Reviews with content warning for War - The Hunger of the Gods

I enjoyed the additional exploration of the world as well as the characters. Getting to see the main three from the first book really grow and see where their actions take them, as well as getting the viewpoints of other characters and how Orka, Varg, and Elvar's actions affect others kept me engaged throughout.

I love Orka's chapters, it's very refreshing to see a mother be an absolute badass.

Book three when?

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lenakathryn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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britreads's review

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Hopefully this isn't too long of a review.

I'm disappointed by this book. I thoroughly enjoyed The Shadow of the Gods and was exciting to see where the story would pick up in the sequel The Hunger of the Gods. Unfortunately, I felt that this book served as a long prelude to the last book and was intended to move characters in place in preparation for the 3rd/final book. I'll briefly go through my likes and dislikes with this book.

Likes:

Orka was my favorite character in Shadow and she's my favorite character here. She doesn't change much (or at all really), but I loved following her journey as she continued to search for her son. I also really enjoyed her mentor-mentee bond with Lif and I hope there are more scenes where the two connect in the next book.
Spoiler
I do not for a second believe she is dead at the end of this book. I don't think Gwynne has killed off a single main character in either this book or the first book. I can't imagine him killing off Orka when it's clear she'll have a large role to play in the finale.
Varg was my second favorite character and even though I felt like the Bloodsworn plot line wasn't the strongest here, I still enjoyed being in his head as he navigated being part of this mercenary group and figuring out his magical/supernatural abilities.
Spoiler
I also liked the return of some of the gods like Ulfir and Rotta. Writing about world where the gods once existed, then died, but are now coming back to life is unique. I wish there were more consequences for this happening. It felt like Ulfir and Lik-Rifa returned and some of the Tainted had dreams of their returns, yet it doesn't seem to impact larger society. Something that monumental should cause people to start to act up. I am curious to see if/what other gods will return in the final book. I definitely foresee Snaka coming back to life.
I enjoyed some of the antagonist. I thought Myrk was interesting and fun for a bit.
While I do have some gripes with Gwynne's writing (which I'll get into soon), I liked the descriptions of the land and battle. The fights here were just as brutal and visceral as in the first book. I imagine we'll get bigger, bloodier, tense battles in the next book.

Dislikes:

This book is way too long. A lot of actions are repetitive. Characters move from location to location. Maybe a battle is thrown in and there may be some slight character and team development. We're given two new POVs here and while I understand why they're here (
Spoiler
Biorr's characters let us know what's going on with Lik-Rifa and Gudvarr's characters give us insight into Helka, Skalk and Vol for a bit
) I don't think we needed as many side perspectives as we were given
Elvar was my least favorite character in the first book and I DEFINITELY do not like her in this book. She's an enslaver and works with a band of slave catchers. She seems to harbor now conscious towards the mistreatment of thralls.
Spoiler
I also don't believe she's a worthy leader of the Battle-Grim and I definitely rolled my eyes at the end when she became Jarl of her father's realm.
Personally, I'm hoping/praying for her downfall in the next book. (I do like Grend though and will be devastated if anything happens to him. Or Uspa!)
This book made me realize there's no clear magic ranking here. I don't see how Galdur-magic compares to Seidr magic. Skalk claims to take Vol because she's powerful and unique, yet Vol's power doesn't seem any different from what Uspa can do.
Spoiler
And with Uspa and Skalk both raising and enthralling gods, it's never clear if this has significant cost to the spellcasters. It feels like resurrecting once dead gods would incur serious complications.
Briefly returning to the writing....this book over uses words like 'thought-cage' and 'hump.' I don't know if Norse texts refer to sex by saying 'hump' or 'humping,' but I found the constant use of this word jarring and juvenile. Just say 'sex' or 'fuck.'

Overall, I thought it was a decent fantasy novel. Not as engaging and thrilling as the first book. I hope Gwynne can balance the different storylines without sacrificing pace and length in the third book. I hope we return to three POVs in the next book (though I doubt that will happen and even believe we'll see another couple of perspectives added). I plan on reading the next book when it's released and I may check out Gwynne's other work. (I own a copy of Malice). While I was disappointed with this book, I hope the next book and meet or exceed the expectations established by The Shadow of the Gods.

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pvbobrien's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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mariediane016's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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darkefyres's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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booksaremythirdplace's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I'm not ok. I'm not ok right now.

I rarely say this, but WOW, this book is even better than the first! Picking right up where we left off, we get two new POVs added to the story on the “villain” side, so it’s even more exciting as a reader to get to see what’s happening all over the land of Vigrið, and not just where our protagonists are. Plus, because of the characters’ complexity, I’m a bit torn on some of them. We also get a peek into the other continent in the South, which I’m very curious to see expanded upon in book three. It reminded me a lot of the Southern Continent in Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas with a Khagan and his children scheming over who will take the throne. But I’m getting ahead of myself. So here are some more thoughts on why you need to read this book immediately:

Gwynne is a saint for including a full recap, pronunciation guide, and cast of characters at the beginning of the book in case it’s been a while since you’ve read book one. Honestly, I wish all series would include this!

Trying to keep this spoiler free is difficult, but I’ll do my best. This sequel sports even more action, vengeance, and more creatures that will possibly give you nightmares. Why does every epic fantasy have to have giant spiders? But Gwynne’s take on magical creatures is wholly different and feels fresh.

We finally see some paths cross, which I was looking forward to seeing, and a few reveals I was definitely not expecting. It’s so rare for an author to have the ability to create such in depth characters, while also weaving a masterful plot and complex world. I am so invested. The last third of the book was a non-stop roller coaster. I could not put it down. The final few pages had me screaming. Gwynne has been firmly placed on my list of autobuy authors.

My very minor gripe is the same: there’s still heavy use of the word, “thought-cage”, but I’ve grown used to it.

Other than that, this is a close-to-perfect sequel. I am heartbroken we have to wait at least a year for book three to come out, because I cannot wait to go back to Vigrið. Prepare for the ending to utterly break you.

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