Reviews

The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne

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vlordm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad 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

5.0

andi_reads_books's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

torriebug's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring sad 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

5.0

These books are SO GOOD. Monsters, Vikings, dead gods coming alive, badass female characters, insane plot lines, heartfelt moments...there's not a single negative about these. I'm obsessed and I can't wait for the third one to come out this fall!!

dusktildawn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

A wolf age, a sword age, and blood will flow in rivers. Remember, I am no dream to blink away with the coming of day.

This book stumbled slightly in the beginning. It seemed much of the same as the previous novel - utterly determined to meander around to set up the story with a dreadfully slow pace that meant it dragged its feet. All the new characters and changing perspectives were a whiplash and I truly struggled to get into and comprehend the number of things happening in so many different places. I had just finished the first book and yet it was difficult to remember all of the characters, shifting powers, and alliances. It was a genuine struggle, and I prepared myself for a slog and constant confusion. But I've never been more wrong.

Before the book even reached 100 pages, I was eating my words. The pace picked up immensely and it went from stumbling to sprinting and never looking back. The story just races forward, hardly stopping, reaching higher and higher as it dashes toward a bloody culmination that had me biting my nails, terrified to keep reading. Every amount of praise I had for the first book is applied tenfold here, everything is far superior in every way.

The detail of the scenery is striking without being exhaustive, the worldbuilding is expanded with more rich lore, and the sweeping scope takes us across the seas, into the mead hall of a queen, and the catacomb lair of a dragon god. The world expands even further into darkness with the awakening of the Gods, and everything seeps with tension and mystery.

Kill your enemies and make a mountain of their corpses.

It is bursting with intensity, filled with such thrilling, quick action that there is hardly time to catch your breath as it sucks you right in. It is all so vivid that you feel every lunge and swipe of the sword, the weight of the shield on your back, and the breath of the foe right in front of your face. I couldn't help but feel like I was alongside our characters, fighting in the shield wall traveling across the snowcapped mountains, or puking my guts out at sea. Every fight has a purpose and a reason, and they are better woven into the story than last time, helping rather than hindering its natural progression.

The stakes are high and the consequences are dire. There is a terrible air of danger that hangs over the characters as they move about the world, and you fear for their lives because bad things are happening. Violence and savagery no longer lurk in the corners, it's out in the open with no holds barred. This is a world dominated by viciousness and brutality and the action makes certain that you never forget, because no one is spared.

This is a long book but it doesn't feel that way, with so many moving pieces and parts. The final stretch of chapters were some of the best I've ever read. They had my heart racing as I hoped that everything would go right and yet very little did. There is so much happening all at once, so much to take in across our five different perspectives, it was like I was being continuously tossed in front of a new enemy myself. It was a continuous rollercoaster of bloody violence. And all of the action and each of the chapters were just as enthralling and riveting as the next. I was scared to continue because I was afraid of what would happen, but I had to keep reading so I could reach the end. A true page-turner.

We decide what the way of the world is. Us. People. It is not imposed on us by some greater force.

Everything just clicked into place for me and I was yanked into the pages of this brutal, brilliant world where I could not tear my eyes away. All of the set-up and chess piece maneuverings that dominated Book 1 were firmly in place, and everything sped toward a glorious conclusion. All of the new POV chapters went from initially being boring and confusing to being some of the most enticing parts of the story, and the three POVs from the previous book were all monumentally better than they had been before. I found myself liking a character who I had wanted dead before to now actively rooting for him and hoping he stayed alive despite his obvious stupidity and callousness, and generally not being a very good person.

I cared about the characters, I was scared for them and rooted for them. They felt fully realized with actual personalities and different outlooks on life, rather than bland mouthpieces that I couldn't even describe or tell apart. They had humor and backstories that weren't a single offhand thought. And because their environments and plots were so vastly different, they each added something to the story. Despite the quicker pace, they had time to slow down and breathe and interact with the people around them which they previously did not. The side characters were also greatly improved and most of them managed to feel distinct despite the multitude of them that exist across the five POVs.

Something that bothered me previously was that none of the perspectives interacted or mingled in any way (until the end). They hardly even felt like they lived in the same kingdom. But none of that here. Reading as they all interacted and maneuvered around each other was my favorite aspect of the story. Reading as they worked together or against each other, not knowing what we know about them. And when they fought each other and the threat of genuine harm was there (those final four chapters specifically), I was close to pulling out my hair because I wanted all of them to prevail (most of the time). It was all woven perfectly together, a masterclass in scope and scale.

Full of heart, with memorable characters and waves of intense action, set in a world just as colorful as it is bleak, this has immediately become one of my favorite novels of the year. And that cliffhanger was like a dagger in my heart, just pure devastation. I need the next book more than I need air to breathe.

laura1980458's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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

kalel_kent's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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? No

5.0

I enjoyed the first book, but wow, this book was incredible! I felt more invested in the characters, enjoyed all the POVs (except maybe Guthvarr's, the nithing shite) The world building revieled a lot more and we got more of a look into the history and existence of this fascinating world! No middle book blues here! Can't wait for fury of the Gods!