This is the first book I've read by RJ Barker, and I'm surprised I hadn't discovered his work sooner. The world building was fantastic, and even though it was a little slow from the get-go, it was absolutely worth it. This dark fantasy definitely gave me Lovecraft vibes and I can't wait to read the next book in this trilogy!

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was slow paced and had little plot even after the first 31% so it was a DNF.

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher Orbit for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

I think with this book, RJ Barker has solidifies himself as one of my favourite authors writing currently. I adored The Tide Child Trilogy, despite a difficult adjustment period at the start of book one, I quickly became I incredibly attached to the characters and found the world to be vivid and very easy to immerse myself in.

God's of the Wyrwood introduces a main cast of complex characters, Cahan a loner forester who tries to live a quiet life away from others and focuses on respecting the mysterious dangerous woods near his home. Forced out of him quiet life, he meets a cast who challenge him and bring him firmly out of his comfort zone.

This amazing fantasy book has weird ecology, monsters,terrifying magic users and strong character work. I highly recommend this book to any fantasy reader.

A very interesting book- it took a while to get going but once I was properly dug in, I found a great story full of Barker's signature weird worldbuilding. This world building often saved a storyline that, though solid, erred on the side of predictability (especially at the end). I'm hoping that now the heavy lifting is out of the way in establishing the world and the stakes that the second book is more surprising on that front- I know from the Bone Ships trilogy Barker can do it, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes!

A definite must for fans of big, scary forests, bugs that can and will eat you, and characters that change and grow as you get to know them.

"Gods of the Wyrdwood" transports readers to a fantastical realm where ancient gods and powerful magic intertwine with the lives of mortals. The story revolves around three main characters: Callis, a young woman with a mysterious past and a gift for communing with nature; Enoch, a seasoned warrior seeking redemption for past sins; and Aron, a cunning thief with a knack for survival. As these disparate individuals are drawn together by fate, they must navigate a treacherous landscape filled with warring factions, dark secrets, and enigmatic deities. Their journey takes them deep into the heart of the Wyrdwood, a mystical forest where the boundaries between the mortal realm and the divine are blurred, and where ancient powers stir once more.

R.J. Barker weaves a captivating tale filled with intrigue, suspense, and richly drawn characters. The plot unfolds at a brisk pace, keeping readers on the edge of their seats with its twists and turns. The author skillfully explores themes of destiny, sacrifice, and the clash between mortal ambition and divine will. Callis, Enoch, and Aron are compelling protagonists, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and inner demons to confront. Their interactions are nuanced and believable, driving the narrative forward as they grapple with their own desires and the larger forces at play in the world around them. Supporting characters are equally well-developed, adding depth and complexity to the story's tapestry.

The author's writing is evocative and atmospheric, bringing the Wyrdwood to life with vivid imagery and lyrical prose. Barker demonstrates a keen eye for detail, immersing readers in a world that feels both familiar and alien, ancient yet timeless. The magical elements of the story are seamlessly integrated into the narrative, enhancing rather than overshadowing the human drama at its core.

While the book excels in many areas, there are a few aspects that could have been improved upon. Some readers may find certain plot points predictable, and the pacing occasionally falters in its eagerness to move the story forward. Additionally, the resolution of certain character arcs feels somewhat rushed, leaving lingering questions and loose ends that could have been explored further.

"Gods of the Wyrdwood" is a gripping fantasy epic that will appeal to fans of intricate world-building, morally ambiguous characters, and immersive storytelling. R.J. Barker proves once again to be a master of the genre, delivering a tale that is both epic in scope and intimate in its exploration of the human condition. Despite its minor flaws, the book stands as a testament to the author's talent and creativity, leaving readers eagerly awaiting the next installment in this captivating series.

