Clear Good guys vs. Bad guys story, but with enough action and suspense to keep me turning the pages. It was good, and I hope the author continues the series.

Great start to the series.
Brilliant world building which is very important for me.
Loved the characters.
Now sad to have to wait for the next book haha

A bit of a slow read, but it was enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley and to the author for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. I'd started a couple of other NetGalley books and stopped within 3 pages on each (I won't name them here) but I was desperate for a good book and this....well...wasn't it.
The plot takes the Templar knights' story and transports it to a new land. But what we have is a Grail story. Brothers and soke other knights on a journey to protect a holy item and it's just a little bit clichéd.
We have our Good Guys - a small group travelling across the country and we have our Bad Guys who might as well be twirling their moustaches, rubbing their hands together and saying Bwahahaha.
And finally the book is a real object lesson in how not to write a female protagonist. It feels false when Adelais talks about her body and her feelings, a wolf trying to bleat like a lamb.
I won't be reading the rest of the Series.

What an amazing, brilliant book! Brilliant, complex characters and incredible world building. I flew through the last 50% of this book and could think about nothing else. The only problem is having to wait for the next one.

I enjoyed reading this medieval fantasy about Knights Templar and the holy grail set in an alternative world but recognisably medieval Europe. It's a magical adventure story of a nun who has been forced into a convent for an illicit affair but manages to find her freedom by allying with the Knights to save the relic and remains of the order and begins to discover her own power inherited from her nordic ancestry that connects her to the old gods.

I thoroughly enjoyed 2/3 of this book. I will say, the third act felt a little underdeveloped or rushed, leading to an ending that doesn’t necessarily leave me begging for the sequel. However, it is still a good read. The world created here is interesting. It doesn’t break any fantasy-genre molds, but it warrants further exploration. I hope for a better fleshing out of the magic system, but that is hardly a fault when the character development answers that.
Overall, a good read and I hope it finds a wide audience that it deserves.

An amazing beginning to the Rune Song Trilogy series, with incredibly rich world building featuring an alternate universe with a religious and political war occurring between a a Norse and 'Christian' religion, whilst magic is also real but it is seen as something evil and the main character, Adelais, is seen as a witch.

I loved the mix of fantasy and history in this and found it such an interesting read. I was absorbed into this new world and adventure and I really loved reading the different characters POV's too. I was hooked from the beginning and wanted to learn more about this world. The only downside was I did feel slightly confused at points to do with certain characters or elements of the world that were introduced but not explained very thoroughly, such as some things were mentioned as though the reader already knew what it meant like what 'Guardians' were or certain words used. Apart from that I really enjoyed this book an excitedly await the rest of the trilogy

As I have said before, there is something about a good fantasy book that always grabs me and lures me in, holds me hostage until I can finish it, and then leaves me pining for more. It is easy to say that this book is one of those, and it has left me waiting for the next in the series, though it will be a while, which will feel like so much longer.

The story revolves around that dangerous topic of Faith, that of the masses, that of other lands that are being squeezed out, and of course the different interpretations of the same faith, especially when greed and kings get involved. It has the feel of the fall of the Templers to it, with the greed of the kings and nobles putting pressure on parts of the church that tortures its own as well as any it considers as a heretic. It is a lovely play on our own histories, and the author does include elements from various faiths from our own past.

One of the many things I loved about this book is the way Gudgion writes about battles and the aftermath of the characters. Combat is not just written as a statement of who/what/where, but there is a fluid grace to the writing that makes you see and feel the impact of actions done, both physically and emotionally. The emotions of which got to me more than once.

I can only urge you to pick up this book and thrive in it as I did.

2.25/5 stars! I wanted to like this book, I really did. The premise was intriguing and I was excited about it. However, I really did not like this book. The religious aspect that was briefly mentioned in the premise was the focal point of the entire story and the fantasy and "magic" was far overshadowed by religion. It made it hard for me to finish this book and I won't be pursuing the sequel.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

An epic fantasy. I thoroughly enjoyed, huge thanks to the publisher , for this ARC via NetGalley. I look forward to more from the author.

I found this book to be very slow. It reminded me of George RR Martin in terms of the journey story-telling elements. It is very heavy on the religious themes, more so than fantasy, which added to the slowness. I wanted to DNF it at around the 30% mark but I prefer to finish ARCs in order to give full feedback, so I trudged on. There's very little action before the end of the book, and a fight scene near a bridge came to a conclusion too quickly for me. It felt that just as the pace picked up, the fight was over.

