Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne Series: The Bloodsworn Saga #3
Published by Orbit on October 22, 2024
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 576
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Varg has overcome the trials of his past and become an accepted member of the Bloodsworn, but now he and his newfound comrades face their biggest challenge yet: slaying a dragon.
Elvar is struggling to consolidate her power in Snakavik, where she faces threats from within and without. As she fights to assert her authority in readiness for the coming conflict, she faces a surely insurmountable task: reining in the ferocity of a wolf god.
As Biorr and his warband make their way north, eager for blood, Gudvarr pursues a mission of his own, hoping to win Lik-Rifa's favour and further his own ambitions.
All paths lead to Snakavik, where the lines are being drawn for the final battle - a titanic clash that will shake the foundations of the world, and bear witness to the true fury of the gods.
The Fury of the Gods is the final book of the Bloodsworn Saga, a tale set in a world of Animal gods, The Tainted (humans with the power of certain gods in their blood), Witches and regular Viking like people. This is a action packed ride with a lot of fighting that will get us to the epic conclusion of Gods fighting Gods.
The Dragon God has been awoken after hundreds of years by her magical offspring. She wants to take over the world to rule. She has a host her tainted, magical creatures and Rat god brother on her side. Ulfir, the Wolf God stands against her with some of his offspring and many of the mortals of this world that do not want to be led by the gods again. It is going to take some deep cunning to win and many lives will be lost along the way.
The story alternates between various PoVs on both sides of the conflict. There are grudges to be settled, blood oaths to be kept and a Dragon to end or be ended by before our tale is done. There will be no peace until at least one of the gods is dead. Like many books with multiple PoVs, it helps to expand the story and give insight into what everyone is doing. That said I always have my favorites and sometimes hate to leave them to go to another character.
Varg “no sense” has been a strong character for me throughout the story. Escaped from slavery he is now part of the Bloodsworn and looking for the man who killed his sister. His crew will help him go up against a Dragon in order to see her murdered punished. Besides Orka’s, his was the grudge I wanted satisfaction on the most. Orka’s husband was killed by the Dragon born and her son stolen. I wanted her vengeance more than anyone else’s in this story and I will say that at the end it was satisfying to see how it all played out.
There are many small adventures and battles on the way to the very large battle conclusion that lasted at least a fourth of the book. A lot of people are going to love all the battles but I missed some of the smaller character developments that we saw in the previous books. There was a small redemption for one of the characters and a decision that will change the course of the Tainted’s lives going forward but I felt much of the character centered things were traded to fighting.
Overall this is an epic adventure and if you have read other Gwynne books you knew what you are in for. This is a war and no character is going to be safe, sometimes the bad guys don’t get everything they deserve, sometimes the good guys do very bad things…etc. But if you like a book with a Viking/Norse feel to it and like battles this is going to be for you, as those are done so well.
The ending for this is pretty satisfying overall. I always want just a little more closure than we ever get in the ending of a trilogy but I think it wrapped up well and tied up most strings. This is definitely for readers who enjoy grimdark and want a good ending more that needing a happy ending for everyone.
“Your question was guile or force. That was the wrong question. To defeat Lik-Rifa we will need both. She must be tricked, made to think she is safe to attack us, made to think we are weak when we are strong.”
| Rating Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Plot |
|
| Writing |
|
| Characters |
|
| Dialogue |
|
| Overall: | |
Friend me at Goodreads.
- 🎧 The Order of Grimm by Shiromi Arserio @IGPNicki@SpokenRealms #LoveAudiobooks @RobinBridgeFour - January 24, 2025
- This Haunted Heart by SL Prater #SLPrater @booksirens @SnyderBridgeFour #KindleUnlimited - January 20, 2025
- She Doesn’t Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke @jennyelder @MinotaurBooks @RobinBridgeFour - January 13, 2025
I’ve always meant to try one of John Gwynne’s books. I used to read a lot of fantasy, but I just don’t read it as much now. Still, this book and this series sound really good. I need to add it to the top of my TBR list. 😀
I’ve been enjoying some of the newer fantasy with roots in Norse mythos or Vikings lately. There seem to be some good ones out there.
I could use a nice Fantasy. It has been too long!!
They are my bread and butter. I was just thinking it is time for a nice fluffy Historical romance.
This is a solid complete fantasy series though.