This is my first high fantasy in quite a long while, but I am very happy to have read it. It was a totally new world, with brand new terms and definitions and I had a hard time picturing some of the things. I'd have loved some illustrations throughout, or a bit more hand-holding when it came to the world building. But I got immersed and went along with it. It felt quite slow and plot-less but I'm hoping that with some direction that the ending provided, the sequel will have some more plot and purpose. This one felt like a lot of set-up. I believe I will understand it all better on a re-read

This is my first encounter with R.J. Barker's work, despite having the famous The Tide Child Trilogy in my TBR for a while and hearing only superlatives….so I decided to hop in and have a taste of his work.
I rarely write negative reviews, and I was, 100000% sure that won't be the case for Gods of the Wyrdwood....but alas, that book was hard for me.
Let me start with the fact that the author built a whole amazing world to immense yourself in but at least for me, it felt like looking at this remarkable new world before your eyes and trying to understand it so you can enjoy it to the fullest…but despite my efforts I couldn't understand it properly, and I think that some of them were not explained as it should, others were info dumped and that made the snowball effect of struggling to make sense of the world thus leaving me a confused spectator on the side.
Unfortunately, the writing style I think also contributed to the mix and making it harder to read.
I am sad to write this because in general I loved the idea of the story, the characters were strong and had a presence, but sadly the result didn't work for me.
The potential is huge, and I'm not giving up on R.J. Barker and I will pick The Tide Child books with the same interest.

This book was provided by Little, Brown Book Group through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved Gods of the Wyrdwood, I think it is one of my favourite reads of the last few years. I cannot wait for Warlords of Wyrdwood !

Crua is very different from our world, no animal, insect or creature is like any we can find here. It is a delight to discover the fauna and flora of Crua throughout the book.

The characters feel like real people, with flaws and dimension. I liked how we discover who the main character is little by little, we don't even know his name with certainty until a few chapters in. It feels like a story about running away from who you are, then learning to stop running and accept who you are.

A very interesting thing is that we both know and don't know what the characters look like. We know if they're tall, small, look healthy or not, have a beard, short or long hair, etc. But there is no indication of colour (of hair, eyes, skin) or hair type, which I really love. Moreover, we don't always know immediately if a character is a man, a woman and a trion.

I like how it made me question unconscious stereotypes based on how characters look like, in a fantasy book : I assumed guards were men, until I realised they were not and I shouldn't have assumed they were. I assumed the main character was a good looking white main with dark hair, like most main characters, until I realised there was no indication he was.

I think most fantasy fans would love this book, especially fans of The realm of the Elderlings, Earthsea, and the Edge Chronicles ; maybe Game of Thrones as well. I think fantasy fans who want women to be written as well as men, and characters to be diverse, would absolutely love this book.

The start of a new series, and already RJ Barker has laid down the groundwork for a sprawling new series full of rich worldbuilding. In fact, the overall impression I got after finishing Gods of the Wyrdwood is that I feel I’ve barely scratched the surface on all the lore the land of Crua has to offer.

The lead story follows Cahan Du-Nahere, an individual trying to live a quiet life in this harsh world, despite the hints that he holds far more power than he’s letting on. The book took me a few chapters to get me invested, as I found the transition from prologue to chapter 1 a little jarring. I felt like I was playing catch-up with the lore of the world, and flicking back on multiple occasions to see if I’d simply missed a bit of new terminology being introduced! I found the ‘Deep in the Forest’ interlude chapters very helpful in that respect, to try and understand the background of some of the characters.

There are several POV characters we follow during the book, all with well established voices and worldviews. I loved seeing their different relationships to the forests; those who live nearby such as Cahan have a cautious and respectful attitude to the forest and it’s inhabitants, while characters from the larger towns fear the woods from a distance, but move recklessly and fall for it’s traps once within. RJ Barker does a fantastic job at building tension and unease regarding the forests, with special praise going to his descriptions of the animals of the world, which really brought them to life for me.

Though I’m normally not a fan of books leaving a ton of unanswered questions at the end of novels, it’s clear that there’s plenty more to explore in the land of Crua, and this first entry feels like a statement of intent for what’s to follow.

This is my first time reading one of Barker's books, though I've been told that I would enjoy his Tide Child series. In terms of genre, this book is most definitely fantasy, and quite dark fantasy at that. The story is quite sweeping with some interesting characters and, most important for me, some really excellent world-building.

