Polygon Excerpt Released for New Fantasy Book Wolves of War

Andrzej Sapkowski drew on Slavic mythology when writing The Witcher, his legendary fantasy series about a war-torn world filled with magic and monsters. If you have been playing through The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered and want a similar dark fairy tale flavor, you will want to check out a new fantasy epic arriving in November.

John Gwynne drew on Norse mythology and the tale of Beowulf for The Bloodsworn Saga, the trilogy he completed in 2024 with the New York Times-bestselling book The Fury of the Gods. His next book, The Wolves of War, turns to Slavic mythology for a tale he describes as The Witcher meets Stephen King’s Carrie.

The story follows Ivan, a father trying to protect his family from a war between two princes in a fantasy version of Kievan Rus. While his daughter, Halia, seems helpless, she escapes from her body when she dreams and communes with wolves and forest fae creatures like rusalka, domovoi, upir, leshen, and striga. Halia must master her new powers if she and her family are to survive the coming conflict.

“A Slavic-inspired forest is almost a character in its own right,” Gwynne told Polygon. “It is not a pleasant stroll in dappled woods. The forest in this tale is dark and oppressive and terrifying.”

Ahead of the book’s release on Nov. 3, publisher Orbit gave Polygon the chance to exclusively reveal the first two chapters of The Wolves of War. The book begins by introducing the brewing conflict as Ingvar Ruriksson claims his dead father’s sword and prepares to go to war to conquer new lands. Two years later, Halia begins to learn the way of the wolf while she slumbers.

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Source: Polygon