Update 11/30/24: Dropping to 3.5 stars unfortunately. Review still stands, just feeling less satisfied by the conclusion the book presents.

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The Bloodsworn Saga has come to a close 🥲. What an awesome series. What an awesome world John Gwynne has crafted.

While The Fury of the Gods is a crazy thrill-ride with a mostly satisfying conclusion, unfortunately is my least favorite of the series, and I think it's the weakest. And it really sucks to say that because I wanted so badly to completely love this book with my whole heart due to the effort and amazingly commendable strength from Gwynne to even write this in the first place after the tragic loss of his daughter. He deserves all the praise and support for what he's accomplished.

Having said that, I have to be honest and admit this book felt inconsistent and disjointed sometimes. Both in the actual prose and plotting. This is likely a result of the intense and sporadic pacing throughout most of the book. In typical Gwynne fashion, this conclusion is action-packed and thrilling. But it's too much action sometimes, and I wish things would slow down a little bit, have more moments to breathe and allow characters more introspection. Instead it kinda jumps around, way more than usual in his conclusions to a series, and actually begins to feel repetitive, which I did not feel with Wrath and only mildly felt with A Time of Courage. Some things kind of come out of nowhere too, and some things feel to simplistic and easy. I also thought some character arcs weren't very consistent, in particular Elvar's. Ultimately, this book probably wasn't as polished and thorough as it could have been. It really would have benefited from fifty to a hundred more pages in my eyes. But who knows, maybe I'm just being picky too, or had sky high expectations. Sometimes I feel like I'm being intentionally observant of things to criticize rather than simply trying to enjoy a book, and that easily could've been part of my experience here.

But anyways, enough negativity, and let me emphasize the fact that I think it's still a good book. It delivers on so much, especially Orka and Varg's character arcs. Orka remains one of the best fantasy female protagonists in the genre. She's incredible. The war between gods is wild and intense. While I did state there was sometimes too much action, that doesn't deetract from the amazing battle sequences John Gwynne continues to excel at (there's a sea battle in the middle that was spectacular). Nor do my qualms overshadow Gwynne's continued focus on found family and the love between people. That is heart and soul of everything he writes, and it remains profound and touching as ever in this conclusion.

Yeah, I'm sad I didn't love this as much as I wanted to. I obviously feel somewhat conflicted about the execution of some elements, making it a partially disappointing experience. Maybe when I reread the series in its entirety, I'll feel differently. At least I hope so. But it's still enjoyable and a great time. It's emotional, chilling, super bloody, and brings a solid conclusion to the Bloodsworn Saga. I'm really gonna miss Vigrið and all of these loveable crazy vikings. Thanks John Gwynne.