The story does work well, following the character of Cahan, who is taken from his family early on and raised for a specific and important purpose before ultimately being discarded into obscurity. As is the case in all such stories, he is not allowed to languish as a hermit and is eventually drawn back into the world. His character is well developed in a book where not many characters are. When I realised we were going down the "powerful hermit drawn back into the world" trope, I did groan a little, but he's actually a really endearing character and I enjoyed going along with him on his journey. A second character is also given POV chapters and she acts as something of an antagonist. Like all good villains, she has what she considers some damn good reasons for her seemingly cruel actions; namely the protection and advancement of her child.

The story is interesting and complex, but it's slow. It's also well over 600 pages long. This book felt like a commitment. The trilogy, the next instalment of which is due out later this year, will likely be similar in this regard. I've got mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, this could have been more concise, but it's not like this space was wasted. This is where I feel the world-building did the real heavy lifting in my enjoyment of this book. It's a bit cliche to pick out part of the setting and describe it as another important character, but cliches become cliches for a reason. It really does apply here. When we start the book, we're really expected to hit the ground running. We're placed into an existing world and expected to pick things up as we go along. Some things are not really fully explained, whilst others are expanded on over time. There are also quite a few bigger info dumps that expand on aspects of the setting, of which the Wyrd Wood is the most interesting part.

The political and social aspects of the world are also well developed, and you quickly get a feel for the structure of the society and the disadvantages laid upon 'clanless' such as Cahan. Again, this is sometimes shown via context cues, and sometimes via those big ol' info dumps. I actually really love the political aspects of this book. I've spoken recently of my love for politics in sci-fi and that feeling is just as strong in fantasy.

Regular readers will know that, being a blog that deals heavily in tabletop gaming, I often give play suggestions alongside my reviews. There are a few interesting options, here. Cloud Empress and Obojima, both successful Kickstarter campaigns for Ghibli-esque RPGs, seem appropriate. D&D would also be fine, and actually would work really well if we could also bring in some material from Kobold Press. Their forest setting, as detailed in Tales of the Old Margreve, really chimes with the feeling I get from Barker's Wyrd Wood. I think you could do a lot by combining the rules and scenarios in Tales of the Old Margreve and some of the details and ideas from Gods of the Wyrd Wood. I think that would make for a pretty awesome game.

Back to the novel, let's settle on a final verdict. I feel this was a good introduction to Barker's work, and I enjoyed the book. The story was bit slow and I don't feel that the story entirely did justice to the world that was built around it. It's engaging. It makes sense. It's a bit difficult to get into. I'm new to giving out star ratings and I'm swithering over this one. If we're talking about developing a detailed world that I want to dive into and really explore, we're looking at 4 out of 5, which is solid. The story, though, feels more like a 3. It's good, but it's not something that, to quote Warren Zevon, "maketh my spirit to shine". I do recommend this book to anyone looking for a new, expansive fantasy world to explore. The fact that the next book is out later this year also means that you've not got long to wait to dive right back in.

I'm new to RJ Barker's works but I heard good things about it, and I also heard his newest series starter being likened to 'Princess Mononoke' so here I am, happily devouring yet another new series when I already have too many unfinished ones on my shelf. It is what it is, nothing I can do about it, I have never learned and will never learn to say no to a good book.
And that is what 'Gods of the Wyrmwood' turned out to be, fortunately: a really good book. The world Baker explores is an intriguing one, the world building detailed and expansive. I was at times a little lost, admittedly - the lore is often served in huge info dumps, yet also often goes badly or completely unexplained so I wasn't entirely sure how to picture the things and creatures we meet - Segur is a big example of this, the animal friend of our main character that I couldn't for the life of me describe to you or even just picture in my mind. I also felt like there was an overabundance of tentacles on about every single creature. Still, I really enjoyed exploring Crua. I loved the societal structure, the different approach to gender and family.

