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A review by novelshire
Gods of the Wyrdwood by RJ Barker
adventurous
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
An epic, political and environmental fantasy set in a world that feels completely distinctive.
Gods of the Wyrdwood follows Cahan, a man now known as the Forester, who lives on the edges of society because he is Clanless - he doesn't show loyalty to any god or group. However, in his youth, Cahan was taken from his home to be the Chosen One facing brutal training and the awakening of a kind of parasitic force inside him called a Cowl. But then another religion rises to power with it's own Chosen One and he vanishes into obscurity.
This is a deeply complex world with different magics, weird creepy plants and dangerous creatures.
There's absolutely no hand-holding, you have to pick up the terms, the politics and religious structures as you go along and try to fathom out what the real goals are for the characters.
The world is harsh, the religion(s) generally cruel and designed to crush the spirit, and that means that a lot the characters are also like that. There's a lot of distrust, antagonism and provocation that the main characters must deal with.
On the other hand, there's a lot of wonder in the world too - the Wyrdwood may be full of dangerous things but it's also full of interesting things- enormous trees (like, really enormous), unusual wildlife and a magic running through the whole thing.
I have no idea where the series will go after this, but I can't wait to read more.
Thanks to Orbit UK for a netgalley review copy
Gods of the Wyrdwood follows Cahan, a man now known as the Forester, who lives on the edges of society because he is Clanless - he doesn't show loyalty to any god or group. However, in his youth, Cahan was taken from his home to be the Chosen One facing brutal training and the awakening of a kind of parasitic force inside him called a Cowl. But then another religion rises to power with it's own Chosen One and he vanishes into obscurity.
This is a deeply complex world with different magics, weird creepy plants and dangerous creatures.
There's absolutely no hand-holding, you have to pick up the terms, the politics and religious structures as you go along and try to fathom out what the real goals are for the characters.
The world is harsh, the religion(s) generally cruel and designed to crush the spirit, and that means that a lot the characters are also like that. There's a lot of distrust, antagonism and provocation that the main characters must deal with.
On the other hand, there's a lot of wonder in the world too - the Wyrdwood may be full of dangerous things but it's also full of interesting things- enormous trees (like, really enormous), unusual wildlife and a magic running through the whole thing.
I have no idea where the series will go after this, but I can't wait to read more.
Thanks to Orbit UK for a netgalley review copy