The Hunger of the Gods

John Gwynne — 2022

The Hunger of the Gods continues John Gwynne's acclaimed Norse-inspired epic fantasy series, packed with myth, magic and bloody vengeanceLik-Rifa, the dragon god of legend, has been freed from her eternal prison. Now she plots a new age of blood and conquest. As Orka continues the hunt for her missing son, the Bloodsworn sweep south in a desperate race to save one of their own - and Varg takes the first steps on the path of vengeance. Elvar has sworn to fulfil her blood oath and rescue a prisoner from the clutches of Lik-Rifa and her dragonborn followers, but first she must persuade the Battle-Grim to follow her. Yet even the might of the Bloodsworn and Battle-Grim cannot stand alone against a dragon god. Their hope lies within the mad writings of a chained god. 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.Praise for The Bloodsworn series:'A masterfully crafted, brutally compelling Norse-inspired epic' Anthony Ryan'Visceral, heart-breaking and unputdownable' Jay Kristoff'A satisfying and riveting read. The well-realised characters move against a backdrop of a world stunning in its immensity. It's everything I've come to expect from a John Gwynne book' Robin Hobb

Reviews

Macy M@macym26

Jan 5, 2024

Great book, my only issue is the raging cliffhanger at the end of the last book not being out and the addition of Gudvarrs POV. This book had made me laugh, cry, cringe, and sitting on the edge of my seat. What a wonderful high fantasy triology that mixes all of our known favorites together. Looking forward to reading the finale!

Daron Rose@bigdookie

Jan 16, 2023

Vesli > Dobby

Alice Hyman@booksforscee

Oct 14, 2022

“Real courage is to feel fear, but to stand and face it, not run from it.”

🐺 Spert and Vasli were the true hero’s as ever. I just love these ugly little vasen - I like that John Gwynne took an aspect of Norse myth and actually made characters from them rather than just mindless evil things. I am so so so thankful to johngwynne author and orbit uk for giving me an opportunity to read this amazing book early ! As with the first book my favourite POV was Orkas - I love finally having a main character than wasn’t in their teens or early twenties, it’s so refreshing having some time learned experiences used in a plot. The Bloodsworn are the cutest found family trope and no one can change my mind - Einar especially is a freaking dorable.

🐺 This book definitely twists and turns, and I found the map super useful as we were jumping back and forth along it. Nearly all the POVs were travelling, sometimes overlapping places too so it took me a bit to figure out exactly who was going where. Also if I hear one more person shrug to settle their mail imma scream - honestly it’s a great drinking game.

🐺 I also really appreciated how Gwynne used actual science in his creatures ! I don’t want to write too much as I’ll spoil things but I’m going to definitely be doing a spoilers post come the release day !

🐺 Overall 4 amazing stars and a bazillion for Spert and Vasli

Vik@vik

May 25, 2022

It's genuinely been a while since I have raved about a book but this book deserves it. The connections between characters, the intensity of the fight scenes, the sheer scope of the world-building...just beautiful. Sure, there are some really repetitive descriptions and some scenes are awkward due to exposition but none of that takes away from my pure enjoyment of this book. The main characters, while not all likeable, take the reader on a page-turning journey, each following a story path that feels distinctive from the others. Even the side characters - of which there are many - feel unique in their own way.

This review contains a spoiler