RJ has taken us to a castle filled with assassins hunting other assassins (The Wounded Kingdom Trilogy) and to high seas adventures on ships made of dragon bones (The Tide Child Trilogy). Now he’s heading into the woods. The Wyrdwoods, to be precise. Gods of the Wyldwood is the first book in the dark fantasy series Forsaken, written by R.J. Barker, and published by Orbit Books. A novel where Barker has let his imagination fly, taking unexpected paths and showing his ability in the craft; a book that might feel a bit confusing at the start because the author doesn't take the reader by the hand, instead spreading a multitude of details that later will make sense, enhancing the experience and making it really satisfactory. Barker’s imagination is just so refreshing and definitely top tier of fantasy authors. I simply can’t believe with all the material out there he can still come up with something so fresh. On the one hand, I sometimes wished I’d had a glossary to make sure I was interpreting unfamiliar in-world terms correctly, but on the other hand I also loved the sense of mystery and intrigue that permeates every aspect of this novel. The world is a bit Lovecraftian in setup. The flora and fauna are utterly alien, and incredibly weird. There are tentacles galore, along with animals that float via gas bladders and vines that float. These things combined made for a tough world to picture until I finally envisioned an underwater realm, but without the water. The Wyrdwood at the heart of this world is greatly feared, and with good reason. Everything in it seems thirsty for blood. And yet, as it’s described at night, it’s also a place of breathtaking beauty. Think Ferngully, or Avatar’s Pandora. It’s luminous, and seeing it sounds almost worth the risk of death and dismemberment.

For those all who did not finish this book, listen to me very carefully, you made a very terrible mistake to give up on it as it eventually becomes captivating and engrossing. Took time till this book start a fire. This is the beginning of something epic. It is true to the style of RJ Barker, being dropped into a world and allowing the reader to figure it out as they go. It is a dark world that has a beautiful setting with Gods that are worshipped in a way that is different than typical. It leads to wars and a magic that is pretty hot to handle. I continually found myself drawn to know more and could not get enough as the reader is pulled into the world of the chosen one, Cahan Du Nahere, who is no longer the chosen one. It proceeds to give us an insight into his life as he has moved on. And I wasn’t surprised at the emotion I felt while reading. Not only did I bond with the characters, but Barker broke my heart whenever one of them was in danger or pain. Each one goes through some type of important transformation, and it wasn’t always easy or comfortable.

Read Gods of the Wyrdwood by RJ Barker

He's kinda a hermit, somebody that is not well-accepted among the villagers from Hua, especially because he's a clanless; Cahan only wanted to renounce to his nature, and live peacefully. But when a traumatic event forces him to use his cowl, those powers inside him, he will have to start a journey (partly literal, partly metaphorical), changing in the process. So you could say there's a found family theme throughout the book, not just with the villagers but also with Udinny, a monk of a forgotten God, and Venn a trion who desperately wants to escape their destiny. Crua is a land of many gods. The gods enter those with the strength to hold them. These godly companions are called cowls and the people they possess are known as Rais. The Rai are the most powerful people in Crua and the Cowl-Rai is their ultimate leader. Once the cowls were recognized as different gods and there were Cowl-Rai for each of the gods. But a new Cowl-Rai has risen who follows Tarl-an-Gig. This Cowl-Rai will tolerate no other Cowl-Rais or other gods. Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. But in a land at war, in a forest full of monsters - Cahan will need to choose between his past life and the one he leads now - and his choice will have consequences for his entire world.

Power, Udinny, and what can be done with it.’ He took a breath. ‘But it is not something I would speak of now, I have spent so long not being that which I was raised to be that it is painful to even think of it.’ They are mostly fine,” he answered, “though some types will kill you if you eat them, and others will kill you if you so much as touch them.” The world building in this is incredible, while Barker just drops us into this very strange and very violent land as we follow the story we are literally immersed in Crua. Trees are very important to this story and there is one part where Cahan and another character are trying to wrap their heads around just how large the trees are in the Wyrwoods and you almost feel like you are standing there with them straining to understand the enormity of the thing before you. It was truly one of the best written scenes in the book. Overall, this is absolutely amazing, I was engrossed from the very first sentence and I cannot wait to read the next one! There is also a second POV character, a narcissistic ruler desperately trying to maintain her position of power, who just didn’t do much for me. The only saving grace in her chapters was her child Venn, who was by far my favourite character in this novel. Venn is Trion, one of the third-gendered people in this world, and they possess extraordinary powers. But those powers unfortunately come at a cost, as the powerful families view them as nothing more than a highly coveted commodity.

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Udinny is devoted to the goddess of the lost, in her quest to locate a missing child in the Deepforest, accompanied by Cahan. Udinny serves the goddess of the lost, a goddess of the small and helpless. When she ventures into the Deepforest to find a missing child, Cahan will be her guide. I'm always a fan of journeying in fantasy and the story offers great parts of that. It's a sip a hot cocoa and get cozy sort of read, but something sharper or more cooled a beverage now in the summer will suffice. The point is, it’s a nice book to fall into if you enjoy the natural world and fantasies of the traditional kind.