This book is great. John Gwynne has leveled up his writing with this book but he is still the same kind of author as he was with the Banished Lands. The action scenes are great. I didn't love all the characters at first but by the end Gwynne had me intrigued with all of them. I will absolutely be continuing with this series. John Gwynne remains one of my favorite storytellers.

The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne is an epic fantasy with amazing action, character development, and world-building! The plot is gripping, with intense battles and a richly developed Norse-inspired world. Gwynne writes complex characters, each with their own motivations, struggles, and growth. Fans of high fantasy will appreciate the intricate world and the deep lore, while those new to Gwynne’s work will find it an exhilarating introduction to his impressive storytelling. A must-read for anyone craving an action-packed, emotionally resonant fantasy adventure!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc!

This was an epic and action-packed fantasy about vengeance, loyalty, friendship, power, grief and love.
Every book that Gwynne puts out, his storytelling prowess gets better and better. Granted, it should, but not always with other authors. Something as epic as The Shadow of the Gods needed a book two that would be able to hold its own in the weight class. Boy, does Hunger of the Gods do that. Its relentless with its punches, its a book you never want to put down.

Its also not everyday that a really solid story about viking mythology comes out and gets this much praise. Its awesome to see the growth of this niche subgenre of fantasy.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy, excellent world building, awesome characters and great writing.

5 ⭐️

This book really just fired on all cylinders for me. The reveals, the god drama, and the plights of our main cast truly just came together to make a truly explosive sequel. Also…that ending has me EAGER to find out what happens. This series was interesting because it wasn’t until the end of this book that I realized the characters had snuck up on me and I truly cared about them. If you are at all into epic fantasy set in a lush Norse-inspired world you should read this series STAT.

Thank you to Orbit for providing me a copy to review.

THE HUNGER OF THE GODS – by John Gwynne

D*MN. IT!

Gwynne, ‘“You Dirty Bird!”’

That Ending—My Heart!

I want to start by saying that Jay Kristoff’s praise for Book One, THE SHADOW OF THE GODS, as being ‘“Visceral, Heart-Breaking, Unputdownable,”’ is on point and a common theme of the trilogy thus far, and I can not wait to read the next Book.

But…Wait we must, as Book Three THE FURY OF THE GODS is not scheduled for release until October 22, 2024—though subject to change.

Again, I Reiterate…

‘D*MN. IT.’

I Am Hooked. I Am Invested. More, Please!

‘“Do not keep your beast on a leash,” Glornir said, his voice low and deep as he pulled on his iron helm. “There is no need to hide what we are this day. This day we are the pack, and they are the prey.” He let out a low, rumbling growl that vibrated in Varg’s chest. “This will be their last day.”’

Highly Recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley and Orbit Books (Hachette Book Group, Inc.) for providing me with an eBook of THE HUNGER OF THE GODS at the request of an honest review.

Absolutely amazing! Epic battles and character development. I love anything with Norse mythology and this is done so so well.

This was an action-packed, high-stakes read that drew me in! It jumped right back in after the extremely epic cliff hanger of the last book, which was gratifying because I was left with so many questions! If readers enjoyed the first book, they will equally enjoy this follow up and be counting the days for the release of the series finale!

Fantastic sequel but I didn’t expect anything less from this author. He knows how to tell a story and to get you invested in the stakes. I cannot wait for the final book. Absolutely fantastic series with great lore and characters. Highly recommend as I have just finished my reread in preparation for book 3.

Loved book one but am setting this down for now as I could not get into this book. Might be my current mood so will try again later

I cannot believe I’m writing this review, but I can’t with this book. I just CAN’T. I absolutely adored the first book, but I’ve DNFed this three separate times since it came out, and only on my 4th time made it past page 100—and it didn’t get any better! It’s been a slog each time, and hasn’t ever clicked.

And I’m not the only one. Now, they may be few and far between, but I’ve heard of some people (who loved the first one) DNFing the second. As a consensus, #2 wasn’t as good as the first. But what went wrong?

