something, just like those blood-soaked raids across Vigrið.

If Orka’s singular drive to rip through raiders and god-touched foes to reclaim her son had you turning pages, Tau’s obsession will feel like coming home. The Rage of Dragons locks onto one burning goal—vengeance—and escalates it through brutal training yards and battlefield carnage, much like the no-rest momentum of Orka’s hunt. The duels hit as hard as Orka’s clashes with vaesen and thralls, and the cost of that dedication will remind you of Vigrið’s unforgiving ledger.

Enjoyed how Gwynne braided Orka’s rescue mission with Varg’s oath-bound trials in the Bloodsworn and Elvar’s god-bone hunts with the Battle-Grim? Islington layers multiple journeys just as deftly—Davian, Wirr, Asha, and Caeden split across a continent of ancient powers and buried sins. The shifting viewpoints build that same rising tide of revelations you felt as Vigrið’s fallen gods and Tainted secrets came into focus.

If the brotherhood of the Bloodsworn—Varg earning his place, the oaths, the mead-hall camaraderie after cracking skulls—was your sweet spot, you’ll love the mercenary crew in Kings of the Wyld. Clay Cooper rallies old comrades to cross a monster-choked world and save a loved one, echoing the loyalty-first ethos that fuels the Bloodsworn and the Battle-Grim as they chase bounties on vaesen and god-bones. It’s heart, steel, and comrades who’ll stand in the shield wall with you.