4.5/5 stars! This is the second installment in the Forsaken series by R.J. Barker. Book 1 was one of my top reads of 2023, so I was super excited to get a chance to read this book. It didn't disappoint. This book picked up right where Gods of Wyrdwood left off, with the stakes exceptionally high for survivors of the finale. I loved the character development and at times would reread passages just to feel like I was living this alongside them. Looking forward to book 3.

Reviewed by Elloise Hopkins for the British Fantasy Society:

Cahan du Nahere was Cowl-Rai, chosen as a god’s saviour, though he shunned that future and chose to live as a hermit on the edges of the Wyrdwood. Now Cahan finds himself as the last chance for the people of Harn. With their village destroyed, and the Rai, powerful leaders of Crua, no doubt planning a return to kill the remaining villagers, Cahan, who they named the forester, is the only one who can take them into the Wyrdwood to make a new home, far away from the Rai. Cahan knows the forest well, but there are secrets even he cannot answer, and the journey will not be an easy one.

The trion, Venn, saved Cahan and now travels with him, though both are missing the monk, Udinny, who accompanied them before. Having spent many years ignoring his Cowl, suppressing its magic, then being forced to use it to save the people of Harn, Cahan struggles to resist its desire for power. In the aftermath of winning that battle, Cahan is about to discover something else that will change him.

Rai Sorha has vowed vengeance on Cahan, after he destroyed her Cowl. She survived, and she will find him, even if it means stalking him through the darkest depths of the Wyrdwood. She may have no power of her own to call on anymore, but she is determined to stop him from using his. Elsewhere, Saradis, Skua-Rai of the god Tarl-an-Gig, like Sorha, has no cowl of her own, but she too has power she can wield over others. And she too, maintains an interest in Cahan du Nahere.

Warlords of Wyrdwood, second in The Forsaken Trilogy, tracks Cahan and his companions, and Sorha as she follows, as they navigate the terrifying dangers of the forest in search of a new home. Barker’s world-building weaves in rich descriptions of the strange creatures, and their interactions with our protagonists, and also expertly crafts the many characters, and the bonds and clashes between them, to keep the story humming with tension and conflict.

The other narrative threads work towards the confrontation between Cahan and his former High Priestess, Saradis, so we see her plotting amidst Rai society in Crua. We also have a point of view from Udinny the monk, who we know from the first book, and we meet Dassit, a Trunk Commander working for the Rai, who becomes tied up in the greater story. Most interesting perhaps is Ont, the butcher from Harn, who comes into his own as his life transitions into the Wyrdwood.

With so many different characters narrating so many parts of the story, there is a lot to keep track of, and we can be hugely grateful for the backstory at the beginning. As we reach the end of this book, the reader is given much more of an insight into Crua, the forest, the gods, and how they are all connected. It has been said before, but this truly is a unique world that offers a surprise with every new chapter, and promises an epic conclusion.

I think I might have liked this better than the first book! You're thrown right back in following what happened in book one. The characters are just as great with lots of change and growth, the story feels like a true journey with twists and turns you don't expect

Warlords of Wyrdwood by R.J. Barker is the second book in the Forsaken trilogy, and is stronger than the first. The setting is still excellent, and expanded upon for this instalment, with some big reveals, although there is still much that lies in mystery (and I expect some of it to continue to do so, given Barker's last series). I think this series delivers some solid epic fantasy with a unique setting, although I found the 'struggling with a dark power' plotline a little over-done. I'll definitely pick up the final instalment.

Probably the best fantasy book I've read this year. A proper trip through the unique imagination of RJ Barker, who is shaping up to be one of the great fantasy authors of our time.

10/10

This was good. It didn't have the page turning story of book 1, but the character arcs and growth were well done.

Ont really came into his own

This has set us up for a grandstand finale

I really enjoyed the first book in the series, which back then was likened to "Princess Mononoke" and thus, obviously, became an instant must-read for me. It's not Mononoke, just to put it out here, but there are certain similarities in parts of the world building, the vibes and some story beats, which are only strenghtened by the second book in the series, "Warlords of Wyrdwood".

