Note: This review may contain spoilers for the first two books in the Bloodsworn saga. 

Each time I read a novel by John Gwynne I am reminded of why I love the high fantasy genre. Monsters, magic, adventure, quests, good conquering evil, and most importantly characters fighting for those they love. Then add in Gwynne’s cinematic writing style, his action packed plots, his historical details from clothing to weaponry, his ability to fully immerse his readers and I’m given all my favourite aspects. It’s also important to note that Gwynne’s books are also easy to fall back into and continue the story, and this was especially true for the world of Vigrið as a summary of the previous books, a detailed character list and a glossary of Norse terms were all included. This shows an author who really cares for the readers’ experience. 

The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne is the third and final instalment in the Bloodsworn saga. This tale of vengeance, of powerful gods, warriors and creatures will conclude and the fate of Vigrið will be decided. The world of Vigrið is split in two, those in Lik-Rifa, the Dragon God’s host, and those fighting alongside Elvar and Ulfrir, the Wolf God. This is it, this is the last stand our characters will make. Will a mad god rule or will freedom be won? 

“They are about to find out that we are not sheep. We are the Bloodsworn, and we stand together, fight together. Die together, if needs be.”

From the first book I’ve always had two standout characters who I’ve continually loved following the most. The first would be Orka, whose driving force began with the quest of finding her son, Breca and avenging her husband, Thorkel. Yet in this instalment her motives include more than that. Orka is an absolute beast of a warrior, she’s ruthless, violent and full of rage. Yet despite this she also has a gentle, loving side, a side which fights for friendship and her Bloodsworn kin. She now fights for a better world for her son, for those she loves, a place where they’d be safe from mad gods and thrall collars.

The second is Varg and, like Orka, he fights for the same reasons, to avenge his sister is his main goal but in joining the Bloodsworn he gains a family too. Varg gains a sense of belonging and he would fight for them as they would for him. Then there is Elvar, and though she wasn’t a favourite of mine in this instance as many of her decisions were questionable in the first half of the novel, she too fights to keep her people, her Battle-Grim, from falling. Desperate not to be as cruel a Jarl as her father was yet forced into a difficult task, Elvar does make mistakes but it was a pleasure seeing her managing to right them by the end. Her friendship with Grend is her strength, the one thing that keeps her on track and this mentor/father figure relationship was something I enjoyed the most. That is a key theme here throughout: friendship, loyalty and love. Even side characters such as Svik, Røkia, Glornir, they are all driven by love for one another. That is what makes each and every one of these characters so compelling, so heartfelt. That is what tears us up each time Gwynne decides to kill any off! 

There have been plenty of villains throughout this trilogy, both the human and non-human kind. Lik-Rifa the mighty dragon god and Rotta the rat god say they fight for The Tainted to be free, for their kind to rule, to once again reign. Yet they fight for power and dominance, they would not be a salvation but instead a tyrant. Let’s not forget that Lik-Rifa is more than a little bit mad and she would aspire to enforce a different kind of slavery. Biórr is one such character who gets sucked into the notion of freedom and is blinded to see what the Gods really intend. Guðvarr’s character provides a mild comic relief in a very subtle way. He’s on the side of the enemy, deeply embedded in Lik-Rifa’s warband but he’s no mighty warrior, in fact he’s a huge coward. His inner thoughts reveal his fear in ways that made me chuckle throughout. Gwynne has always been great at creating villains to hate, but in this trilogy he shows us villains that are more complex, some like Biórr who fight for better treatment of their people and are not wrong in their cause, and some like Guðvarr who merely fight for survival. 

‘Lik-Rifa burst out of the darkness and through the open doors in a maelstrom of wings and jaws and snapping teeth, of scales and talons and razored, lashing tail, a hurricane of destruction riding the winds of a great storm. She beat her wings and slowed, descending, sending people flying with the turbulence of her landing, others running, leaping to escape her as she alighted in the great hall before Ulfrir. Almost gently she landed, and a silence settled over the hall, all those in combat pausing, stepping apart.

“Three hundred years I have waited for this,” Lik-Rifa said, her voice deep as the sea, rumbling as distant thunder.

Ulfrir looked at her, snarled, but said nothing.’

I’ve discussed a lot here about the motivations of each character’s fight but I really need to discuss the fights themselves because Gwynne’s battle scenes are like none other that I’ve read! He’s an absolute master at creating these epic scale combats in such a way that it plays like a film in your mind. There were many in this book, but one which really stood out to me was the battle between the Bloodsworn and the druzhina upon the sea. There was a sea-serpent, seiðr-witch throwing spells against the runes of their enemies, turning people to ice, and a shield wall formed upon a longship—I don’t think I’ve ever read of that before. Now if that hadn’t awed me enough, we then get the last battle between Lik-Rifa’s magnificent host and Elvar and Ulfrir’s. On one side we had trolls, frost spiders, spertus, Tainted warriors and on the other the Battle-Grim, Bloodsworn, Berserkirs and a very pissed off Frøa spirit. Thrilling, incredibly detailed and visually terrifying. Each scene was breath-taking but also very stressful to read. 

This is now my tenth read book by John Gwynne, he’s one of my most read authors, he still remains one of my all time favourite authors, and he still manages to catch me by surprise. He still manages to leave me with emotional damage. The Fury of the Gods ends the Bloodsworn saga in a whirlwind of chaos, blood and a shattered but remade world. It is phenomenally epic and has elements of everything that makes the fantasy genre so damn enjoyable to read. 

Review copy provided by Nazia at Orbit books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the copy!

All three books in The Bloodsworn saga are out now! You can order your copy of The Fury of the Gods on Bookshop.org