The characters are complex and well-written, some more than others. We primarily follow Cahan, a clanless loner with a mysterious past, and I absolutely adored him. The writing in this one is generally a little detached, which doesn't make it easy to really connect with the characters, so I wasn't intensely emotionally attached to Cahan - but he's a great, complex, intriguing main character that I want to know more about and hope to follow again. Almost as much as him I loved Udinny, a monks of a forbidden and almost entirely unknown goddess that befriends him along the way. Her story is incredibly interesting. The other characters have interesting aspects to them (Venn, a nonbinary trion with special powers, being chief among them) but are, so far, a little lacking. This might be remedied by the rest of the trilogy though. Cahan definitely outshines them all easily for now. Well, all of them but one: The forest is an entity all on its own, and it's (as is usual for mysterious old woods) the most interesting character in the whole book.

The book is well-written, the pacing is mostly alright. The first about 25% of the book feel too dran out, too slow-paced and read more like exposition following exposition following exposition. Then the speed picks up and the plot really gets going. There are some story beats that feel repetitive, but all in all it's very well-crafted. The book could definitely have been condensed, the exposition could have been woven into the narrative a bit better instead of being served in description-heavy dumps. But the world is intriguing, the main character complex and likeable, the atmosphere and vibes especially in and around the Wyrwood are just perfect. I will definitely read the sequel. 3,5 stars.

I'm gutted that I didn't enjoy "Gods of the Wyrdwood" as much as I thought I would. I had too many questions ("What is that? What do you mean?") and it just spoiled it for me that I spent so long waiting for those answers during the course of the story. The writing was also a little bit blunt for my taste. The story is a good one at heart, but I don't think we'll ever be friends.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

Gods of the Wyrwood is an epic political fantasy that is set in a unique world and it’s a story of faith and resilience. The story follows Cahan, a man known as the Forester, who lives on the edge of society, since he doesn’t show loyalty to any god or group.

The world is complex and full of creepy plants, dangerous creatures and different magics. We have a dual timeline throughout the book, since we follow Cahan in the present and the past. Barker is an exceptional writer, the characters were well developed, and the world building is rich, and the atmosphere felt wild.

Overall, this book was exceptional, and we could feel the balance between what’s dark and dangerous. I felt like this is a tale of epic proportions, with old and forgotten gods, a lot of tentacles, prophecies and so much more, but it was grounded, focusing in Cahan. It was a great start to a new impressive and unpredictable fantasy series, and I can’t wait to read more in this world. I recommend it to fans of epic fantasy with an unusual setting.

Thank you, NetGalley & the publisher, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.

An epic, political and environmental fantasy set in a world that feels completely distinctive.

Gods of the Wyrdwood follows Cahan, a man now known as the Forester, who lives on the edges of society because he is Clanless - he doesn't show loyalty to any god or group. However, in his youth, Cahan was taken from his home to be the Chosen One facing brutal training and the awakening of a kind of parasitic force inside him called a Cowl. But then another religion rises to power with it's own Chosen One and he vanishes into obscurity.

This is a deeply complex world with different magics, weird creepy plants and dangerous creatures.
There's absolutely no hand-holding, you have to pick up the terms, the politics and religious structures as you go along and try to fathom out what the real goals are for the characters.

The world is harsh, the religion(s) generally cruel and designed to crush the spirit, and that means that a lot the characters are also like that. There's a lot of distrust, antagonism and provocation that the main characters must deal with.

On the other hand, there's a lot of wonder in the world too - the Wyrdwood may be full of dangerous things but it's also full of interesting things- enormous trees (like, really enormous), unusual wildlife and a magic running through the whole thing.

I have no idea where the series will go after this, but I can't wait to read more.

Having read The Bone Ship trilogy and loving it - as soon as I saw that this book was available as an ARC it was an instant request. This is a very different type of story and also writing style to the other series so if you are going into this expecting a similar vibe this is not it.

In the classic fantasy novel way, the reader is thrust into the middle of the universe with very little explained and the reader has to figure it out along the way. If you are genuinely into longer burn fantasies then this is the novel for you.