The narrative switches between three characters; a woman (Adelais) who was sent to a convent for sinful behaviour, a priest (Malory), and the son (Guy) of a man persecuted for having different religious beliefs. This third character heads off ahead of part 3 and isn't mentioned again, so I question the true impact his narrative had on the story and whether it was necessary. I found Adelais weak-minded, pining and worrying over 'her man' in moments of conflict rather than fighting and following common sense instincts to stand her ground or follow orders, risking the safety of those around her. I felt there was a case of insta-love and so much of her story was sexualised - the first interactions she has with a man outside of the convent approaches sexual abuse, the two initial interactions she has with women when she dresses as a man result in misunderstood attraction from one of the parties - all detracting from her portrayal as a strong character. Of course, this adds to the conflict of the story, being centred around strong religious themes and sin.

One character says to Adelais, "You have power you do not understand." Going into this book, I thought there'd be cases of rune magic, but although runes are referenced by Adelais, there's no evidence to support that there's any fantasy-style power here and instead, faith and coincidence are the powerful forces when people believe in them enough.

My disappointment can be wrapped up with this quote from a female perspective - "Being naked with [name] felt as natural as puppies tumbling over each other in a litter." Can we get a survey together to ask women whether they've ever compared intimacy with puppies please?

Overall, I had very strong urges to put the book down throughout. It lacked the fantasy elements I was expecting after reading the overview and I wouldn't be interested in book 2 as this just wasn't my style of story (we have enough problems with religion and gender in the real world so I'd rather read non-fiction than fiction on the matter) and nothing happened at the end to recapture my interest.

I really enjoyed this book. It reminds me of the Templars and their struggles. It's a fast paced book that gives you a view of what life would have been like in the MIddle Ages. I look forward to Gudgion's sequel.

I received an eARC from Netgalley.com and am providing an unbiased review.

I was a bit hesitant on requesting to read this story, based solely on the synopsis. Not so much what the story is about, but the last bit, where "... perfect for fans of ..." then lists a few authors that I consider fairly well-known for their works. This time I decided to take the risk, requested the novel, and am glad I did.

I already said I was hesitant about starting this one, and the beginning of the novel had me wondering if maybe I had been right. The story felt a little slow at the start, but soon started to make some sense. This portion of the tale is told by three of the more principal characters: Adelais, Malory, and Guy. Not one of my favorite ways of reading a story from three viewpoints, but for the most part, it works well for this tale. Much of it is because each character is not telling the same event(s) from their point of view, but the events around their self, which adds to the overall story.

Truly a very well written work that does remind me stories of the Templars, Vikings, and other mythological beliefs. Throw in a bit of Robin Hood type theatrics, and it turns out to be a really good story. I look forward to the next installment, and plan to check out other works from this author.

great start to the Rune Song Trilogy series, I enjoyed how good the fantasy elements were and learning about this world. It had everything that I was looking for and had great concept of Viking magic and Templar knights. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and it left me wanting to read more in this universe. G.N. Gudgion does a great job in telling the story and does what I wanted.

"She handed Adelais her staff, not noticing how tenderly Adelais received it; this too had been a gift from Yrsa. Only Adelais knew that the pattern of lines carved into its shaft were also runes, overlaid until they formed a continuous, apparently innocent, decorative band. But Chantalle was already at the temple door, checking that no novices or adeifes were in sight."

Hammer of Fate was an extremely entertaining book to read! I absolutely loved all of the characters, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book. I absolutely loved how the author threw in twist and turns. Great job!

Hammer of Fate is a historical fantasy in an alternate universe where the central character, Adelais, is effectively a young Norse woman with shamanistic skills trapped in a "Christian" resistance movement against a corrupt inquisitorial régime that labels her a witch. That she indeed has magic does not really become evident until near the end of the book, and will presumably be a more central element in the rest of the trilogy. However, magic isn't really required to retain interest up to that point as the adventure storyline is strong and gripping.
If G. N. Gudgion can maintain the level of this first novel in a three-part series, then I shall certainly await future publications from this author with the same anticipation I give novels by Joe Abercrombie or Sebastian de Castell. Indeed, it is the latter who most springs to mind when searching for a standard of comparison that does justice to the quality of writing herein.
There are obvious plot elements in common with de Castell's Greatcoats, but that is probably down to both authors incorporating aspects of the Templars and Dumas into their fictional military brotherhoods. More important similarities lie in the depth of character depicted and the strength of the plotting - both of which are presented in a writing style that flows easily and grips the reader from the start. This is an immensely promising beginning, and I look forward to finding out what comes next.