What I really enjoyed as soon as I opened the first page is - there's a "previously on" section! It's been a while since I read the first book, and while I did remember most of the bigger story elements, I loved the quick refresher. Honestly, more fantasy series should do this.

Once the story starts, it basically picks up right where we left in book one. The sequel focuses much more on the forestals, which I really enjoyed because Wyrdwood remains to be a fascinating setting and the greatest character in the series. The stakes are amped up, the world building becomes even bigger and the characters develop in at times really unexpected ways.
Cahan is still an amazing protagonist, even though, quite frankly, I could have gone without the (very tiny) romance subplot of his because as badass as Furin is, she's not really a fully fleshed-out, all too interesting character. She felt more like a plot convenience at times to get Cahan to go to a certain place and do a certain thing. Venn still is incredibly intriguing, but I also still feel like they're waiting for their big actual role in the series. What there is and how they develop is interesting, but there's too little time spent on them and the relationships they develop. I can wait, though, because I just know the story is building them up to have some amazing character development and moments that, hopefully, will also allow them more agency. Udinny is also back, and I won't spoil too much but while her part of the story is mostly a secluded one that rarely interacts with the main story, it's amazing and I love her. And then there's Sorha, my beautiful Sorha, who is about to become my favourite character. I'm just a sucker for her kind of character development. There are more characters as well, and maybe there could have been one less pov, but all in all the characters are still a big hit.

Now, I didn't love all of what we got in this sequel. Are there still too many tentacles for my liking? Yes. Are the villains a bit cartoonish in their actions, do the action sequences sometimes veer into more flashy anime-esque vibes? Sure. But it's fun, it's exciting, and it mostly fits the kind of unique world Barker built.

It will most likely take you some time to really get into this series because there's a lot of very dense world building and exposition especially in book 1, but it's worth it. The world is so unique and atmospheric, the characters convincing and actually integral to the plot (as opposed to the plot just happening to the characters, as is often the case), the writing is superb and the ending will leave you frothing at the mouth.
Book 3 when?

This book built on so much of what was laid in book 1 and I f*cking loved it.

The characters grew on me more and more. Some I hated I ended up loving. The world grew in size and complexity. The plot threads and twists. Cahan and his arc the decisions he was making had me at the edge of my seat.

My favourite part has to be the world though (and Ont. I f*cking LOVE Ont) how it expands things we learn with the characters. Expertly done and I cannot wait for the next book.

A series that should be in everyone’s radar.

if you liked the first book, you might like this one.
since the first book was not the best for me, I was excited to see how this would go. I would say it had some pacing issues, and the story was not bad, but also not the best. I still recommend it to fans of high fantasy.

Fantastic second instalment. I really love this series, and how it addresses such serious topics, but has such a strong sense of community, and existence within a world that is as alien and animal, as it is human. Like the first, Barker really captures the relatable human condition, but he also creates something that feels so uniquely in its own world. 4 stars.

I am so glad I re-read the first book before reading this one. It wasn’t the easiest book to get into but there’s so much setting up done, that it was worthwhile to refresh my memory before going into book two.

I found Warlords of Wyrdwood to be a lot easier to get into than Gods of the Wyrdwood. There was so much to take in that it felt like a long time before I was truly enjoying it. By the end, though, I was completely invested in the story.

Warlords of Wyrdwood builds on the events of book one in a very interesting way and I found it very compelling. The POV characters have expanded in this book giving some nice new perspectives and interesting new characters to get to know. I will admit, simply because he was the main POV in book one, I am most interested in his journey and, occasionally, I felt like his narrative was getting lost in the new characters. His chapters were the best, though.

Much like all his books, Barker has a real strength with worldbuilding. All of his worlds feel very unique and I love the forest setting of this series. It’s dark and unsettling and the tone works perfectly in this series. I was never sure where the story was going to go. It definitely kept me hooked.

I really enjoyed Warlords of Wyrdwood. It built on the first book and pushed the story forward in a satisfying way. I loved the characters, I loved the world, the writing and the action. It was a very enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to seeing how it continues in the next book.

