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lenakathryn's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Murder, Slavery, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: War and Sexual content
britreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Hopefully this isn't too long of a review.
I'm disappointed by this book. I thoroughly enjoyed The Shadow of the Gods and was exciting to see where the story would pick up in the sequel The Hunger of the Gods. Unfortunately, I felt that this book served as a long prelude to the last book and was intended to move characters in place in preparation for the 3rd/final book. I'll briefly go through my likes and dislikes with this book.
Likes:
I'm disappointed by this book. I thoroughly enjoyed The Shadow of the Gods and was exciting to see where the story would pick up in the sequel The Hunger of the Gods. Unfortunately, I felt that this book served as a long prelude to the last book and was intended to move characters in place in preparation for the 3rd/final book. I'll briefly go through my likes and dislikes with this book.
Likes:
- Orka was my favorite character in Shadow and she's my favorite character here. She doesn't change much (or at all really), but I loved following her journey as she continued to search for her son. I also really enjoyed her mentor-mentee bond with Lif and I hope there are more scenes where the two connect in the next book.
I do not for a second believe she is dead at the end of this book. I don't think Gwynne has killed off a single main character in either this book or the first book. I can't imagine him killing off Orka when it's clear she'll have a large role to play in the finale. - Varg was my second favorite character and even though I felt like the Bloodsworn plot line wasn't the strongest here, I still enjoyed being in his head as he navigated being part of this mercenary group and figuring out his magical/supernatural abilities.
I also liked the return of some of the gods like Ulfir and Rotta. Writing about world where the gods once existed, then died, but are now coming back to life is unique. I wish there were more consequences for this happening. It felt like Ulfir and Lik-Rifa returned and some of the Tainted had dreams of their returns, yet it doesn't seem to impact larger society. Something that monumental should cause people to start to act up. I am curious to see if/what other gods will return in the final book. I definitely foresee Snaka coming back to life. - I enjoyed some of the antagonist. I thought Myrk was interesting and fun for a bit.
- While I do have some gripes with Gwynne's writing (which I'll get into soon), I liked the descriptions of the land and battle. The fights here were just as brutal and visceral as in the first book. I imagine we'll get bigger, bloodier, tense battles in the next book.
Dislikes:
- This book is way too long. A lot of actions are repetitive. Characters move from location to location. Maybe a battle is thrown in and there may be some slight character and team development. We're given two new POVs here and while I understand why they're here (
Biorr's characters let us know what's going on with Lik-Rifa and Gudvarr's characters give us insight into Helka, Skalk and Vol for a bit ) I don't think we needed as many side perspectives as we were given - Elvar was my least favorite character in the first book and I DEFINITELY do not like her in this book. She's an enslaver and works with a band of slave catchers. She seems to harbor now conscious towards the mistreatment of thralls.
I also don't believe she's a worthy leader of the Battle-Grim and I definitely rolled my eyes at the end when she became Jarl of her father's realm. Personally, I'm hoping/praying for her downfall in the next book. (I do like Grend though and will be devastated if anything happens to him. Or Uspa!) - This book made me realize there's no clear magic ranking here. I don't see how Galdur-magic compares to Seidr magic. Skalk claims to take Vol because she's powerful and unique, yet Vol's power doesn't seem any different from what Uspa can do.
And with Uspa and Skalk both raising and enthralling gods, it's never clear if this has significant cost to the spellcasters. It feels like resurrecting once dead gods would incur serious complications. - Briefly returning to the writing....this book over uses words like 'thought-cage' and 'hump.' I don't know if Norse texts refer to sex by saying 'hump' or 'humping,' but I found the constant use of this word jarring and juvenile. Just say 'sex' or 'fuck.'
Overall, I thought it was a decent fantasy novel. Not as engaging and thrilling as the first book. I hope Gwynne can balance the different storylines without sacrificing pace and length in the third book. I hope we return to three POVs in the next book (though I doubt that will happen and even believe we'll see another couple of perspectives added). I plan on reading the next book when it's released and I may check out Gwynne's other work. (I own a copy of Malice). While I was disappointed with this book, I hope the next book and meet or exceed the expectations established by The Shadow of the Gods.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Slavery and War
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
ripxw's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gore
Moderate: Slavery and Kidnapping
josiah17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book took everything great about the first book, and somehow improved it to make an even more captivating story.
