Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited by the concept of this book, especially the plot, but I just felt it wasn’t executed incredibly well. I found it way too long - it could’ve easily been half the length in my opinion. The characters, however, were lovable and really did help move the plot along. The plot wasn’t like anything I had read before, but was slightly similar to the Tolkien universe, where they set off through a forest where monsters dwell, in the hope of completing a goal. As is common with slow-paced plots, I struggle to stay interested for long periods of time. This is just me of course, a lot of people like a slightly more relaxed pace in a book.

Solid start to what's shaping up to a really interesting new series by Barker. Quite liked the premise and overall execution was decent.

3,5 stars

The start of a new series by R.J. Barker is of course more than enough that I need to know to pick a book up. Did I love this first book? No I did not. But I'm not worried because the same thing happend to me with The Tide Child trilogy and I ended up loving it.

Gods of the Wyrdwood is set in a world where it is always winter, surrounded by many woods. The Wyrdwood is one of them, where there are many kind of creatures and nature seems to have a mind of its own. On the edge of the wood lives Cahal. To those in the nearby village he is just a forester, weird and distant. But in a long lived past he was the chosen one (Cowl-Rai) according to a priest hood that followed one of the many gods in the world. He would bring change.

The story starts slow. We initially meet Cahal when he is first seen as the Cowl-Rai. But when we meet him again he is a middle aged man. Trying to hide from the past. It takes quite a while for the story to get going with that setting and for a long time, it seemed like nothing was going to happen. I was a little bored at this point in the story. Cahal seemed nice but I couldn't quite get a reading on him. And it wasn't until actual things started happening that we really got to know him.

The events in the story didn't change a whole lot of pace in the book however. For the most part it still trudged on. A lot of this book is building up the world. Setting up this new series. Making sure that we know what we need to know before everything truly sets off. Which is a good thing. I see a lot of things that I liked. How Cahal wasn't the only 'chosen one'. The creatures we met in the woods. The monk. The kid. Even Cahal, once we got to know him a little better, is clearly a good man.

Most of this book is setting things up for a grander scheme of things. I didn't love this book but I see the potential, the way I could with the first Tide Child book. So I'll happily anticipate and read the next book, and expect to love that one.

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for this ARC!

Gods of the Wyrdwood follows Cahan Du-Nahere, who was taken as a child to become a cowl-rai for a god that is no longer allowed to be worshiped by the time he is an adult. He lives near the Wyrdwood, a magical forest with numerous creatures that are the thing of dreams... and nightmares.

Gods of the Wyrdwood is a work with an incredibly beautiful and mystical world that I was immediately drawn to. I read this book immersively (read the ebook while listening to the audiobook) and I was completely entranced by this story.

RJ Barker does not hold your hand while world-building, but he doesn't write in a way that leaves the reader annoyed and confused. As a self-proclaimed "intermediate fantasy reader," I very much appreciated his ability to teach me about an incredibly complex world without making me feel like I had no reading comprehension skills. I was able to be confused while still understanding the basics of what was going on.

Barker's writing feels, to me, like a story being *told* rather than written. It is full of sentence fragments and comma splices that frustrate some, but I really felt it added to the story. I felt like a child sitting around the fire hearing the tales of times before.

My only issue with this was that some of the world-building felt too indirect. There were a lot of terms in the world that I had a basic understanding of, but I couldn't explain it in detail if I tried. I enjoyed that Barker didn't hold my hand, but I wanted there to be a little more direct explanation so I could fully comprehend the complexities of the world.

This is one of those occasions when writing a review is simply daunting. I just want to say "buy this book, it's brilliant". I've come to expect a high standard form this author but really, it's just ridiculous how good Gods is. Whether you judge by characters, by setting, by the issues addressed or just by plain old-fashioned readability, Gods of the Wyrdwood amply delivers (and this, in passing, with the author making it deliberately hard by writing a book in a setting with no metal!)

Gods of the Wyrdwood doesn't mess around, but drops us immediately into its menacing, disturbing setting. Our hero Cahan Du-Nahare, known to most as "The Forester" since his real name attracts attention from powerful enemies, is an outcast living on the fringes of a remote village, Harn. Cahan is clanless and therefore pretty much despised by the villagers - near the bottom of the social pile in their harsh land of Crua, they're glad to have someone else to look down on, and as Cahan lives on the fringes of the frightening wild woods, he's also touched by the dread and superstition directed at that realm. So when the story opens with the Forester's death, it's a foretaste of what is to come in this violent land, riven by warfare between followers of different gods - and by a ruthless pursuit of any woman or man suspected of being a conduit for the wrong gods.

