Smorgasbord Fantasia

 October seems to be the month for series finales for me! Right on the heels of Mirrored Heavens (Between Earth and Sky) I wrapped up The Fury of the Gods the much-awaited third and final book in this norse-inspired epic fantasy by fan-favorite J ohn Gwynne , known for having his fabulous big fat epic novels ( Faith and Fallen , and the sequel Blood and Bone )  His new trilogy, the Bloodsworn saga is set in an Viking-sque world, still scarred and reeling from the last war between Gods, all of whom are now fallen or lost.  The Shadow of the Gods and  The Hunger of the Gods sets up the readers for this absolutely compelling nail biting frenzy of a climax, bringing this brilliant tale to a closure. Written across multiple narratives, the readers follow the fate of the lead characters, damaged and scarred by their life experiences, as their world Vigrid comes under attack yet again with colossal powers rising up from dead, set to clash with each other.  By...

John Gwynne continues to impress with the second volume in The Bloodsworn saga , Hunger of the Gods. Building out his Norse-inspired world, Hunger of the Gods is no longer just about the brave, foolish and gritty set of warriors seeking out their place in the saga-tales. It is in fact, a rip-roaring adventure where the lines between reality and myth has blurred. The Gods are real and they are alive, breathing fire and raining destruction, ripping apart our living world as we know it. Lik-Rafa, the dragon God has been freed by her worshippers and is a terrible force to reckon with, as she wants to seek revenge for wrongs done to her and her children eons ago. Drawn into this terrifying reality are the brave bunch of adventure-and-glory seekers, both the bands of warriors, The Battle-Grim and the Bloodsworn. And in the middle of all this, Orka - the lone 'wolf' continues her search for her cub, Breca who may have been kidnapped by the dragon-worshippers, in order to bring her to...

 A John Gwynne book is a matter of celebration. Period.  Because with John, you know what you are getting into. Heroic Fantasy built on the back of some brilliant world building, amazing cinematic fight sequences, well-rounded characters you will love to follow unto the depths of hell, non-stop pacing and the pulse-pounding gut-wrenching action. Did I mention action ? Maybe I didn't. So let me state that clearly for you - John writes the best fantasy action sequences ever.  With the new book, The Shadow of the Gods , John has clearly outdone himself and I am so so so...much in awe of his writing. This one's the opening salvo in a trilogy named Bloodsworn - and right there, in the name itself, John has made it very clear that this one's going to be bloodier, darker and colder. Set in a Norse-mythology inspired fantasy world called Vigrid, men and women live in the shadow of Gods. Because eons ago, the Gods died in a brutal destructive war. It's the kind of war where s...

 This week, on Waiting on Wednesday meme where we feature some of the most anticipated SFF Titles releasing later this year, we bring you the much-awaited ( and super hyped but rightly so!) The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne , book one in this new series called the BloodSworn Saga. A new world inspired by the Vikings, this promises so much action and excitement in vintage John Gwynne style. I cannot wait to dive into this one, lucky to have snared the ARC :)  Set in a brand-new, Norse-inspired world, and packed with myth, magic and bloody vengeance, The Shadow of the Gods begins an epic new fantasy saga from bestselling author John Gwynne. After the gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrið. Now a new world is rising, where power-hungry jarls feud and monsters stalk the woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power for those brave - or desperate - enough to seek them ...

A Time of Blood is my second John Gwynne book, after his last year's opening salvo A Time of Dread in the new series, Of Blood and Bone - set in the same world as his first series, Of Faith and Fallen . Do you need to read Faith and Fallen before this one? probably not, but be warned that this new series actually is like the tip of a giant ice-berg buried below the sea-level, building up on the histories, back stories, myths and culture that was all set up fairly deep on the foundations of that swashbuckling heroic fantasy quadrilogy. Now when you open a John Gwynne story, you open it with certain expectations.  The action is guaranteed to thrill you: Expect cinematic choreographed set-pieces that compete with brutal, intense one-on-one combats,. And the narrative template is fairly straightforward - featuring men and women of extraordinary valor trying to gather around their deep rooted ideals and morals fighting for what they believe is right, against clearly defined...

I had completely given John Gwynne a miss the last few years - Despite Malice , the first book in his previous series ( The Faithful and the Fallen ) winning the best debut, Gemmell Award in 2013. He wrapped that one up with Wrath last year and this year, starts off a brand new epic series in the same world as that of the Banished Lands, set one hundred thirty years later. Call it a selfish wish, But I always have this thing about being among the first few. (Anything! reading, sports whatever!) And so, with A Time of Dread (ATOD) I knew, I was jumping in on a brand new series. But from what I could gather in my first few minutes of the read, the entire previous series forms the history to what transpires in ATOD. How cool is that . That mammoth berg buried under the sea, I knew I had to dig under and find out more about Corban and his friends. But it could wait. Because before I knew it, I was nose-deep, nose to the grinding-wheel find out what is causing A time of dread in the Ban...

Continuing on with our regular feature on books that are highly anticipated this year, this week I would like to throw the light on the upcoming Time of Dread , by John Gwynne set in the same universe as his first series - Faithful and the Fallen. I unfortunately haven't read his first series but wish to make full amends with this one: Of Blood and Bone . Go on, spin me a yarn full of demons, angels and blood-bath! Set in the same world as the Faithful and the Fallen quartet, the first novel in John Gwynne's Of Blood and Bone series, A Time of Dread, takes place one hundred years after the end of Wrath. The Ben-Elim, a race of warrior angels, once vanquished a mighty demon horde. Now they rule the Banished lands. But their dominion is brutally enforced and their ancient enemy may not be as crushed as they thought. In the snowbound north, Drem, a trapper, finds mutilated corpses in the forests - a sign of demonic black magic. In the south, Riv, a young, tempestuous sol...