<b>Too many characters I didn’t care about.</b>
The additions of Gudvarr and Bíorr. My realization that I just didn’t care about so many of the characters—or at least didn’t relate to any of them.

<b>Too much war, not enough… else.</b>
The same reason that I quit Gwynne’s previous series; the amount of blood-feuds in this is ridiculous. Gone is the sense of exploration and wonder of a world with the gods arisen, replaced instead by <i>what can this world do for me</i> and as a means to make war on someone else. It’s just one character swearing vengeance on another, all that will surely be resolved in some battle between the two. The precarious balance between adventure and feud has been tipped. There’s nothing wrong with a good book full of war, but those that are should have the decency to say it upfront.

It’s just… I can’t care about it. Now maybe I’ll get back to this for a FIFTH time in the future, and read it through and finish it without trouble and wonder what the heck happened the first four times—but I doubt it. This just isn’t for me, sad but true.

So I was disappointed with the additional POV, characters I did not like or remember from the previous book they just made me drag through the book and dimmed my enjoyment. Orka is still my favourite.

This was my first reading of John Gwynne's works, and I have to say that his writing is totally gripping. I love character driven stories that exist in well developed fantasy worlds that nod to the ancient gods. The characters and the difficulties they face were faschinating to read.

An incredible follow-up to The Shadow of the Gods. Gwynne somehow surpasses his former greatness and continues to write excellent characters, unparalleled action, and a beautiful setting. The Viking-inspired setting felt original yet familiar, and I'm entirely wrapped up in this world.

This was a great read, it has been on my TBR list for a while and I'm glad I got to it. The characters are even further fleshed out from the first novel. The gods have shown their faces. John Gwynne knows how to set up a scene, he knows how to get you on the edge of your seat and his fight scenes are amazing, only one author writes them better in my opinion (R.A. Salvatore). Looking forward to the final book in the series.

Thank you NetGalley, Orbit, and John Gwynne for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a fantastic fantasy novel that continues on with the story started in the first book. It’s fast-paced and full of great world-building and characters. I highly recommend it!

I've never read anything by the author before this series so I didn't know what I was expecting. But this epic fantasy with a huge cast of characters and some spectacular action sequences definitely deserves to be on top of anyone's TBR.

John Gwynne is a master of his craft. His ability to create such breathtaking scenes is unmatched. The characters are all so real and he's one of the few fantasy author's today that I feel is capable of writing women accurately. The pacing of this book is fantastic and I will be recommending it to anyone in search of a grimdark-esque fantasy.

It really wasn't as good as everyone says. Have higher standards. His original series is better. Having said that it was enjoyable enough but didnt get attached to the characters like I expected to.

The Hunger of the Gods is an emotionally and action packed story that will leave you on the edge of your seat wanting more.

The Hunger of the Gods picks right up where The Shadow of the Gods ended and I am grateful for that because I was left a crying mess at the end of the first book. And you know what? Gwynne was like, "I know I made you cry at the end of the first book, but I am also going to make you cry at the beginning of this one" because that is what happened to me. First chapter into this book and I was being flooded with memories of Mord, and Lif was breaking my heart and yah I was crying. I have never read a book that made me cry in the first chapter and from that point I KNEW this was going to be amazing. One of the bits I loved bout this book was that Gwynne added in a "What Happened Last"synopsis, a character list, and a pronunciation guide for the Norse letters, and this was such a brilliant addition! Adding the pronunciations made it so much easier for me to immerse myself in the language. I was properly pronouncing names in my head, and reading the Seðior-Witch spells was a million times easier, and I found myself not willingly skipping over them like I was in the first book, although a few of the longer ones I will admit to just looking at them and not trying to read them, I give Gwynne all the credit for really committing to creating the spells.

Now as for the structure of this installment we are not only blessed with our returning POV characters Orka, Varg and Elvar, we are given 2 new ones Biórr and Guðvarr. I'll admit I was initially not looking forward to seeing that they had chapters as frankly they were not two characters I was to happy with, but Gwynne proved to me that their povs actually helped give more depth to the overall story. Being able to see what was going on through the lens of the villains side was actually quite intriguing. It also allowed for us to see first hand the plans unfold with Lik-Rifa and her followers. Without them that just wouldn't have been possible.