The plot for all our POV characters were entirely engaging, the action felt potentially slightly more vivid, and the scale of the story is expanding in an epic fashion. I loved everything about this book, and I cannot wait for the final book. I also can't wait to hopefully read the rest of Gwynne's works next year. He's already an all-time favorite author. Great stuff.
The plot for all our POV characters were entirely engaging, the action felt potentially slightly more vivid, and the scale of the story is expanding in an epic fashion. I loved everything about this book, and I cannot wait for the final book. I also can't wait to hopefully read the rest of Gwynne's works next year. He's already an all-time favorite author. Great stuff.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Sexual content
pvbobrien's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping, War, Torture, Vomit, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Slavery
Minor: Body horror, Excrement, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
mariediane016's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Torture and Child abuse
Minor: Xenophobia and War
ocean_the_reader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book had such a complex plot for being in the middle of a trilogy, but it was because so much was going on. I absolutely loved it, the first book set it up perfectly.
Unsure of what's happening with Biórr, but it's very intriguing.
Guðvarr does deserve his own perspective, but that's only my opinion because I severel dislike him.
The ending absolutely destroyed me and I need the second book ASAP!!!!
Unsure of what's happening with Biórr, but it's very intriguing.
Guðvarr does deserve his own perspective, but that's only my opinion because I severel dislike him.
The ending absolutely destroyed me and I need the second book ASAP!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
onthesamepage's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Depending on whether you like the specific tropes this book is going for, you're either going to appreciate how long this book is, or tug at your hair in despair because it isn't done yet. Unfortunately, I was in the latter camp.
This book is a traveling book. We follow the same three characters from the first installment, along with two additional POVs: Biórr and Guðvarr. Four of the characters are travelling for pretty much the entire book, and I've come to realize that is something I don't tend to enjoy, especially not when I get 600+ pages of it.
The other trope prevalent in this book is the one I like to call "oops, you just missed them!" It's when two people are searching for each other, and will be in the same street within seconds of each other, or there at the same time but facing the opposite way so they never see each other. This trope has frustrated me for as long as I can remember, and I lost count of the number of times I wanted to throw something as a character, once again, didn't find who they were looking for.
With regards to the plot, I honestly don't feel like much happens until the 85% mark, except for maybe three or four important plot points that can be summed up in four sentences. But the final 15% is fast-paced and interesting, and I enjoyed it so much more than the rest. I also still really enjoyed both Orka and Varg as characters in general, especially Varg and his exploration of what it means to be Tainted.
One thing I really appreciate about this series is the summary of book one provided by the author at the beginning of this second book. I hope he'll do the same thing for the third one. In that case, if you want to read this series but have similar feelings about travelling stories, my recommendation would be: wait for the summary at the beginning of book 3 (or read one provided by fans if you don't want to wait), and then only read the last 15% of this book.
Depending on whether you like the specific tropes this book is going for, you're either going to appreciate how long this book is, or tug at your hair in despair because it isn't done yet. Unfortunately, I was in the latter camp.
This book is a traveling book. We follow the same three characters from the first installment, along with two additional POVs: Biórr and Guðvarr. Four of the characters are travelling for pretty much the entire book, and I've come to realize that is something I don't tend to enjoy, especially not when I get 600+ pages of it.
The other trope prevalent in this book is the one I like to call "oops, you just missed them!" It's when two people are searching for each other, and will be in the same street within seconds of each other, or there at the same time but facing the opposite way so they never see each other. This trope has frustrated me for as long as I can remember, and I lost count of the number of times I wanted to throw something as a character, once again, didn't find who they were looking for.
With regards to the plot, I honestly don't feel like much happens until the 85% mark, except for maybe three or four important plot points that can be summed up in four sentences. But the final 15% is fast-paced and interesting, and I enjoyed it so much more than the rest. I also still really enjoyed both Orka and Varg as characters in general, especially Varg and his exploration of what it means to be Tainted.