In this atmosphere of external persecution, the ruling faction - followers of the new god Tarl-an-Gig, the Balancing Man - are as divided internally as their enemies, and Barker quickly sketches a complicated polity where personal motivations - the desire for power, for safety or for revenge - can outweigh politics and duty, giving scope for all sorts of double dealing and chicanery. It's a world that Cahan has known and turned his back on, one of the themes of the novel being his desire to set aside power - and he's been blessed, or cursed, with considerable power - and live a quiet life, harming none.

If only the world would let him do that! Whether pursued by enemies or enlisted for help the desperate villagers - despite their fears of him - throughout this book Cahan is continually harried to aid various causes, including venturing into the depths of the Wyldwood itself when the son of the village's headwoman disappears. That episode introduces Cahan's unwelcome companion Udinny, a character who is just exquisite. I'd say that Cahan and Udinny are destined to be one of the great partnerships of fantasy, her enthusiasm and moral drive the perfect foil to his dourness and reticence.

Udinny is a monk, a former thief who has somehow fallen into the service of a powerful goddess - not a comfortable thing to be at all in a land under the dominion of Tarl-an-Gig - and a person who's just hugely inquisitive, self possessed and, above all, brave. The scenes between the two, especially where they are on their forest quest, are simply brilliant, a spiky bickering moderating into respect and even grudging admiration.

In their brilliant depiction, Cahan and Udinny are not though unique in this book - Barker is on top form here giving us real hiss-inducing villains (but then flooring us by showing us their relatable human emotions and drives), and complex, grey-shaded villagers, soldiers and artisans as well as epic battles, a whole bizarre ecology for both the woods and the deities that inhabit them, and - in glimpses - a slowly emerging backstory for Cahan. That last is possibly the most affecting part of the story, slowly showing us the basis on which he lived his life and what he lost along the way, leading to him being the reserved figure we see through most of the book. It's not just filling in background, what happened to the boy - and young man - Cahal could easily be a book, or more, in itself. Writing is about much more than "having ideas" I know but even so, there's a profligacy to the amount of material that Barker is happy simply to allude to here without needing to explore in detail, something that, to me, promises he's a got a lot more to come in this series.

Gods of the Wyrdwood is a big book with epic themes, but also very personal ones, showing ordinary people forced to step up when their quiet lives are threatened by the games of the powerful. In its exciting finale the people of Harn, tanners, butchers and farmers are forced to defend their village against experienced troops. Like Cahan, they have been drawn into conflict and politics whether they like it (or understand it) or not and they just have to make the best of things. Quiet loyalty, mercy and kindness seem small things compared with armour and powerful magic, but they still, as Barker seems to show, have a value in themselves.

Just an incredible read, a corruscatingly good book, promising a standout trilogy from RJ Barker.

I thought this was quite interesting from the description and thought I had to read this. I didn't realise it was such a chonk of a book though till I got the special edition delivered from The Broken Binding.

It's my first read of something by R.J. Barker and the descriptions around the forest and how their magical mantles that give them their power was very good.

It was a little bit disjointed between chapters and it jumps back to the forester's past in a short few page scenes without any headers to let you know that so I ended up having to re read them a few times to work it out.

I liked the story though, a mixture between the city trying to take over the wild forest, some heavy stuff involving parental relationships and having to build new relationships with strangers and the relationships of the humans with the wood and it's creatures.

The actual quest involving going into the actual forest and the magic behind the old wood was really well written and was the star of the whole book.

I am very intrigued to see where on earth this story could possibly go after this as so many different things was hinted at.

DNF at 15%
Just not for me. I’m not invested in the plot enough to parse the Proper Noun soup that passes for world-building.

Gods of the Wyrdwood was an anticipated read for 2023, but unfortunately this book did not work for me. The pacing felt skewed that it gave me too many chances to set the book aside, which would have been OK if other elements of the book were also engaging, and I struggled to be invested in the characters. Some of the aspects in this book also felt superficial for the subject matter and I would have enjoyed more in-depth discussions. Maybe it will happen further in the series, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy these aspects of the worldbuilding. Although we get this intimate and visceral aspect of the world, we don’t quite get the same for the characters, even though they did feel distinct.

I liked that we were thrown right into the story and the nature setting was lush and rich in detail. The Wyrdwood itself and the creatures within were enticing and was my favourite aspect of the book and I wished there was more of it.