Cahan du Nahare is a forester and clanless. He lives in a village as a farmer that is widely disliked. He is often in the novel described as 'gruff' and I think this is an apt description. He is someone who has been burned by the world and rejected. He isn't bitter but rather accepting. This story jumps between the present day and the past when Cahan is much younger Cowl-rai in training. Even from the early chapters, it was clear his character was running from something and it was a joy to watch the story unfold and discover what it was. Contrary to most fantasy novels he isn't this plucky young adventurer winding up for a big story but an older, tired man who has had been downtrodden by everyone.

I really enjoyed the different creatures within this from the rootlings to even the Hatten and how this really shaped the universe that is developing. Cahan is a unique character to read with and his priorities shifting throughout the book felt natural and developed alongside the plot. I'm really intrigued to see where this story goes next!


Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley Little, Brown Books Company UK for a galley of this in return for an honest review.

Gods of Wyrdwood is a wholly unique fantasy novel, with a magic system unlike anything I have read before. Barker crafts a novel that is at once fantastical, shot through with earthy folklore, and the optimism of a man finding a home, and conversely a bitter, hard, hate filled world of terrible power, in which the same man is stuck in a cycle of rejection and self-loathing.

Gods of Wyrdwood is as much a story about power, politics, and war, as it is a story about resilience, faith, and community. The village of Harn, and the world of Crua are fully fleshed, the politics considered, and each character realised. Barker has clearly spent a lot of time building this world, things slot together, the behaviour makes sense. By the end of the novel you have not just a sense of Crua at present, but an awareness of what it would have been in the past, and of how it may be in the future. The Gods, although many remain unknown to the reader, feel at once present, and fictitious: there one minute, and the next nothing more than a means of controlling the people. The Forester struggles to believe in any of them, and you struggle alongside him, but then they appear. A lot of this novel is concerned with the interconnectedness of people and nature, and I think that taps into an uncanniness that even we, in our own world, can experience.

Barker is an exceptional writer, and this is an exceptional book. It is almost impossible to compare it to anything else, I have never gone in for this kind of grown-up, male-authored high fantasy novel, but I was drawn in by the blurb on this one, and I am so pleased I gave it a shot! This is a deeply personal tale of epic proportions. I am excited to read the rest of this series.

Overall, this is an alright book. I’m not a huge fan personally of the pacing, as I found it slow and not a lot seemed to be happening. However, the world building was interesting enough to hold my attention to the end of the book, and I found the magic system unique and enjoyable. I also enjoyed the way the Chosen One trope was used in this book. I would recommend it.

My first RJ Barker book and certainly not my last. This book was difficult to get into but once I pushed through, the pay off was worth it!

Such an immersive world that I fell in love with.

RJ Barker has done it again.

The world building is rich and imaginative filled with Gods, new and old, worshipped and forgotten. The land and its people constantly are at the mercy of whichever "God's" chosen is in charge at the time. At the start of this tale we meet Cahan, who was selected as one of the God's chosen as a child and told he was destined to cleanse the world for his God. But another got there first. Since then he has been running and hiding from his past and wants nothing more than a solitary life, but of course, his past is coming for him.

The forest setting in which much of the plot took part, is atmospheric and wild, filled with magics and creatures. It characters are well developed and whilst this tale might have a slower starter, but the character development and focus throughout this tale is exceptional.

Our lands are wild with gods, our woods are wild with monsters. Cahan du Nahare is known as the forester, a humble man who can navigate the dangerous woods, where no one dare tree. But once he was more, once he was a warrior. Udinny serves the Goddess of the Lost, the divinity of the small and helpless. When she ventures into the woods to find a missing child, Cahan will be her guide.

But in a land rife with war, and a forest full of monsters, Cahan will need to choose between his past life and the one he leads now. His choice will have consequences for the entire world. An epic start to a trilogy that follows warring deities, an evil empire that is on the edge of collapse, and a forest that comes form there darkest of folklore. The Gods of the Wyrwood have woken and their time has come.

An experienced novelist who weaves war and magic with intricate threads of fate, filled with a plethora of characters that are in search of destiny and redemption, and the exploration of a strange yet magical world. A fascinating balance between what is truly dark and dangerous, with heartwarming interactions and sweeping story of destiny.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘺𝘳𝘥𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 1 𝘣𝘺 𝘙 𝘑 𝘉𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