One thing I really appreciate about this series is the summary of book one provided by the author at the beginning of this second book. I hope he'll do the same thing for the third one. In that case, if you want to read this series but have similar feelings about travelling stories, my recommendation would be: wait for the summary at the beginning of book 3 (or read one provided by fans if you don't want to wait), and then only read the last 15% of this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, and Torture
booksaremythirdplace's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I'm not ok. I'm not ok right now.
I rarely say this, but WOW, this book is even better than the first! Picking right up where we left off, we get two new POVs added to the story on the “villain” side, so it’s even more exciting as a reader to get to see what’s happening all over the land of Vigrið, and not just where our protagonists are. Plus, because of the characters’ complexity, I’m a bit torn on some of them. We also get a peek into the other continent in the South, which I’m very curious to see expanded upon in book three. It reminded me a lot of the Southern Continent in Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas with a Khagan and his children scheming over who will take the throne. But I’m getting ahead of myself. So here are some more thoughts on why you need to read this book immediately:
Gwynne is a saint for including a full recap, pronunciation guide, and cast of characters at the beginning of the book in case it’s been a while since you’ve read book one. Honestly, I wish all series would include this!
Trying to keep this spoiler free is difficult, but I’ll do my best. This sequel sports even more action, vengeance, and more creatures that will possibly give you nightmares. Why does every epic fantasy have to have giant spiders? But Gwynne’s take on magical creatures is wholly different and feels fresh.
We finally see some paths cross, which I was looking forward to seeing, and a few reveals I was definitely not expecting. It’s so rare for an author to have the ability to create such in depth characters, while also weaving a masterful plot and complex world. I am so invested. The last third of the book was a non-stop roller coaster. I could not put it down. The final few pages had me screaming. Gwynne has been firmly placed on my list of autobuy authors.
My very minor gripe is the same: there’s still heavy use of the word, “thought-cage”, but I’ve grown used to it.
Other than that, this is a close-to-perfect sequel. I am heartbroken we have to wait at least a year for book three to come out, because I cannot wait to go back to Vigrið. Prepare for the ending to utterly break you.
I rarely say this, but WOW, this book is even better than the first! Picking right up where we left off, we get two new POVs added to the story on the “villain” side, so it’s even more exciting as a reader to get to see what’s happening all over the land of Vigrið, and not just where our protagonists are. Plus, because of the characters’ complexity, I’m a bit torn on some of them. We also get a peek into the other continent in the South, which I’m very curious to see expanded upon in book three. It reminded me a lot of the Southern Continent in Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas with a Khagan and his children scheming over who will take the throne. But I’m getting ahead of myself. So here are some more thoughts on why you need to read this book immediately:
Gwynne is a saint for including a full recap, pronunciation guide, and cast of characters at the beginning of the book in case it’s been a while since you’ve read book one. Honestly, I wish all series would include this!
Trying to keep this spoiler free is difficult, but I’ll do my best. This sequel sports even more action, vengeance, and more creatures that will possibly give you nightmares. Why does every epic fantasy have to have giant spiders? But Gwynne’s take on magical creatures is wholly different and feels fresh.
We finally see some paths cross, which I was looking forward to seeing, and a few reveals I was definitely not expecting. It’s so rare for an author to have the ability to create such in depth characters, while also weaving a masterful plot and complex world. I am so invested. The last third of the book was a non-stop roller coaster. I could not put it down. The final few pages had me screaming. Gwynne has been firmly placed on my list of autobuy authors.
My very minor gripe is the same: there’s still heavy use of the word, “thought-cage”, but I’ve grown used to it.
Other than that, this is a close-to-perfect sequel. I am heartbroken we have to wait at least a year for book three to come out, because I cannot wait to go back to Vigrið. Prepare for the ending to utterly break you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Slavery, Violence, War, Blood, Child abuse, and Death
grimdark_dad's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Slavery, Violence, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Alcohol, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, War, and Torture