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A review by mifterkim
Gods of the Wyrdwood by RJ Barker
5.0
This was my first book by R. J. Barker, despite hearing great things about their books, and I was not disappointed!
In many ways this was a very classical fantasy epic, full of magic and heroism, which I am a huge fan of, but I also really enjoyed the elements that make Gods of the Wyrd Wood unique.
The story centres around a man who was once the Chosen One of a god, destined to take over the world, until another god's chosen got there first. He has lived his life as a solitary forester since then, never using his powers or acknowledging his past, but of course that past must catch up with him in the course of the story.
I liked the structure of the book a lot - rather than one long journey, Cahan returns over and over to his farm and adoptive village home, attempting to reclaim his new life and eventually defending his neighbours from the wider world. It was very slow to start, but when the story threads and clues start coming together I was very keen to see what happened next. I loved the forest-based world, the wooden armour and mushroom-based magical powers. I also liked Cahan's reclusive and reluctant heroism, and the extremely flawed but endearing supporting characters. I ended the book wanting to know what happened next (the book is due to be the first of a trilogy) but the ending was still very satisfying. I also found the complete lack of a romance subplot very refreshing!
I would recommend this book to fantasy fans everywhere and look forward to the sequel.
In many ways this was a very classical fantasy epic, full of magic and heroism, which I am a huge fan of, but I also really enjoyed the elements that make Gods of the Wyrd Wood unique.
The story centres around a man who was once the Chosen One of a god, destined to take over the world, until another god's chosen got there first. He has lived his life as a solitary forester since then, never using his powers or acknowledging his past, but of course that past must catch up with him in the course of the story.
I liked the structure of the book a lot - rather than one long journey, Cahan returns over and over to his farm and adoptive village home, attempting to reclaim his new life and eventually defending his neighbours from the wider world. It was very slow to start, but when the story threads and clues start coming together I was very keen to see what happened next. I loved the forest-based world, the wooden armour and mushroom-based magical powers. I also liked Cahan's reclusive and reluctant heroism, and the extremely flawed but endearing supporting characters. I ended the book wanting to know what happened next (the book is due to be the first of a trilogy) but the ending was still very satisfying. I also found the complete lack of a romance subplot very refreshing!
I would recommend this book to fantasy fans everywhere and look forward to the sequel.