The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne continues where the first book left off. Orka is searching for her son, Varg is hunting down his sister’s murderer, and Glornir is trying to rescue his lover. To top it all off, Lik-Rifa is now free and resurrecting the wolf god Ulfrir may be the only key to defeating her. I admit, I was a little cautious coming into this book because sometimes middle books feel like a slog before the big final battle. However, this book does not relent. There is axe cleaving and throat slitting aplenty here. Also, I know I’m biased as a horror aficionado, but I adore this series’ grotesque monsters and the sheer amount of body horror incorporated into the story. In this book, we’re introduced to tongue-eaters—parasitic monsters that slowly devour its hosts’ tongue, until they grow large enough to burst from their hosts’ skull. In essence, they remind me of the chestbursters from Alien in the best possible way. All in all, this book was everything ...