Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Stopped because I couldnt' pay attention. SOFT DNF - will pick up a physical copy at some point and continue - the audio wasn't working for me because I kept getting distracted
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book begins in a heavy world building. Honestly, I am not a fan of these. I had to be on a certain mood to digest the things I read. Add to this, the complicated hierarchy, political positions, titles that correspond to their magical abilities, and the brutal beasts and creatures inside the vast forest in Crua. It does take a while for one to absorb all these data and understand the world where Cahan is.
Full review: https://mememesmedia.wordpress.com/2025/02/12/gods-of-the-wyrwood-a-brutal-and-stunning-high-fantasy-tale/
Full review: https://mememesmedia.wordpress.com/2025/02/12/gods-of-the-wyrwood-a-brutal-and-stunning-high-fantasy-tale/
adventurous
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
reflective
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
Rating: 3 Stars
Full disclosure, I received my copy of this book as an ARC copy when attending a comic-con in 2023, as a free gift with purchase from a book selling stall. No review was solicited, and all opinions here are my own.
We're doing this quickfire, because I've got some thoughts but I feel like my review in totality needs a further book in order to do full justice.
- Interesting world. Genuinely unique ecology, flora, fauna, environment. The two hemispheres of the world warring over the tilt of the axis, because one side prospers while the other starves is a good concept that forever drives the plot forward and gives meaningful motivation.
- Interesting magical system. The way in which to get this "magic" honestly reminded me of the Jaffa and Goa'uld from Stargate SG1.
- The forest vibe of the book is straight from ye old fairytales of the day, and by that I mean, the forest is dark and scary and deep and you have miles before you can go to sleep. It is at times alien, it is dense, it is unknowable and vast and cares nothing for tiny human lives, and I ate that right up. Given where this book ends, I'm so excited for further exploration of the Wyrdwood. Think, fairytales meets Annihilation almost, with a helping of eldritch monstrosities.
- Grammar and sentence structure was... interesting. Perhaps simply because this was an ARC book, but it met unpolished. This is not the author's first rodeo, so I have to assume some of this is stylistic choice, but capitalisation and sentence structures were.... sometimes very bad. The author did play with some of these choices in context of scenarios that made it make sense - for example, Cahan being disorientated from being effectively beaten and one could say, magically starved. But sometimes, I didn't feel like the context gave enough justification for the writing structure itself to be affected.
- On a similar thread, I wish the prose was more than it was. Honestly, this was the thing that held me back the most in my rating. I felt like we were being dictated the feeling of the world or the character, as opposed to actually feeling with them. Not all prose has to be flowery, but I wanted some of description, something to evoke sentiment within me, not just be told what was happening.
- I both read the book and listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was honestly great, top form, no notes.
- Slow beginning. I understand why the book started where it did, but I honestly think a little repositioning and plotting could have established the points earlier and given the book more of a running start, because by about midpoint, when you can begin to feel the plot coming all together, you're looking back at the start going "why did we take so long to get here?". By the end, you kind of understand what points in the start were needed to make the end point happen, but still, it drags its feet.
- I am continuing. There is a nugget of the story that is about hope and people in a hopeless, cruel world, and I just wish that the prose elevates itself to match the story and the world, because that's my primary issue. Not the characters, not the world, not even the plot, but the execution of it all. Even when we aren't in the mind of a taciturn, stoic, barely speaking Cahan, the writing remained so sparse and I was begging it to give me more. Some seasoning with the boiled chicken, if you will. The jury is out until book 2, Warlords of Wyrdwood, but I'm honestly on the fence just because of the execution of prose.
Full disclosure, I received my copy of this book as an ARC copy when attending a comic-con in 2023, as a free gift with purchase from a book selling stall. No review was solicited, and all opinions here are my own.
We're doing this quickfire, because I've got some thoughts but I feel like my review in totality needs a further book in order to do full justice.
- Interesting world. Genuinely unique ecology, flora, fauna, environment. The two hemispheres of the world warring over the tilt of the axis, because one side prospers while the other starves is a good concept that forever drives the plot forward and gives meaningful motivation.
- Interesting magical system. The way in which to get this "magic" honestly reminded me of the Jaffa and Goa'uld from Stargate SG1.
- The forest vibe of the book is straight from ye old fairytales of the day, and by that I mean, the forest is dark and scary and deep and you have miles before you can go to sleep. It is at times alien, it is dense, it is unknowable and vast and cares nothing for tiny human lives, and I ate that right up. Given where this book ends, I'm so excited for further exploration of the Wyrdwood. Think, fairytales meets Annihilation almost, with a helping of eldritch monstrosities.
- Grammar and sentence structure was... interesting. Perhaps simply because this was an ARC book, but it met unpolished. This is not the author's first rodeo, so I have to assume some of this is stylistic choice, but capitalisation and sentence structures were.... sometimes very bad. The author did play with some of these choices in context of scenarios that made it make sense - for example, Cahan being disorientated from being effectively beaten and one could say, magically starved. But sometimes, I didn't feel like the context gave enough justification for the writing structure itself to be affected.
- On a similar thread, I wish the prose was more than it was. Honestly, this was the thing that held me back the most in my rating. I felt like we were being dictated the feeling of the world or the character, as opposed to actually feeling with them. Not all prose has to be flowery, but I wanted some of description, something to evoke sentiment within me, not just be told what was happening.
- I both read the book and listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was honestly great, top form, no notes.
- Slow beginning. I understand why the book started where it did, but I honestly think a little repositioning and plotting could have established the points earlier and given the book more of a running start, because by about midpoint, when you can begin to feel the plot coming all together, you're looking back at the start going "why did we take so long to get here?". By the end, you kind of understand what points in the start were needed to make the end point happen, but still, it drags its feet.
- I am continuing. There is a nugget of the story that is about hope and people in a hopeless, cruel world, and I just wish that the prose elevates itself to match the story and the world, because that's my primary issue. Not the characters, not the world, not even the plot, but the execution of it all. Even when we aren't in the mind of a taciturn, stoic, barely speaking Cahan, the writing remained so sparse and I was begging it to give me more. Some seasoning with the boiled chicken, if you will. The jury is out until book 2, Warlords of Wyrdwood, but I'm honestly on the fence just because of the execution of prose.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
one of my favorite new books, I really have loved everything by this author so far and ive already bought then next one to see what happens next
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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:
No