3,5 stars

Warlords of Wyrdwood was one of the books I was anticipating this Fall as I quite enjoyed Gods of the Wyrdwood. Somehow I'm a little dissapointed in this book. That doesn't make this a bad book. It just means I have high expectations for R.J. Barker.

We come into the story as Cahan is leading the townfolk through the forest towards the wyrdwood. In true Cahan fashion, he is not being very communicative. He knows where he has to lead them but the townfolk don't understand. The hunt for him and Venn hasn't gone down though and that doesn't make an potential life easier. In the midst of that he is also dealing with his own troubles.

What I struggled with in this book was that the first half was a bit of a slog to get through. Once we pass the midway point the story truly starts going and gains momentum. I'm all for building up a story. But I found this hard to keep my attention. There were more different point of views which made it hard to get into the story again. Especially because I didn't care about some of them. Udinny's story was drawn out for instance.

Another aspect was that I struggled a little with Cahan here. I just wanted to slap him. He is dealing with so much and he is not talking. Not even a little. He's going down such a dark path but nobody seems to be able to truly see what is going on. Nobody really confronts him and he doesn't share one ounce of information. It feels like he took such a step back as a character and I found that hard to see.

However I did enjoy getting the point of view of Venn nearing the end. Through other eyes we see him grown into his role and by the end of this book he is truly standing as his own. I also loved getting Ont's point of view. From that annoying butcher to a supportive and open person to a monk that has a path to follow. He becomes embraced by the Wyrdwood. Something I never thought I'd see from someone like him.

So yes I was a little dissapointed in the first half of this book. The second half makes up for a lot of that though. It starts to unravel the plot and give us more information that is important. I can't wait to see what will happen in this conclusion.

The middle volume in a trilogy is often the bridge book. The books that get characters and plots from Book 1 to Book 2. They can be very plot heavy, and they can’t deliver the maximum payoff until Book 3. Its rarer when we get a book that changes what we expect from the first instalment makes us see characters and the world they’re in in a different light. In the engrossing Warlords of Wyrdwood by RJ Barker we get an ambitious challenging read that delivers a very very different kind of story to your average epic fantasy and yet the reward is a fascinating expansion of the world and cast we thought we were getting in the first book.

A recap of where we have got to. Cahan a reserved and grumpy farmer was hiding a secret from all those around him he was actually once groomed for huge power. To be effectively a representative of one of the gods of Cruaa – the Cowl-Rai. But he ran never got that chance to be dark and powerful. That was not his life…until the magic wielding Rai found out he was alive and hunted him to kill him. Cahan and a impish monk named Udinny join up with the young but powerful Venn as they flee and events led them to the small town of Harn. There was a mighty battle and Cahan had to use the power of the Wyrdwood forest to stop an enemy army in their tracks. There was a huge cost. Cahan is drained of energy, Udinny is dead, and the villagers and small band are not lost in an ancient forest with pursuit about to begin.

In science fiction and fantasy there is a lot of debate on worldbuilding. The art of creating these real imaginary worlds on the page and in their heads. Increasingly I’m not sure often that this is always the skill of the author. If a book indicates this is a medieval town; a regency city or a cyberpunk future there is enough cultural memory in the reader’s head to help fill in the landscape. What makes it harder is when we get something a bit different and Warlords of the Wyrdwood does just that. In the first story the focus is very much on Cahan and his small group and the Wyrdwood is a fascinating huge and ancient forest filled with exotic fantasy and fauna. There is a touch of Robin Hood with outlaws that Cahan meet and give ambivalent support to. It was easy enough to expect we’d get a similar stye tale with added rebellion against the cruel Rai. Instead, we get a story with a completely different feel that actually makes us see the Wyrdwood and the wider world of Cruaa very very differently. Barker gives us challenge both in terms of the characters storylines that we follow in the first half of the book and then the secrets of the world opening up new and strange sites that mean we can’t rely as easily on that collective memory. Gentle reader this book is going to make you work a little to put the pieces together and yet the reward is going to be so worth it because this was the kind of book you have to immerse yourself Iin and by the end you’ll really feel you know this place.