I received an advance copy of this book for free from Netgalley.


The first chapter of Gods of the Wyrdwood tricks you into thinking you're about to start yet another epic fantasy book in which a young hero's innate talent is discovered, slowly nurtured throughout the book with lots of breakthroughs and set-backs, all leading to an epic conclusion wherein he gains confidence in himself and wins a great victory, leading onto the next instalment in the trilogy. But Barker turns this classic (and arguably exhausted) narrative on its head, introducing us in the second chapter to an older, jaded, more bitter main character, Cahan, who has been abandoned by those who promised him power, and has vowed to live a quiet life away from violence. This is just the first of many ways Barker turns established tropes on their head - with very impressive results.


Perhaps the key reason why Gods of the Wyrdwood is so brilliant is its main character. Cahan is nuanced and realistic, weary of violence and the abuse the world has heaped on him, so much so that the longing for justice and fairness he harbours deep inside is a muted and guttering candle flame at the beginning of the story. Cahan knows what it's like to lose, and is afraid of losing again; he's a realist, someone who doesn't just jump headlong into every fight, and I think that's why it's so easy to relate to and sympathise with him. Cahan fails - when soldiers come to kill him, he lets others take the fall on two occasions - and we can understand his fear, even as we understand the guilt he carries with him as a consequence. Throughout the novel Cahan struggles at several points between his pragmatism and the crushing weight of his guilt and his longing for something better, and his personal journey is incredibly moving. What really struck me is that Cahan doesn't just struggle with his feelings once, overcome his selfishness, and then go on to be a hero; he struggles repeatedly, at several points throughout the length of the story, and that I think makes him feel not only more real, but far more relatable. At moments when we might be scared and want to walk away, Cahan is scared and wants to run, too. We connect with him because on some level we can imagine being him, and that connection is a powerful way to draw us into the story.


And Barker's excellent character-building doesn't stop with Cahan. There is the young, naive Venn, who manages to grow in practical skill and experience of the world without losing their idealism and hope, which ends up crucial to the main characters' success. There is Udinny, a monk who, like Cahan, knows the hardships of the world, but hasn't let them beat her down; she is willing to believe in her path, willing to sacrifice, and perhaps most importantly for Cahan, willing to laugh and chat and draw him out of his shadows (she was, I admit, my favourite character). And then there is Kirven, a character whose head we spend almost as much time in as Cahan's. Kirven is an extremely interesting character and perhaps almost as much a testament to the strength of Barker's character writing as Cahan. It's impressive how Barker presents Kirven as a woman who has suffered trauma at the hands of an abusive wife and desperately wants the best for her child, allowing us a way to sympathise with her, while at the same time showing us the lengths her ambitions have driven her to, showcasing her inability to care for those 'beneath' her and making her hateable to the audience as well. Kirven is an extremely complex character, and I love that Barker didn't shy away from showing her with all her trauma and also her flaws.


Another stand-out part of this book is the world-building. Barker again turns tropes and established norms on their head, introducing a third gender called 'trions' as well as men and women, and having marriage in his fictional society be, so far as we can tell, universally polygamous, with multiple men, women and trions married to each other. Gender inequality is also subverted, as it appears there is no conception of men being 'better' in any way than women in Barker's world, with in fact the majority of leaders we see being women. Barker also plays with geography, introducing a disc-shaped, seemingly flat world in which winds always move in a circle, bounded by impossibly huge forests, in which the climate can be 'tilted' back and forth between the two sides of the disc. There are also a wide variety of new plants and creatures, and, so far as I could tell, no metal-working, with the miraculously hard wood of the huge cloudtrees being used for things like money, swords and armour instead. Barker doesn't tell you these things outright; instead, they are either weaved into the fabric of the story, allowing the reader to figure the marriage system and the wood-instead-of-metal thing out, or alluded to and then explained, usually by the characters, in a way that always feels natural. What this leads to is a dynamic, vibrant world that subverts and plays with our current world's norms in the way all good fantasy should.


This great worldbuilding not only deepens the place we're being introduced to, but it sets up fascinating hints about what might come later in the series. Barker sets up a political system that, while quite dark, feels realistic when considering those in power - the Rai - are users of powerful magic that in some way eats them from the inside out, scrubbing away their humanity and leaving them husks. While some might accuse this story of being 'grimdark', I think Barker avoids this, because for this book, showing how awful the Rai are isn't there simply for us to revel in how bad things are in this world, but rather it is to set up the stakes. Showing us how horrible the Rai are in this first book, and giving us this glimpse of standing against them, really makes us want to come back and see the common people rise up and kick their asses! Also, Barker never lets us forget that hope exists - through characters like Udinny, Venn and Furin, through the eventual slow acceptance of Cahan by the villagers, and by the life triumphing over death themes of the ending, it's clear Barker is telling a story of hope and light prevailing, even when set against deep darkness.


