Title:

Gods of the Wyrdwood

Author:

R. J. Barker

Category:

Science Fiction / Fantasy

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

October 22, 2023

n Gods of the Wyrdwood, R. J. Barker imagines a bleak world where humans struggle to eke out a living at the edge of a truly massive forest. The ground is barely fertile, and the crops are liable to be infected with poisonous bluevein plants. The weather is cold and windy, and the forest is always encroaching on the laboriously cleared lands. It is a world with active gods, though which particular god is currently in charge leads to all kinds of conflict. The humans paint their faces to identify their clans, and huddle together in their precarious villages.

Nahac was a young boy when a troop of monks of Zorir-Who-Walks-In-Fire march in a procession by the family farm. Normally the farmers simply watch the as the monks proceed onward to the nearby village of Harn, but this time they stop and the leader of the monks asks that Nahac and his sister Cahan join them. The monk leader senses something in Nahac, perhaps something in him that can be developed into a weapon for the god Zorir. Nahac can be trained to become a Cowl-Rai, a mighty magic user who will engulf the enemies of Zorir in flame.

Years later, Nahac returns to the deserted family farm. The god Zorir is not in power, instead, the god Tarl-an-Gig is ascendant. Nahac is clanless and shunned. The Harn villagers call him Forester because he is willing to enter the dangerous forest; no one knows Cahan's history or true identity. All Nahac wants to do is live in forgotten isolation with Segur, a toothy fox-like creature, but things rarely goes as planned.

Barker gradually reveals more about the characters and their landscape. There are crownheads (sheep-like creatures), gasmaws (mindless birds that seemingly are filled with lighter than air gas) and floatvines - which will drift into the sky if not anchored to a tree. The forest is a frightening place, filled with mysterious creatures such as rootlings and the terrifying boughry. Rarely does anyone venture further in than Woodedge. Beyond Woodedge, deeper into the forest was Harnwood. At the heart of the forest was the Wyrdwood, where massive, ancient trees grew so tall that their tops disappeared into the clouds. No human will brave the Wyrdwood - except when lured by the unimaginable wealth of a Treefall. Barker doesn't tell us why the toppling of a Cloudtree would be so valuable, but the reader cannot help but notice that the humans in this novel have no metal. Their tools, armor and weapons are all made of wood and leather. Perhaps wood from a Cloudtree is so strong it can act as metal. Some characters carry swords of hard wood.

As the plot unfolds, Barker keeps revealing more secrets from this violent, cruel world. Certain individuals carry inside of them an extra organ. This extra organ is called a cowl (which confused me, I thought a cowl was a hood,) but in the world of the Wyrdwood, a cowl lives beneath skin. A cowl has a mind of its own, demanding blood in exchange for power. People with a cowl are called Skau-Rai, they are fierce and cruel warriors. Sometimes the cowl inside gets corrupted and twisted creatures result, these are called the Hetton. Hetton are fearsome zombie-like powerful figures that mortal warriors cannot battle.

Barker also introduces the Dullers - Skau-Rai who have had their cowls burned out by magical means. These half-dead humans neutralize the effectiveness of the cowls in any Skau-Rai who gets near them. There are also the ReBorn - soldiers who have perished and yet cannot die. Even if dismembered or incinerated, they will slowly reassemble. Their sole wish is to die, to release themselves from the torment of living, but they are cursed with existence.

Barker also has invented a society populated with unique customs - a household will have second-wives and third-husbands. These large families have children, and occasionally a non-gendered kid called a trion. There are no kings or nobles; the rulers are called Leorics, they rule by the grace of the powerful monks of the current god in favor, Tarl-an-Gig.

All of this world building takes a lot of time. The Gods of Wyrdwood is 622 pages in the trade paperback edition, and still there is much more to be revealed - this is just the first book in the Forsaken Trilogy. I like all the thought that Barker put into the creation of this world, though it does take some time for the reader to figure out exactly what is going on. I look forward to the next book in the series.