Book Review: The Fury of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga, #3) by John Gwynne
Cover art illustrated by: Marcus Whinney
The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: The Bloodsworn Saga (Book #3 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 536 pages (Hardcover edition)
Published: 22nd October 2024 by Orbit
The moment is here. Another ending from John Gwynne. The Fury of the Gods is the action-packed concluding volume to Gwynne’s—quite likely—most popular series, The Bloodsworn Saga.
This is a difficult book to review. It’s also probably why it has taken me so long to sit and finally write this down. And let me get this out of the bat. You will hear some relatively negative criticisms from me about this, but I still love The Fury of the Gods. It’s still one of my favorite books of 2024. My review here is more of an elaboration of why I did not give Gwynne’s final book a 5/5 star rating like usual. I am a big fan of John Gwynne’s storytelling. I don’t think that will come as a surprise. I know many fantasy readers who follow my reviews and YouTube channel found me through my adoration of The Banished Lands Saga, which consists of The Faithful and the Fallen and Of Blood and Bone trilogy. Since 2017, I have been a huge advocate of John Gwynne’s heartfelt, action-packed, epic, and compelling novels, and that situation will not change. That being said, there is one thing I always say. When it comes to his series, John Gwynne is at his best when he writes the final book of his series. Wrath and A Time of Courage are both on my list of favorite books of all time. Has the same phenomenon been replicated? There is no doubt that I had a blast reading The Bloodsworn Saga, and I still highly enjoyed The Fury of the Gods, but I must say, The Shadow of the Gods is still my favorite installment of the series. And if I am forced to compare this to Wrath and A Time of Courage, I, unfortunately, have to admit this one is not as epic as the previous two concluding volumes by Gwynne.
The story in The Fury of the Gods continued right after the end of the cliffhanger in The Hunger of the Gods. This is, undoubtedly, the most action-packed book of the trilogy, for better or worse. Before I get to that, I must say… I was surprised by the number of readers who thought a particular pivotal character died at the end of The Hunger of the Gods. The outcome of this one character was immediately decided at the beginning of The Fury of the Gods, and it did not come as a surprise to me at all. This is not flexing. I knew this specific character would survive the ending of The Hunger of the Gods for two reasons. Not only the final battle for Vigrid will feel incomplete without the participation of this character, but I suddenly remembered one thing when I finished The Hunger of the Gods. If you have read The Faithful and the Fallen, then I think you will know why this character would survive the ordeal at The Hunger of the Gods. And at the end of the day, I feel like despite how much I loved The Bloodsworn Saga, there’s the factor of whether this is your first experience with John Gwynne’s books or not to consider. If this is the first time you are reading Gwynne’s books, then this might become your favorite series by him. However, for me, who is a diehard fan of Gwynne’s books, unlike my first time reading The Banished Lands Saga, the story progression of The Bloodsworn Saga felt a tad similar to Gwynne’s previous series. Because of that, very little in this book came as unpredictable to me. And that, in the case of this series, decreased the tension of the narrative.
Unpredictability and investment in the characters matter a lot to me when I’m reading Gwynne’s books. Or most books, really. I consider Gwynne one of the greatest authors in the matter of making readers care about his characters. It was incredibly easy to fall head over heels for the characters in The Banished Lands Saga, even the ones in Of Blood and Bone trilogy. But in The Fury of the Gods, except for Orka and Varg, I sadly did not find all the other characters as gripping as I hoped. This isn’t to say they weren’t well-written. Elvar has come a long way since the beginning of The Shadow of the Gods, Biorr was interesting, and Gudvarr can be oddly fun to read. And more. In this book about leadership, family, hope, and vengeance, ALL the characters have to shine through. As mentioned, I absolutely love Orka and Varg. Varg, in particular, is the most well-developed character of the series, in my opinion. But for the rest, I felt like they were just there to drive the plot. I never felt fully invested or worried about their fates. I know I will be on the unpopular side regarding Elvar, but hey, that’s the beauty of reading. All these factors, additionally, end up decreasing the overall tension of the stakes for me, especially in the first half of the book.
Gwynne, to me, writes some of the most vivid and immersive close-quarter combat scenes. I don’t know how many times I repeat that statement, and this notion deserves its repetition again in The Fury of the Gods. There is, however, one thing to remember about The Fury of the Gods. It is the most action-packed novel of the trilogy. And that could lead to good or bad things depending on your reading preference. I never felt bored reading Gwynne’s battle scenes. But I do have to admit the big exposure to what we readers know as inconsequential battles and skirmishes in the first half decreased the value of the action scenes. I personally would’ve preferred the first half to be more focused on deepening the characterizations of the main characters again. Fortunately, the battles in the second half redeem itself.
Although it is true the resolution to Snakavik was underwhelming, I cannot deny the final sequence of confrontations and titanic clashes where magic, weapons, and determinations unfold to devastate was simply breathtaking. At times, the bloodthirsty battles between humans and the gods of Vigrid reminded me clearly why I love reading Gwynne’s battle scenes. And I prefer focusing on that aspect more rather than the resolution to Snakavik and one or two villains of The Bloodsworn Saga. In one section, The Fury of the Gods almost exceeded the epic scope of Wrath and A Time of Courage. It did not land itself there for me, but it was pretty close, and in my definition, that’s awesome. I found the ending satisfying, and as usual, Gwynne left room for explorations should he choose to write more stories in the world of The Bloodsworn Saga. From my view, I am already happy and satisfied with where things ended.
You might wonder why I still end up giving The Fury of the Gods a 4 star rating after reading through my criticisms. The answer is simple. This book was absolutely captivating. I know this could sound like low criteria, but the year 2024 is, by far, my worst reading year ever. To find a book as exhilarating and unputdownable as The Fury of the Gods (despite some of the issues I had) is rare. Mark my words. The Fury of the Gods remains a breathtaking conclusion, as expected of John Gwynne. I don’t even know how he finished writing this book after the insane ordeal he and the Gwynnes faced in the time gap between The Hunger of the Gods and The Fury of the Gods. If you have watched my Best Books of the Year video, you will know The Fury of the Gods has landed its way to my list. I remain a fan, and I have faith that Gwynne’s next series will be an incredible series. Whatever it is, I know I will be reading it. To close this review, if you crave epic Norse mythology and Viking-centered epic fantasy, give The Bloodsworn Saga a try. If you did and you haven’t read The Banished Lands Saga yet, fix that situation ASAP. Skols.
Series Review:
The Shadow of the Gods: 5/5 stars
The Hunger of the Gods: 4/5 stars
The Fury of the Gods: 4/5 stars
The Bloodsworn Saga: 13/15 stars
You can order this book from: Amazon | Blackwells (Free International shipping)
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