Barker is also a master of less overt worldbuilding, throwing in fascinating hints that there is more going on than we or the characters realise, especially concerning the gods and the magic of this world. It's interesting how some of these hints build up to the conclusion of this book as well as hinting at the plot of the sequels; the interplay between bows being banned and Cahan's assertion that he could break the Rai with a hundred trained bowmen is not only a really good thread through the book that sets up the final conflict, but it really feels like a hint of what's to come within the series, the possible uprising against the Rai. The overall themes of life conquering death and corruption run throughout the book, and are especially well conceived in the ending.


I also have to highlight two special favourite sections of mine; the trip into the Wyrdwood, and the final twist at the end of the book. I won't say too much about the twist itself, but I totally did not see it coming! It absolutely worked, however, and acted as an incredibly intriguing hook for the sequel. The idea of an adventure into a strange and forbidding deep wood was what originally drew me to this book, and although it ended up being so much more than that, this section of the book didn't disappoint me. I loved the interplay between Cahan's gruffness and Udinny's bright, irreverent attitude; I loved the way she came to respect his knowledge and he opened up to be a teacher and guide for her; I loved the variety of creatures, moods and landscapes within the forest and how vivid Barker's imagery of them was; and I absolutely loved the final scenes, the concept of the boughry as the old gods of the forest (and their name), how they're presented and Udinny's sacrifice to them.


I can only really identify two points as downsides. The very first chapter was a little info-dump heavy, and was a little confusing; however, pushing through it to the second chapter soon had me hooked. I think it's an interesting gamble to set the first chapter up so much like a stereotypical 'start of the hero's journey' scene, I just hope it doesn't put anyone off! The only other thing that bothered me was some of the reactions from the villagers of Harn, and the way they seem so ready to be whipped up into a mob at the slightest provocation. This is no doubt based on truth, and to a certain extent understandable considering the tension of the story and how much they hate Cahan; I would argue, however, that it happens almost too often and with too much regularity and similarity, leading to the villagers feeling more like a set-piece giving expected reactions at appropriate times, rather than a group of real people. This can also come off a little condescending from the narrative, as if these 'rustic village people' have no capacity to do anything but follow the herd, and no intelligence to understand anything more than the most basic concepts. I would argue this naivety of the villagers works much better in the later scenes, where they are clearly being realistically contrasted to the far more well trained professional soldiers - it's clear that the villagers know little about battle, but it's also clear to the reader why they would react the way they do, and you can sympathise with them and their fear and lack of experience.


Overall, I would highly recommend Gods of the Wyrdwood; it pulled me in so hard I read the majority of its roughly 500 pages in about three days! The pacing is good and the story and worldbuilding rewarding; this was a genuinely good, enjoyable read, and I am beyond excited to read the next instalment in this series and see where the story goes.

Goodreads Review link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5671799816

Amazon Review link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R10QUTAJFCDY1C/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Both published 06/07/2023

This is my first attempt for this author and i am pleasantly surprised that the author worked for me. This author needs more attention than what he has now. It was a bit confusing at the start, as are all fantasy books, but I never felt like I was being info-dumped on. Things were revealed slowly, new ones added just when you got used to everything that came before so it wasn't overwhelming.

The book started well with the main hero being selected for the role of the chosen one in the prologue. In the first chapter we see him at an older age, an adult living in seclusion. The respect Cahan gives to said forest is admirable, he was also raised in it for a portion of his life. He knows it so well that the villagers call him the Forester. They're distrustful of him at the beginning, but by the end of the book they accept him as one of their own. So you could say there's a found family theme throughout the book, not just with the villagers but also with Udinny, a monk of a forgotten God, and Venn a trion who desperately wants to escape their destiny.