Just when we think Cahan will be our main surviving character we spend the first book moving around eight key characters we’ve met from the first book. Some on Cahan’s side and some working for the evil rai who rule and fight over Cruaa. Under the way we have Cahan’s main antagonist from the first novel Sorha who was his main pursuer and has after the last book lost her power but burns with revenge. We also follow Saradis the unofficial leader of the Rai who has her own dark plan to bring her god back into supreme power and her assassin-magician henchman Laha. We also focus a lot on the non-magical but skilled tactician captain Dassit who the Rai both look down upon but use for the toughest battles – one of the most interesting characters in the Rai as we g ourselves slightly admiring her early on and she has a key part to play in the whole story.

Within the forest we have Venn – a young character only just realising how powerful they are, then there is. Then we have one of my new favourite characters - Ont. One of the villagers who made Cahan’s life hard in the first book but now shaken by the events of the first book and wants to do a lot better as Udinny has passed away. Ont has one of the most fascinating arcs in the story and falls into that interesting pot of Barker characters who initially are disliked and now get to know a lot better. Then we have at the heart again Cahan. Cahan felt very much the reluctant hero with power but dislikes to use it and get involved. That is no longer an option and finding himself now responsible for the villagers of Harn. Typically, in fantasy, you’d usually expect to see Cahan becoming a strong leader in these kinds of books and initially that feels the case but then one desperate act completely changes Cahan’s path and in many ways starts the next part of this story and heralds the last instalment to come. Cahan is very much on a dark path and can become lost if he’s not too careful – it wasn’t what I was expecting at all and Cahan becomes now sometimes frustrating, sometimes sympathetic but always compelling when his part of the story resumes. The first half of the book rotates through these many characters sometimes the story lines are feeling separate and only midway do many of them intersect revealing a bigger plotline to come. With so many it can be a bit like momentum is stop start but this is a bit like a juggler making us focus on one item at a time and eventually we notice the whole sequence coming together. Oh… silly me I forgot we also get to hear from the dead Udinny too – and that is very much allowing me to talk about how the world we knew as Cruaa is even more interesting than I thought It was.

I thought for obvious reasons Wyrdwood was going to be the main attraction of these stories, but Barker is actually expanding outwards, upwards, downwards and even into the metaphysical with this part of the story. Wyrdwood remains with its deadly wildlife, strange godly inhabitants and the rogue Forestrals with bows and arrows making this feel like a bigger more mystical Sherowood but Barker has a bigger game afoot. With Cahan’s past and now resumed powers we start to enter the bigger world of magic that the Cowl-Rai, the Wyrdwood and the gods that Udinny followed all coming to the fore. The forest has new secrets I was not expecting to be revealed. We venture outside to the endless wars of the Rai and then Barker has fascinating truly strange fantastical sights. There is a place called the Slowlands on the borders of the world where if you walk into, you’ll be trapped in forever slow motion, aging and becoming a standing skeleton – eerie, wrong and very much a new kind of horror. We venture to the tops of the immense trees and even down to the roots of the world where secrets await. With Udinny’s part of the tale as a spirit we find a metaphysical world where life and death are powers out of sync; where cycles of history may be repeating themselves and immense powers are at war using various agents to deliver their moves. Our cast may or may not be linked to this. It’s a world using ideas as the secret web of trees that messages pass through and creating an immense magical version of it that controls life itself and the world is now sick and at risk of something truly terrible happening.