Now while Guðvarr is not my favorite character I actually found myself enjoying his chapters a lot, and its due to the approach that Gwynne took. The internal monologue that this man had going on was hilarious! He is the literal definition of a coward, who thinks he is a warrior but also knows deep down that he is not a warrior. His constant "stick it to them attitude" in his head is far different from what he continuously shows on the outside, that it is hilarious. I found myself laughing way more then was probably necessary in his chapters. I still want him dead, but he at least brings a lot of laughter to the table. Meanwhile Biórr's pov was honestly the ones I looked forward to the least, he spends a lot of time dwelling on his past and his actions and frankly I don't feel any remorse for this man, he betrayed people and I am not here to give him my sympathy. But what I did like with his chapters was that it allowed us access to the children and to see Lik-Rifa's plans first hand. It also allowed for more opportunity to learn more about Lik-Rifa herself and her past.

The action in this is top notch again and towards the end when the action really starts to pick up, more often than not I was sitting there freaking out, hoping and praying someone wasn't going to die, and just when I thought I was safe and everyone was good, Gwynne turned around and RIPPED them from my hands and left me devastated and crying. I had not realized how over the course of this book the small interactions between all the characters really carved their way into my heart (in Orka and Vargs portions of the story mind you, I am extremely attached to all of them....and Grend) So I was very devastated during the final parts of this book. No one is safe and I know I will be crying more come the 3rd book. There is a lot of traveling in this story but I feel it was necessary since everyone is on the move, either hunting someone down or making way to start a war, and so for me I didn't mind the traveling. There is also a lot of low moments where we get to see certain characters get more training (Lif my darling boy), we get some softer character moments that clearly point to deeper feelings forming (so sweet) and we learn more about Orka's past and let me just say, she has always had that mother bear trait and I am living for it. There are also countless moments that left me dazed and shocked, expecially at the end, things were happening that I was not even dreaming would happen and then I was left with the biggest cliffhanger possible and I don't know what to do with myself now.

One of the biggest aspects of this story that is hitting me deeply is the attention to mothers. Gwynne is really digging deep into this part of the story and seeing as mothers usually get shafted in fantasy stories this is just everything I could want. And it's not just him giving us Orka the strong battle mother who will kill literally anyone who gets in her way, or Uspa the Seðior-Witch who will literally tie a group by a blóð-svario to get her boy back, it's the way that some of the children act as well in regards to their moms. Take this small interaction between Bjarn and another character

"I want to go back with my momma," he said, a fat tear rolling down his cheek.
"She cannot protect you like we can"
"But, she is my mama"

This small interaction ripped into my heart and had me sobbing. Not because I feared for this boy but because for me this scene portrayed how in his mind no matter the situation, his mama is his protector and he is safest with her, and I have never seen a mother in fantasy treated like this. And maybe it's because I'm a mom myself and I want nothing more than to not be treated as an annoying side character who gets forgotten or dies, that all of this attention that Gwynne is putting on the mothers in this story is hitting me deeper than it might be for others, but I love the care and detail he puts into it and I look forward to seeing more in the next book.

Another aspect that I love seeing is the inspiration that flows through the story. As a fan of Norse mythology myself I can see where the gods have inspired certain gods in this world, and it's thrilling to see how Gwynne pulls from real sources but reimagnes them in a whole new way. The myths, legends and gods he has created in his world are so intriguing and I want more. He expands on what he had already given us in the first book and I am living for it, there are so many gods and once again I absolutely love how their skeletons play into the world around them, but what I love most is that Gwynne expands his myth creations beyond Vigrid and I want all the details now!

I am once again flabbergasted at Gwynne's writing and was thoroughly pleased with this installment. I am so looking forward to the 3rd book!

This book was fantastic. I had just as much fun with the second in this series as I did the first. John Gwynne is an insanely talented storyteller and I’m so glad I have the opportunity to read his works.

Can we normalize authors including pervious book summaries in their series? I found this so helpful, and really hope more authors utilize this feature. Genius.