The magic systems is deeply intwined within the story. The people once believe in many Gods, until the Cowl-Rai came and now one God is the only legitimate one, to worship others is to be seen as a criminal. However, this legitimate God and the Cowl-Rai and cruel and violent, their magic feared and brutal. But the Gods of the forest are not necessarily gone, the forest lives and breathes and writhes - and Cahan knows how to respect the forest. But the people do not. The people have forgotten the forest Gods, but they have not forgotten to fear the forest and woods. It is much better to go into this book with fresh eyes, but the magic is so interesting and unique, from the Cowl-Rai to the forest and I loved it. The viciousness of the Cowl-Rai was brutal and terrifying. The vitality and cruelty of the forest was captivating and intriguing building a sense of unease and wonder all at once. I loved watching the magic develop as the story went on, learning about new aspects of it and just how deep it all goes! I cannot wait to see how the series progresses.

8.5/10

For those all who did not finish this book, listen to me very carefully, you made a very terrible mistake to give up on it as it eventually becomes captivating and engrossing. Took time till this book start a fire.

“The only certain failure is never to try.”

In the realm filled with Gods, old, new and forgotten, where enchanted and perilous forests abound, Cahan knows that to survive is often to walk away from cruelty. But is that to live? He is running but not fast enough, maybe it's time to stop running.

"You are running but you are not running fast enough. You are running. Running."

Cahan du Nahare is a warrior, a very special one who hides from his past, now he is known as the forester - a man who has expertise in passing through Deepforest.

Udinny is devoted to the goddess of the lost, in her quest to locate a missing child in the Deepforest, accompanied by Cahan.

Venn is a chosen child, whose destined to be a warrior, but chooses not to be and alters Cahan's too.

It might be a bit challenging for me to tell how the paths of these three crossed each other. There is a need to slowly start reading to fully understand the tale and the rules in Barker's fictional world.

I liked the story and the characters were so well-developed! I don't want to give anything away, but the way magic and heroes were portrayed was really fresh and unique. Even though it's a long read that is not fast-paced and has not many events, I think the gradual exploration of the world is totally worth it.

My huge thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK, Orbit via NetGalley for giving me a chance to read book one in The Forsaken Trilogy, Gods of the Wyrdwood. I have given my honest review.

Thankyou to the Little Brown Book group and NetGalley for the ARC.

DNF at 50%

I tried really hard to like this book and push through but in the end it just really wasn't for me and I found myself reading out of obligation rather than enjoyment,

The idea of this story is intriguing, a world in which there are many old gods who routinely get supplanted and replaced by the new "true" god. It also poses the question of what happens to a chosen one when, after being plucked from obscurity, they have been replaced and have to go back to being a nobody again, again an intriguing premise. I also liked how the behemoth of a forest was portrayed and the relationship Cahan has with it, it was spooky, mysterious and awe inspiring. The knowledge and respect Cahan has with nature was nice to see, especially in a world which seems to have largely forgotten these skills.

The problem is although this story sounds like it should be interesting I just found I was rarely engaging with it.. The books first issue is that it is very frontloaded with new terms for a variety of people, animals, places and religious/political figures which are never really explained properly and you have to kind of piece together scraps of information throughout to figure out exactly what exactly these terms mean.. Now for some this would be great I'm sure, but for me it left me confused and spending a lot of mental energy trying to figure out basic aspects of world building left me with little to put into actually engaging with the plot and characters. It made reading this book feel like work rather than pleasure.

The plot itself was passable, there are no major dramatic inciting incidents in the section I read, there is instead a series of smaller obstacles our characters must overcome, now this is an interesting idea as most stories feature some big dramatic inciting incident that throws protagonists out of their depth so the concept of doing something a bit different is cool. The problem is that this low-key plot coupled with the effort needed to piece together the worldbuilding made it even harder to engage.

Now I'm a character focused reader at heart, so give me some amazing characters and I can forgive a lot of sins. The characters in this story were half decent, no-one that I would say I was particularly attached to but at least none of them were annoying or unlikeable when they weren't supposed to be Of particular note were two of the female characters Udinny and Kirven and Kirven's child Venn who I enjoyed reading about the most, helpful since Kirven was the other pov character.

Overall this was a book that I really wanted to like, that I tried so hard to keep going with but just didn't enjoy.

My thanks to Little Brown Book group and NetGalley for giving me a fre eARC of "Gids ot the Wyrdwood" by R. J. Barker.
This is my second atempt to read this author. (The first was with "The Bone Ships".)
I will say that the worldbuliding is a truly unique one with fascinating creatures.
While I consider myself to be an advanced reader in the Fantasy genre, I'll have to admit that I desperately needed a glossary for the many terms used in this book.
The book started well with the main hero being selected for the role of the chosen one in the prologue. In the first chapter we see him at an older age, an adult living in seclusion. This part was quite charming. But then we switch not only POVs but also timelines. This increased the difficulty of an already complex book.
So I decided to wait for my physical copy and to start from the begining. I do hope it contains a glossary, but eve if it does not, I will try my best because there is some great atmosphere in the actual forest.
I deffinetely recommend "Goods of the Wyrdwood" to advanced, patient Fantasy readers.