Coming back to that worldbuilding you’re not here going to see many places that feel familiar to many other epic fantasy worlds. Barker drops hints and images, but we are in new territory having to piece it all together with little frame of reference which can make it a hard read but I love books that make me work in the deep end and finding secret worlds underground and in the branches of skyscraper like trees or strange magical god realms is just fascinating and the reward is finding how it all comes together. Barker even gives us a sequence from a character who cannot see and we have to experience the world briefly through their perspective and that’s the kind of new reading experience I am here for. All that laying the ground in the first half comes together as we understand the world, these characters and then the paths cross and lead to surprising alliances and decisions that if you told me in book 1 would happen then I’d had raised eyebrows sharply. But as I’ve been on the journey; understand their decisions even if I don’t always agree with them, they still make sense and by the end I am so invested for what awaits us. In many ways it reminds me of The Bone Ships where the first novel sacrifices pace in the first half to allow the bigger adventure and world to be understood before moving into top gear. It is an unusual choice for the second part of a trilogy but actually as I’d got to care already about Cahan in Gods of Wyrdwood I was prepared t trust the author. That really pays off

Warlords of Wyrdwood is not a simple fantasy book but its an imaginative and daring read that does things differently. It holds together as Barker’s writing is never dull – try reading a few action sequences aloud and the language flows up and down beautifully with pace and gives the story tempo grace and something to savour. The world is fascinating and by the end of the book, yes we have moved to setting up the conclusion but the world of Cruaa and Wyrdwood is very much different to what I thought it was and that means for me the kind of read I love to get my teeth into. It was a read I heartily recommend for lovers of Barker’s work and who enjoy creative fantasy worlds. Strongly recommended!

Warlords of Wyrdwood is the second book in the Forsaken trilogy. It was a fantastic sequel to the Gods of Wyrdwood and built on the world and characters fantastically. I really enjoyed seeing more of this world. The characters are all well written and there some amazing character development in this sequel. The writing is great and the plot is compelling throughout. I would highly recommend checking this series out.

The Warlords of Wyrdwood is the second book in RJ Barker’s Forsaken Trilogy and I was grateful to receive an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have heard a lot about RJ Barker and although I own other books by him the Forsaken Trilogy is my first experience of his work. Narratively the second book picks up where the first one left off, however the it expand greatly in breadth and depth.

Without doubt my favourite element of this novel is the wood itself. Barker brings the wood to life and worldbuilding in this book is unique to say the least. Throughout the second book the author consolidates and further explains a lot of the lore that was previously introduced.

Not only does the world expand but the cast also, we get introduced to a number of new characters and some we meet previously in book 1 take, that take on some bigger roles here. Two specifically have wonderfully developed arcs and have become favourites.

The impact of this however is the three previous main characters were really overshadowed and for me they all go it slightly awkward directions.

Cahan maintains a big lead role but I wasn’t overly engaged with him, I didn’t fully see the motivation behind the romantic relationship. It seemed quite abrupt to me.

Udinny takes on a more metaphysical role, which I enjoyed, but struggled squaring this with the more comical character that she was in book 1.

Venn really fades into the background, and as someone who I’m led to believe will play a big part in concluding this tale she does very little in book 2 at all.

I felt the book was longer than it needed to be, and the pacing a little strange. The last 20% I really had to concentrate to get through. A fascinating world, some interesting ideas however I’m not really compelled by the story.

The Forsaken trilogy is fast becoming a must-read for fantasy fans that want to become fully engrossed in a world and its lore. The scope and ambition of the series is impressive, and Warlords of Wyrdwood builds on the strong characters and worldbuilding of the first book wonderfully.

The world of Crua is expanded in Warlords to include other areas not explored in book one - part of the story pushes south to explore the war Tilt is waging against the southern forces, whilst plenty of the book also plunges further into the Wyrdwood to the north. We even get to explore the ‘Slowlands’ that lie to the east and west (which form some of the most inventive and terrifying worldbuilding I’ve read in recent times).

RJ Barker’s character work is extremely impressive in Warlords - not only does the story follow a large pool of characters at this stage, the vast majority of them get fleshed-out and interesting story arcs! This especially goes for all POV characters, including all returning characters, several minor figures stepping into the limelight with their own chapters, and a few brand new faces. A common theme across many characters is a crisis of faith, as they attempt to compute the unprecedented changes happening to the world whilst retaining everything they believe in. When combined with the expanded view of the world, the epic scale of the book becomes clear - there is SO MUCH going on, with interesting characters and engaging plotlines wherever you look.

