The Hunger of the Gods: 2 (The Bloodsworn Trilogy)

Product Information

The Hunger of the Gods continues John Gwynne's acclaimed Norse-inspired epic fantasy series, packed with myth, magic and bloody vengeance THE DEAD GODS ARE RISING .

Thank you to John Gwynne and Orbit Books for the opportunity to read this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I had a little trouble with Elvar's POV in The Shadow of the Gods but that's not the case in this one. In The Hunger of the Gods, the story, conflicts, and missions of Orka, Varg, and Elvar converged in several sections. Packed with myth, magic, and bloody vengeance, John Gwynne's "masterfully crafted, brutally compelling, Norse-inspired epic" (Anthony Ryan) continues in The Hunger of the Gods . I didn't think it was possible for me to be wowed by a John Gwynne book more than I already have leading up to this point.How they honor their family, friends, responsibilities, own up to their mistakes, find humor, strength, and love in the darkest times, and how the best people look out for those being mistreated. A book of forbidden magic with the power to raise the wolf god Ulfrir from the dead…and bring about a battle that will shake the foundations of the earth. I do not want to give too much away here, but these creatures infect your tongue and slowly rot the body and the mind until you become a shell of yourself and a slave to their will. The plot progression was slow, the book felt like a preparation to the final book, almost everything that happened here felt like a prelude to what will happen in the next and final book in the series.

My favorite up to this point is The Faithful and the Fallen series which still remains my favorite quartet of all times. And also, the character interaction especially the conversation between the main characters were handled wonderfully and I would love to read more of other characters reaction when they find out Orka is the Skullsplitter. It also made us focus on the plot more and what's happening with the characters rather than the characters themselves (since the focus was targeted towards what happened after the cliffhanger).The author did such a great job of describing and developing the characters, they were so realistic and complex. Gwynne made my life much easier by including a recap section at the beginning, a glossary for the characters and even a pronunciation guide. And one of the things I appreciate most about one of the new POV characters—Gudvarr—is this, Gwynne is doing something new that he has never done before with Gudvarr’s inner voice. It’s incredibly touching because, on the way to fulfilling her vengeance, she takes time to help others in need when she does not have to.