I may have finished this book, but it finished me too.

I heard a lot of good things about R. J. Barker and have been meaning to pick up his books for a while. This turned out to be the first, but not the last.

I'm pleasantly surprised, I could tell from the first page that it would be a good read, and it just kept getting better and better as it went on.

It was a bit confusing at the start, as are all fantasy books, but I never felt like I was being info-dumped on. Things were revealed slowly, new ones added just when you got used to everything that came before so it wasn't overwhelming.

I loved the world building, it made the book for me. There's a spooky forest with tons of creepy crawlies that have a mind of their own. But, they won't hurt you unless if you hurt them.

The respect Cahan gives to said forest is admirable, he was also raised in it for a portion of his life. He knows it so well that the villagers call him the Forester. They're distrustful of him at the beginning, but by the end of the book they accept him as one of their own.

So you could say there's a found family theme throughout the book, not just with the villagers but also with Udinny, a monk of a forgotten God, and Venn a trion who desperately wants to escape their destiny.

I loved all three of them equally, maybe Cahan a tiny bit more than the other two because we knew him the longest, but they're all very dear to my heart.

All three of them have very important roles to play in the battle at the end of the book, and all the build up was worth it. That last third passed by in a flash and when it was over I wanted more.

Now I have no idea how I'm supposed to wait for the next books??? Especially with that reveal at the end. I was suspecting something would happen, but not LIKE THAT.

I literally finished the book last night and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I woke up. It has found a permanent residence in my head.

I also have to mention the magic system, it's as interesting as the world building. There were a few times when Cahan used his Cowl in the book, it was fascinating. I really can't wait to see what he does with it next.

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

4.75 Stars!

Synopsis: Cahan du Nahare was the 'Chosen One', or so he was told. Cahan lives on the outskirts of Harn, clanless, isolated, alone. But when the Cowl-Rai come for him, Cahan must make a choice - does he keep running or does he fight?

CW/TW: Death/Murder/Violence/War/Body Horror/Mass Killings/Mass Killings of Trions/Mass Killings of those with magic/Imprisonment/Others may be present...

Rep: Queer Characters | Trions - Non-binary characters

RJ Barker's books never cease to amaze me! I absolutely fell in love with The Tide Child Trilogy and could not wait for this series to drop - and the wait was worth it!

In classic Barker style, we get thrown right into this world, no hand-holding, no heavy info-dumps, just straight into this brutal and creepy world and I loved it! I found it quite easy to fall into, even when I didn't know what was going on! The world is just so immersive that being thrown in just works.

Speaking of immersion, Barker's prose is gorgeous. This book is dark and creepy and violent, but there is also a beauty and richness hidden beneath the cruelty and I adored it. The prose was rich and detailed, creating the perfect contrast between the cruelty and vitality of the woods, the humanity of the people, and the nature of the magic. Despite the complexity and depth of the prose, the book was an easy read because of the immersion created, that combined with the shorter chapter lengths worked well to maintain pace and intrigue. The story does start of slow before throwing us into the main crux of it but I liked how this was done. It gave us time to learn about the characters and the world in a more natural way and kept us curious as to where the story was going.

The story is told from multiple POV's, which worked well given the different characters,, their positions and the plot pacing. Cahan is the primary narrative, which I loved. There are two other main POV's, and a third recurring yet mysterious POV. Each POV worked well to compliment the others, to give us insight into different parts of this world, and to build tension - I enjoyed them all!

The actual story was fascinating, I don't want to spoil it so I'll keep this brief but Cahan seems to end up in many a difficult situations but at the core of the story is him and his past. Cahan is running from who and what he was suppose to be, but now his past is catching up to him.

The magic systems is deeply intwined within the story. The people once believe in many Gods, until the Cowl-Rai came and now one God is the only legitimate one, to worship others is to be seen as a criminal. However, this legitimate God and the Cowl-Rai and cruel and violent, their magic feared and brutal. But the Gods of the forest are not necessarily gone, the forest lives and breathes and writhes - and Cahan knows how to respect the forest. But the people do not. The people have forgotten the forest Gods, but they have not forgotten to fear the forest and woods. It is much better to go into this book with fresh eyes, but the magic is so interesting and unique, from the Cowl-Rai to the forest and I loved it. The viciousness of the Cowl-Rai was brutal and terrifying. The vitality and cruelty of the forest was captivating and intriguing building a sense of unease and wonder all at once. I loved watching the magic develop as the story went on, learning about new aspects of it and just how deep it all goes! I cannot wait to see how the series progresses.