I was low-key relieved to find a ‘recap of book one’ chapter at the start, as I had definitely forgotten chunks of lore since reading the first entry - I would love to see a glossary in book three, as I feel the volume of terminology can be a bit overwhelming. It’s arguably an unfair criticism of an epic fantasy series such as this, and not everyone would agree a glossary would be necessary; personally, I’d rather have one at the back just in case! Thank you to NetGalley and to Orbit Books for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review!

Right! It’s time to go down to the Wyrdwood again to see how Cahan Du Nahere and the folk from Harn are getting on after the events of Book 1.

After the Battle of Harn, it is down to Cahan to lead the survivors to safety, and that means travelling deeper into the Wyrdwood so that they can avoid recriminations of the Cowl -Rai.

It’s without a doubt that R. J. Barker is one of the most original British fantasy writer around at the moment. His world building is vibrant, ethereal and strange, with The Forsaken trilogy being one of his most original yet, with the first book collecting more stars than the Milky Way in praise of Gods of Wyrdwood.

So, how does the second one in the series contend with the first one? Well…….. it’s alright. I know that I am probably going to be in the minority here and that everyone else is going to be loving it, but I just found it a bit of a slog. Especially the first half. I mean, you know that when you are considering chucking it in and starting something else, all is not well.

Don’t get me wrong, all those things that I loved in the first book were still there, the fantastic world building, Barker’s original prose and his wonderful strangeness. However, what was missing was my ability to care, especially for the first half of the book where it felt like I was trudging through the Wyrdwood myself. In addition to that, I wasn’t overly struck on the inclusion of the additional points of view. I liked some of them, Ont’s in particular, but the rest of them I could take them or leave them to be honest, and I didn’t see any point to Udinny’s pov at all.

Now please don’t think I hated the book because I didn’t. I really liked the second half of the book (although, I did think the ending was predictable) and zipped through that, it’s just that it was a mixed bag for me.

So! All in all, I thought Warlords of Wyrdwood was good, but not as good as I hoped.

Unfortunately I am DNFing this one at 65%. I lost attention, and I found that I didn't actually care that I'd lost attention. To me, that is a sign of a DNF. It's probably my fault, because I was on my phone while I was listening to this audio, but it just felt very slow and didn't grip me. And when I'm 375/600 pages into a sequel and not interested, that's the sign. I did like the POV changes, and the new POV that we got in this book. I enjoyed Udinny the most because she was like a breath of fresh air, but her chapters felt few and far between. I'll pick up other Barker books, but unfortunately that's it for this series.

Warlords of Wyrdwood is the second book in RJ Barker’s Forsaken trilogy. It does what all good middle books do: broadens out the world that readers were given hints of in book 1 - Gods of the Wyrdwood, deepens and complicates the relationship between the main characters and antagonists and sets everything up for an epic finale. Being the second book of a trilogy this review may contain some minor spoilers for the first book. Lovers of big epic fantasy should start there.
Warlords of Wyrdwood begins soon after the end of the previous book. The people of the village of Harn have been driven from the home that they tried valiantly to protect. Their saviour, Cahan, is now leading them into the forest and ultimately into Wyrdwood, trying to teach them how to be safe along the way. They are protected by the mercurial Forestals who keep secrets of their own and on their tail in the only survivor of the attack, Sorha, a woman with a grudge to bear against Cahan. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a soldier called Dassit is being sent to her death but decides not to be a victim and the evil Saradis is plotting the return of her destructive god Zorir.
That is just the set up for a book that digs deep into the lore of the world that Barker has created and is full of action, betrayal and reverses. While Cahan was the centre of the first book, in Warlords of Wyrdwood the mix of points of view seem much more evenly spread. This is a reflection of the breadth of the action, and the range of places that Barker needs characters to be. But is also a relief as Cahan begins the novel by taking a dark path and becomes more exasperating in his recalcitrance as he is faced with greater and greater trials.
As already mentioned, this is the middle book of a trilogy. Barker does give a short summary to bring readers up to speed (it has been a year since the first volume) but expects that readers are familiar with the terminology and the various factions and just need a few reminders of where the action is up to. And because there is less set up to accommodate, this volume has plenty more action and more revelations. But among all of this, Barker never loses sight of his characters and their relationships, mixing and matching them to great effect. And leaves the whole enterprise with a downbeat, potentially world ending cliffhanger which cannot help but bring readers back for more.

