December 26, 2024sarahylockwood

Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne

Rate: 5/5

Medium: Book (ARC)

Overview (No Spoilers): 

Receiving Fury of the Gods as an advanced review copy almost a month before the release date was one of my top reading moments of 2024. I flew through this read, loving every minute of it. I cried. I laughed. This was the perfect conclusion to what has been an amazing journey. That said, I sat on this review until I finished the story for a second time because so very much happened I wanted to live it all again. Even though I had just read the advanced review copy immediately prior to listening to the audiobook, I was just as hooked the second time around, despite knowing what twists and turns were in store. Honestly, knowing what was coming at various stages made it that much more difficult to listen to because the heart can only take so much.

Gwynne is a master at making every word count, as he packs in copious amounts of material into his books. Following his reads, I’m routinely astonished at everything our beloved characters go through during one novel. I have grown to love these characters and the unique prose throughout this trilogy. It keeps my thought cage churning, even weeks after finishing Fury of the Gods. Elvar has arguably grown the most throughout this trilogy, but would she have risen so high had she not been bound by a blood oath? The rest of the main characters from Biorr and Guovarr to Orka and Varg are all brilliantly crafted, though it is the supporting cast, such as sweet Einar or constantly inappropriate Aesa, who elevates this story beyond its contemporaries. When I write a blog post, especially about a book I want to rave about, I make a list of characters I want to make a point about, I ended up stopping at 36 characters before I realized I was going a bit overboard. This extensive list has to highlight Gwynne’s extraordinary ability to connect characters to readers.

One of the very few complaints I have regarding the Fury of the Gods is with the stunning cover. I always avoid book blurbs due to wanting to avoid any and all spoilers going into a novel. Though with Fury of the Gods, as soon as I saw the cover reveal I knew exactly what one of the key plot twists was going to be waiting in the wings. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Though this same complaint could be said for the previous two covers as well.

By the end of Fury of the Gods, there was so much talk of blood debts and revenge that it felt like a never ending cycle. Sure some of the blood debts made sense when an underhanded or cowardly act could be attributed to the death, for example Guovarr with Lif’s brother. But when someone is slain in battle, how does a blood debt make sense when all parties are fighting for survival. When does it stop?

Overall, Fury of the Gods was every bit the final installment I could have hoped for, though no character is safe from Gwynne’s pen as everyone in caught up in a fight that is out of legend.

Additional Insights (Spoilers Abound): 

  • Living a life that finds you immortalized in a song is referenced continuously, but there’s no mention of any skulds being around to capture what happens. With so much happening, who will make it into legend and who will fall into oblivion? 
  • As Orka accomplished getting back Breka and then utterly fixated on getting vengeance against Drekr, I couldn’t help but reflect on what Thorkil would think of her dragging Breka into violence. I can’t imagine he would have been a fan of her utter lack of regard for what would happen to Breka if she fell in battle. 
  • I loved Varg’s ending, especially as he sets the stage for the Bloodsworn to have a home. Plus how fitting that he and Rokia become lovers. 
  • With the havoc wrecked by Snaka what will the world look like now that the war is over? Mountains will have moved along with countless other geographical changes. What will these Jarls find when they return to their lands? What of the common people?
  • Will the Bloodsworn find peace?
  • Will Rurik rally his fleet again? Did he survive?
  • Where will Ufrir take up residence again now that the Wolfdale is destroyed? How will he hold true to his oaths now that he’s the only reigning god? Where will Rotta hide? Will Ufrir find him?
  • Will Saeunn and Lif start a relationship?
  • What did Ufrir promise the faunir?
  • I cried reading it in print and then again in audio but when Elvar frees the thralls it is beautifully orchestrated. Especially her private moment with Grend. It shouldn’t have been surprising when Grend turns out to be tainted, though how it was revealed caught me off guard. 
  • Dagrun keeping Orka on her toes regarding knowing her secret was another interesting side story and forced Orka to trust in a way she is not used to. Plus, Orlyg was a delightful character we didn’t see enough of. 
  • What will happen to Fain, Harek, and the other children?
  • What will happen to Hrung next?
  • I was annoyed by Gunnar’s need for revenge against Biorr. What was Biorr supposed to do? If he had not killed Gunnar’s lover she would have killed him? This was one stretch of the blood debts that went too far for me. 
  • Ugh. Poor Einar! His body must have been buried in the collapsed Wolfdale.
  • I constantly had misconceptions about how big the Bloodsworn as a whole were. Randomly Gwynne would drop a figure about how many were killed during a battle and it was so much larger than I anticipated. 
  • Elvar’s death was so heartbreaking on so many levels. I feel like I have so much I want to say but have no words, even weeks after first reading her death. 
  • Glornir is another death that hurts even weeks after I’d read it. What will Vol do now?

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