Heart of the Wyrdwood by RJ Barker

Publisher – Orbit

Published – Out Now

Price – £25 hardcover £14.99 ebook

That thing in Tiltspire, it keeps Cahan like a trophy. It says to us, here is your strongest and I have killed him.'

Cahan Du Nahare is lost, taken by a dark god whose tendrils reach throughout the world, intent on its destruction. Those who followed Cahan are spread across the land, desperate and lost now fate has turned against them. The Reborn warriors are toys for the enemy, the warrior Dassit, forestal Ania and monk Ont are drawn to the dangerous north but do not know why. Udinny is forced into the company of a woman who desires nothing more than her death and the Rai, Sorha, leads a dwindling band on a mission even she believes is doomed to failure. Only the trion Venn remains hopeful, slowly growing in power and trusting in the path of their god.

But maybe all is not lost, the great Wyrdwoods of Crua may be ancient and slow to act, but something in them is waking.

Wyrdwood is coming.

NB this books completed the Forsaken Trilogy that begins with the great  Gods of the Wyrdwood and followed by Warlords of Wyrdwood by RJ Barker

I like my epic fantasy to take some risks, offer me some surprises and occasionally wrongfoot me. If we simply have mentor, love interest, dark lord and comedy relief friend after a while when you’re read a lot of them its like reading the beats too early – its formula not art. When I get a trilogy that is trying very consciously to do something different I like to take notice and RJ Barker’s The Forsaken trilogy has I feel done just that. The unique world of vast forests, giant trees and a massively unusual ecosystem plus magic wielders we met in Gods of the Wyrdwood then in its success Warlords of Wyrdwood played with the formula, expanded the characters, widened this strange world and showed some hidden secrets above and below the land. Now in the grand finale Heart of The Wyrdwood where traditionally all our heroes come together for a long journey for good versus evil, we again get something different, and I am so very much entranced by it.

The evil Rai have won. Under their leader Saradis the God Zorir has been summoned into existence and Zorir now holds in one of their many tencles the body of Cahan. The one person with the power to stop Rai is no more. Instead, a fractured band of those who have resisted are trying their best. The Trion Venn is only just learning his powers. The funny offbeat warrior monk Udinny has died and been resurrected in the body a priest who loved murder. Cahan’s great enemy Sorha who over the last book became a reluctant ally is now underneath the world with a secret group known as the Osere who see the world through different senses. Everyone is broken up, lost and the world is very soon going to be purged by fire.

Epic fantasy is no stranger to long journeys. We come to expect people moving across the lovely map in each volume. Barker’s finale though reminds us of the other key journey the one the characters all make. When we look back to the ones we met in the first volume the huge changes in them this series and in particular this book delivers are pretty impressive. Is suspect no one foresaw the villainous Sorha becoming a much wiser and ashamed woman trying to do the right thing. The pompous Ont becoming a more spiritual character who respects the power of Wyrdwood or the comedic Udinny becoming a leader. Barker deliver this and more and in rotating chapters focuses quite introspectively on the emotional journeys of the characters. This is less about long walks (indeed this book has now magical portals) this is about characters pushed to their physical and mental limits, feeling exhausted, broken and yet putting one foot after the other however hard that is to both survive and to protect others. Epic fantasy is often going very large and this instead almost feels the introversion of that the stake of an entire world as always is there for us but its also that feeling which many of us may one day face when our bodies and minds are nearly spent but we want to keep going. Think of this as epic character-building and the journeys awaiting us are going to be pretty spectacular.

Of course this is fantasy and there is also ging to be a lot of magic. In many ways this is a book much more metaphysical and weirder than the two previous volumes. Cahan is fighting the same battle somewhere again and again. Ont is now with two companions on a quest to the more dangerous parts of Wyrdwood and what awaits is a powerful force that he and his companions will be changed by and its delivered so powerfully and strangely its one of my favourite parts of the story and let’s leave it at that beyond saying its gorgeously magical and truly weird. Sorha continues her remarkable character arc with the Osere and a race of people that don’t see offers unique advantages and dangers. All these sections though are coming together to reveal exactly what is this world about. Barker has been playing a long game and when we finally reveal how this ecosystem developed and, in many ways, has now started to collapse well I love some wrongfooting and also saying ‘ohhhhhh’. Let’s just say you’ll see things in a different light yet again with this series.

All of which then culminates in the books final heart with desperate people doing desperate things to survive. This is Barker’s most ambitious series to date with so many characters for good and evil having their own personal battles and yet linking together. Desperate escapes, sieges, attacks and rescues against an all-encompassing force are the bones of fantasy and in this case Saradis has on her side The Collared those people she has used her powers on to be completely mentally taken over. Who doesn’t like a good evil zombie like army to battle and I do applaud later on how Barker resurrects a lovely fantasy idea to battle them playing with the bones of fantasy is something this author does again and again.

The Forsaken trilogy is not an easy read and for that I applaud it as I want fantasy to be fantastical not predictable.  It has a world that is not like many you meet in fantasy, it has complex characters who aren’t your standard plucky heroes, and it has many concepts you have to learn to understand and translate. It for me almost an introverted fantasy series with a lot going on in the characters heads and motivations but that for me is an attraction as we get to understand why they do what they do. It is also full of surprises, it is full of interesting people and this world is and story isn’t one you’ll be reading again and again in many books. I like to read for a different experience, and this delivers that in spades. I’ve taken my time with his final instalment, followed these characters on their final journeys and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. If you’re searching for some deep fantasy woods to get lost in and to find wonders, horrors and excellent storytelling run into this one. Strongly recommended!