The Forester known as Cahan led the village of Harn in rebellion against the all-powerful, oppressive forces of the Rai. A great victory was won, but to avoid retaliation, he must now lead the people of Harn into the forest.

Cahan never wanted this responsibility, but fate and his gods have conspired against him. Without him, the people will be helpless against the great beasts and poisonous traps of the forest - not to mention worse things that dwell there. A corruption grows in the fungi and decay of the Wyrdwood, a magic unlike any Cahan has ever seen - can he resist its deadly pull, while avoiding his pursuers, and trying to turn his charges into true people of the Wyrdwood?

Warlords of Wyrdwood is book two 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.

Even better than book one! More creepy, weird world building with more POV characters than book one. A solid middle book and I cannot wait for book three!

Thanks to RJ Barker and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for my review.

I m a long time fan and reader of Barkers work & this follow up book to God's of Wrydwood does not disappoint.

This complex fantasy delves further into the forest & it's relationship to the main protagonist.

A wild ride with God's and symbiotic magic that if you read the 1st book, you will understand to be completely unique.

The characters & the world building make the story "pop" and feels like you are there!

Look out for the next books in the series

Its time to return to the weird world of forests and villages near the magical woods of the Forsaken trilogy. Thankfully, the book begins with a summary of what the story has been so far since the previous book made it clear that there would not be a pithy monologue by the narrator to acclimate readers into this world and it history and magic. Narration continues in the third-person, as it was in Gods of the Wyrdwood, but we get more perspectives in this story. Cahan remains a central character to the tale but others share focus and all of their journeys through the woods play an important part in the plot. The magic of this strange, jarring woodland continues to change too, and the adventurers discover new places that uncover unfamiliar aspects to the woods. All of the central characters feel the world changing, something pushing or pulling them deeper into the change as the story winds toward its epic conclusion. This book did a good job of widening the story and creating more engaging characters and then dropping into a cliffhanger of a non-ending that left me in dire anticipation of the final book to this trilogy. Those who enjoyed the first book in this series should be pleased with Warlords of Wyrdwood and anyone who has not visited the Wyrdwood but enjoys epic fantasy in unique settings with unusual magic systems should plan an adventure to the Wyrdwood.
I received access to this ARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Orbit Books) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.