Reviews

Gods of the Wyrdwood by RJ Barker

theharp's review

adventurous 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? Yes

3.25

ungoliant1234's review

adventurous mysterious 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

4.25

I’ve seen this book described as epic fantasy in a new weird setting- and that is definitely an apt description. The world of this book is extremely unique, with not only the magic/divinity and the physical description of the forest,  but also the social setup of the polyamorous familial structure (which unfortunately is not explored beyond as a setting) and the inclusion of trions (who go by ‘they’) lending much to my enjoyment. The plot is a, relatively, basic epic fantasy plot (ala Wheel of Time) but executed well. I must praise Barker’s balancing of POVs: while there is a heavy focus on Cahan’s perspective, there is just enough of Kirven and the flashbacks that kept me on the edge of my seat. The second person perspective for the flashbacks- and the eventual culmination of the same towards the end was a triumph.

One criticism is regarding the prose. Mostly it felt well-executed, though not spectacular, but occasionally felt clunky and even grammatically wrong. It is possible that this is a stylistic choice that had some deeper purpose, but such a reason was not evident to me and as such annoyed me.

jaydent01's review

adventurous dark reflective fast-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

4.25

sapphiremarie's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

acascadeofbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

grace891's review

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

melmmh's review against another edition

3.0

Slow start, took me a bit to get into - but definitely grabbed my attention by a third of the way through.
I guessed the twist at the end by about half way, it was a little predictable, but will be interesting none the less.

veoxy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

linmonimogen's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

zoe_'s review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

3.0

This was not what I had expected nor, unfortunately, what I had hoped for. I wanted more woods and trees, more worldbuilding and wandering the world. Don’t get me wrong, there is a little bit of all those things but just not enough to evoke the emotions needed for me to assign this book more than 3 stars. 

Some impressions:

I think it’s funny how the book handles deities. At first it starts out with a myriad of them, and I liked that a lot. Give me lots of forest gods to explore and I‘m happy. But, suddenly, only three gods were relevant anymore and really it is only two, and then the one mainstream god was simply replaced by a niche one. The story walks in a strange circle and I don’t think it knows this.

There was a lot of set-up that never gets properly resolved. 

In my opinion all the characters feel very flat, too flat for emotional attachments on my end.

The ending was very predictable.

I genuinely enjoyed the chapters from Cahan‘s childhood.