R.J. Barker has a reputation for writing complex, well-characterised fantasy that does the rarest thing: something new. His previous series have been great favourites of mine, as long-time readers will know, and the latest, the Forsaken series, is no different. The first book had the same depth and the same unsettling, richly detailed world as its predecessors, and so I was excited to see if Warlords of Wyrdwood would follow suit.
And you know what, it really does.

The world of Crua remains a careful blend of scintillating wonder and outright horror in equal measure. The world continues to tilt, one end of the axis becoming increasingly untenable. The rai, the magical upper classes, continue to oppress everyone around them, both systemically, and rather more immediately with the occasional fireball or on-land-drowning. Using their magic seems to drive them increasingly into sadistic cruelty, and picking at that power balance is one of the many interesting parts of the story. Are the rai cruel because their magic slowly makes them that way? Or do they have a choice, a means to become something else? Given the horror that goes into their creation (which was explored in the first book in visceral terms), the reader can even see how they were once victims, now acting out their trauma on a wider stage, seizing the sense of power and control, and slowly losing themselves. On the other hand, they incinerate people for looking at them funny, and laugh about it, so maybe I'm overthinking it. But this is a wonderful bit of exploration of class warfare. The rai are on top, and while they're more than happy to murder each other in pursuit of power, without much interest in how many "little people" are caught in the crossfire, they're also willing to turn as one on any threat to their power. And that's before we get into the Forest that sprawls across much of the story, looming larger than its trees, full of wonders to delight the soul, and horrors which will more than happily eat it - not to be malevolent, but because they do not care. The world is filled with detail and asides and little revelations that give it a flavour and texture that are different to anything else out there, and yet also very believable.

A threat like Cahan. A threat like foresters. A threat like regular people carrying bows and arrows, and willing to use them to solve problems like "Maybe if we put an arrow into that fire guy from a hundred yards away, we don't have to listen to him any more. Cahan is the catalyst for a war that's bubbling under the surface of a broader conflict, but he's not the only one. He is, to be fair, a lynchpin. A person who feels like he needs to hold everyone together, without much of an idea of how to do it. Dragged unwillingly to the head of a march for freedom, he's a man who just wanted to be left alone, who now gets to make choices about how (and if) people get to live at all. He is, to put it mildly, not excited about that. And Barker charts his character...I want to say growth, but perhaps expansion is better, as Cahan makes some rather poor choices while thinking he doesn't have any other option. On the other hand, we get to spend a lot of time with some totally new characters (no spoilers there), and watch some old friends and/or enemies figuring themselves out. It's something Barker does well, letting each viewpoint unfold enough to give us empathy, if not sympathy, and see these people thinking through their emotions and their actions, trying to understand themselves and , if not be better, at least sometimes try to be different. There's an element of sympathy for self reflection, and then there's moments where you can be wading hip deep in the icy needle consciousness of an unrepentant killer. And you know what, it all feels like it makes sense, and I spent a lot of time being surprised, and watching characters I thought I understood take opportunities to be...different. Not always better, but different! And this sort of character stretch is done with a human rawness that makes it plausible, that makes it real.

In a world filled with trees so huge they almost dwarf the sky, where uncaring entitites of unknowable puissance lurk in the dark glades out of view, where the alien and the horribly twisted familiar are the edge of a forest away, the humanity and the cruelty and the courage and the hope pour off the page in a deeply human experience which was both incredibly tense and deeply cathartic to read.

Overall, this is Barker at his best; thoughtful, challenging fantasy that rewards a close reading, providing characters and a world that grips the heart and characters and a story which makes it sing. Go on out and pick this one up./