Now as a CW, in order to become a Cowl-Rai there is a test, we specifically see this with the Trion. They are killed en masse and the chances of survival are slim to none. Trions are gender neutral characters in this world - and so I wanted to include this as a CW.

Characters do not shy away from commenting on the cruelty of this world, the God, the Magic, but they are also very human and there is a spectrum of ways people deal with this - it made the world very real and raw.

As for the characters- I loved Cahan but this poor man wrecked my anxiety! His harsh exterior and solitary lifestyle makes him seem cold and detached but he is more of a softy than he admits and his good nature causes him to end up in many difficult situations. Cahan makes mistakes, he is flawed, imperfect and human but I loved his character. I felt for him.

There are a LOT of other characters that I could tell you about but I think it's best to meet them in the story!! From the thieving priestess, to the Trion who refuses to kill, to the cruelly determined Cowl-Rai, this cast of characters is full of depth and makes it hard to trust anyone!

Overall, Gods Of The Wyrdwood is another triumph from the author. Dark, compelling, and captivating - this rich fantasy is perfect for those who love high, heavy fantasy with darkness in its roots.

*I received an eARC via Netgalley from Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review - Thank you!!*

Book review: Gods of the Wyrd Wood by R.J. Barker
4.5/5 stars

Out June 29th

In Gods of 4he Wyrd Wood R.J. Baker spins a tale about Cahan, a forester, a hermit and one of the strongest magic users in his world. Cahan's world is ruled by the Rai. Magic users like Cahan who get their power from pain and torture, feeding this to a being they carry inside called a cowl. Cahan wants nothing of this and has taken to the mysterious Woods. These Woods are filled with wonder, danger and actual gods. Purely by accident Cahan starts making friends and gets pulled back into the world he tried his best to leave behind.

Gods of the Wyrdwood is not for everyone. The storytelling is slow and maybe it meanders a bit to much, giving it a an uneven feel in the pacing department It is a classic reluctant hero story though.

Where it shines is its world building. The titular Wyrd Woods feel truly magical and are explained in vivid detail. Barker build an entire ecosystem from scratch. He teaches us that nature should be respected and what happens if you corrupt it.

The mystery of Cahan's past and his growth as a person is the second gem in this book. You understand his motivations and see him go from unapproachable hermit, to lovable giant, to fierce warrior. The friends he makes and protects are also integral to the mystery of the world. A mystery that by the end of the book you have only grasped a part of.

I'm very much looking forward to the next instalment and will be going back to R.J Barker's other series Tideships to see what else he is capable of.

Recommended for fans of classic fantasy with intricate world building.

Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It took some time for this book to take off. We are all but thrown in this world with little to no explanation. But once I got the hang of the world and its magic, I flew through the story.

Let me reteriate, the world-building and the magic here is some of the most unique that I have read. It's dark, edgy and full of dangers. It's steeped in religious fanatiscm and cruelty of those in power. And because there's no hand holding on the author's part, I had a great time piecing everything together. It felt challenging in a way that I haven't found most of my recent reads to be.

The characters too takes their time but they eventually grew on me. I loved how raw the relationship development between characters felt. The main character is someone who has a lot of power but chooses not to exercise them. As a result, he is always in this dilemma especially, when it comes to safety of those he has come to care about. His struggle to choose between the easy path and the right path is a constant throughout the book. He also has severe trust issues and tries to remain aloof, so seeing him slowly open up, make friends and fight for them was truly amazing.

The ending is explosive and that plot twist has me so excited for the sequel.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book to read early in exchange for an honest review.

