John Gwynne’s Norse-inspired epic, The Bloodsworn, continues in The Hunger of the Gods, the second installment of the saga (The Shadow of the Gods, book 1, reviewed here). Gwynne picks up the story shortly after the ending of the first installment, so this review will contain some mild spoilers.
Set in a Norse-inspired world and packed with myth, magic, and vengeance, this epic saga follows a band of warriors as they face the wrath of ancient gods and change the shape of the world.
Lik-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.
Second books in a series, or any book after the first in a series, present challenges when it comes to reviewing. The author needs to essentially, “do the same as the first, but some more.” Gwynne more than amply fits that requirement with The Hunger of the Gods.
The ancient Dragon God, Lik-Rafa has been reawakened and she is not happy. She’s got her followers in the form of the and she’s looking for vengeance and to take over the world. As ancient gods tend to do. In order to combat Lik-Rafa some think unchaining the wolf god, Ulfrir may be enough to counter the powers of the ancient dragon. These gods aren’t just pulling the strings of the human characters. They are participants in the story and not shadowy overseers. Of course, these gods are trying to impose their will upon humans, particularly Lik-Rafa, but they are fully formed characters in their own right.
Although the returning gods are active characters in their own right, the human characters take center stage as they did in the previous volume. The characters shone quite brightly in the first book, The Shadow of the Gods, and the same can be said here. Our friends from Book One, Varg, Elvar, and Orka return and are joined by two new point of view characters, Gudvarr and Biorr. These new characters provide a sightline into the groups on the other side of the conflict from our original heroes. Gudvarr in particular is quite interesting and a contrast to the mindset of the “heroes” we’ve come to know in The Shadow of the Gods. Varg is in a much better spot with the Bloodsworn, he’s less trying to prove himself and more really settling in and trusting. Elvar leveled up in many ways from book one to book two, she asserts herself and it is such a great emotional portion of her character arc. But again, mother seeking her son proves the most compelling character arc. Yes, Orka is wonderful.
Gwynne lucked out with another dynamic, eye-popping cover this time, too. Below is the full spread of the cover in its epic, lupine glory.
Gwynne continues to balance the epic action with intimate themes of lost family, found family, and regret. There isn’t too much breathing room in this novel as Gwynne’s pacing is near pitch perfect. He does pepper in some down-times and a little bit of humor and those aforementioned emotional beats. In other words, The Hunger of the Gods is an extremely balanced novel, one of the more balanced second novels I’ve read in quite some time. Balanced in terms of pacing / character / world building, but also balanced in terms of giving more of the same of what made the first installment so great with new elements to keep things fresh and readers guessing.
The Bloodsworn has impressed the hell out of me through two volumes. Like the first installment, The Hunger of the Gods ended bombastically with a great emotional punch that has me slavering for the finale.
Highly recommended
© 2022 Rob H. Bedford
Trade Paperback | 672 pages (with glossary)
Orbit Books | April 2022
Excerpt: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/john-gwynne/the-hunger-of-the-gods/9780316539920/#module-whats-inside
Author Website: https://john-gwynne.com/
