Gods of the Wyrdwood: The Forsaken Trilogy, Book 1: 'Avatar meets Dune - on shrooms. Five stars.' -SFX

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It’s a slow burn novel, taking its time to build – but as a result we have an immersive world that feels very real. I’ve had a few conversations recently where fantasy fans have stated that modern fantasy worlds are often too obviously based on our world. I get that – I do. Perhaps this is a result of Game of Thrones/House of the dragon and the strength of it’s links to the War of the Roses and the Anarchy – both periods of British medieval history – and the impact that’s had on modern literature? Or perhaps it the rise in interest in world mythologies and how these can be woven into new stories? 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. In the realm filled with Gods, old, new and forgotten, where enchanted and perilous forests abound, Cahan knows that to survive is often to walk away from cruelty. But is that to live? He is running but not fast enough, maybe it's time to stop running. This is a brand new fantasy from the author who wrote The Tide Child trilogy but instead of being on the high seas with dragons, we are in the dark forest with very strange creatures that are almost alien. 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.

I will greatly enjoy this book more on a reread which I will do when the sequel comes out. If Barker’s prose could be a little more fluid, have better character development in the sequel, and give me a dang glossary, then this series has the potential to be very high on my list of favorites!There are also plants that they use like float weed and bind weed, which do exactly what it sounds like they do. While their names are easy enough to figure out, there is nothing in our world that compares. Other times things are obviously the same as our things from our world but with different names, like the crownheads. Crownheads are animals that are raised in Crua. Their fur is sheared off and turned into woolen clothes. So they’re obviously some kind of sheep but Barker felt the need to make them different just to set his world apart I guess. I don’t when authors make completely new things up but it does irritate me a little when authors just rename things to seem different. It makes things difficult for no real reason. Wordy but with a nice payoff in Gods of the Wyrdwood This book also desperately needs a glossary and character description. He has so much imagination, which I love don’t get me wrong, but it was a bit difficult for me to remember what everything was later on in the book. Also some characters he refers to as they/them. I’m not getting into social issues of genderless people but when reading a book, a singular character written as plural is incredibly difficult and unnecessary.

Barker’s writing style was very difficult to get into at first. His prose is very choppy like a thriller novel but that only works when you’re writing something thrilling. Instead its more like “The tree. Green leaves. Rough bark. Tall. Good for climbing.” 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. It might be a bit challenging for me to tell how the paths of these three crossed each other. There is a need to slowly start reading to fully understand the tale and the rules in R.J. Barker's fictional world. I liked the story and the characters were so well-developed! I don't want to give anything away, but the way magic and heroes were portrayed was really fresh and unique. Even though it's a long read that is not fast-paced and has not many events, I think the gradual exploration of the world is totally worth it.Big thank you to Orbit/Orbit Books and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! 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. Cahan is known as a Forester-a man capable of navigating the dangerous forests of Crua like no one else. But once he was more. Once he was a warrior. Gods of the Wyrdwood is book one in a new fantasy trilogy set within the bounds of a forest straight out of darkest folklore – with outlaws fighting an evil empire and warring deities. RJ Barker is the British Fantasy Society Award-winning author of The Bone Ships and Age of Assassins.