Gods of the Wyrdwood: The Forsaken is a title that really caught my attention but I was very surprised at how little the blurb gave away. It made me curious and as I have never read any of RJ Barker's previous works, had no idea what lay in wait for me.
This trilogy is set in the harsh, cruel land of Crua, full of war, famine and an underlying taste of corruption. Thousands of Gods await you, they take everything and give little in return. The balance of power is constantly tipping and if you're not careful you'll be consumed by those whose hands are stained in it.
If you love high fantasy world building, this is the book for you. This world is rich and unique, just the right measure of alienated creatures and plants, while still retaining something familiar, almost comforting. Despite the dangers I found myself wanting to walk among the ancient Wyrdwood, to be enlightened to the names and motives behind each and every God, all while learning how it feels to be one of few gifted by the Gods, a magic referred to as a Cowl. The world building is truly what bound me to this book and is in my opinion the best thing about it. That and the LGBTQ+ representation, which is something I value highly.
In this world there are men, women and trions, those who are described as existing between man and women, going by they/them. It is normal in the world for queer, multi-partnered relationships, which I absolutely adore and would love to explore in greater depth. As an added bonus, gender plays no role in worth or job. Be you man, woman or trion, anyone can work a job they show skill in, and all will be called to fight in the wars the powerful play.
However, this book is a slow burn and I can understand how its slow, sometimes confusing pacing can be off putting to some. There is far more emphasis on the world building itself then there is on the story or characters. Our main character Cahan for instance, is not all that interesting or remarkable. But I was able to forgive this as we gain small glimpses into his past through scattered passages throughout the book. He also goes through a noticeable transformation, thanks to the people he meets and the events that build the foundation for what is to come later in the trilogy. Reflecting on it now, I feel that Cahan is less about an interesting, heroic character that we fall in love with but instead simply a means to act as a catalyst and storyteller.
Overall I'm going to give Gods of the Wyrdwood a 4 out of 5, as there seems to be a great ambition to the world building, more then what can be fitted into one singular book. While the story and characters don't feel like there is any great depth to them so far, I hope that going forward the rest of the trilogy will take the foundation set here and build something detailed and exquisite. If not, the world building itself is enough to have me coming back for more.

RJ Barker is a god at worldbuilding. This was a brilliant novel, and I was lost in the world of unfamiliar animals, dangerous fauna and, where the biggest monsters humans fear aren't what should scare but rather other humans. Cahan is desperate to live and be left alone but fights with his innate power and the despite to be good and do good things. It's a lovely conflict to watch where he has to hold back from being the hero to survive but wants things to be better. He wants the world to be kinder, but it's not, and we watch that over and over. The worldbuilding is stunning, the characters varied, and the action dark. Venn, Udinny, they all have their own voices and goals, and we see the world narrow as the cycle of the Gods refuses to cease. I look forward to the rest of the trilogy.

RJ Barker's Gods of the Wyrdwood caught my eye and became an anticipated read of 2023. I've never read any of their previous books, but the general praise has been positive, so I went into this with high expectations.

The northlands of Crua are locked in eternal winter, but prophecy tells of the chosen child – who will rule in the name of their God and take warmth back from the South. Cahal du Nahere was raised to be this person: the Cowl-Rai, the saviour. Taken from his parents and prepared for his destiny.
But his time never came.
When he was fifteen, he ceased to matter. Another Cowl-Rai had risen, another chosen one, raised in the name of a different God. The years of vicious physical and mental training he had endured, the sacrifice, all for nothing. He became nothing.
Twenty years later, and Cahal lives a life of secrecy on the edges of Crua’s giant forests – hiding what he is, running from what he can do. But when he is forced to reveal his true nature, he sets off a sequence of events that will reveal secrets that will shake the bedrock of his entire world, and expose lies that have persisted for generations.

I have to say that the world-building was a perfect start and RJ Barker succeeded in developing a deeply rich world that throws you right in with no handholding. The description of the landscapes, creatures and the worlds inhabitants ranged from mystical to magical and this was my favourite part of the novel.

For the plot itself, this was a slow build up and the story was confusing at the start. There were sections that felt like a side-quest in the overall story and other parts that should have been expanded upon. There are certain things that are supposed to be understood just because they are mentioned and others that have yet to come into light. I'm hoping the rest of the series delves deeper into this, but it felt like it was trying too hard to be mysterious when really all I wanted was an explanation.

The characters themselves felt flat at times. The main character wasn't particularly interesting, nor did they bring anything different to the "troubled past, keeping to themselves" trope. The investment wasn't there and whilst other characters were written better, I felt no connection to these and it felt like the characters had no chemistry. The dialogue felt more information-filled, and the pacing was dragging. More story, less description seemed to be a common thought throughout this and whilst I appreciate fantasy stories have to build a foundation, I felt no engagement to this.

The best parts of the novel where when Barker described the Wyrdwood and it's a shame that nothing else clicked with me because I was looking forward to this. This novel was supposed to take us on a wild ride throughout the Wyrdwood and it's unfortunate that the story was in the back seat throughout it all.