Godkiller review

5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: high fantasy, gods and goddesses, multiple POVs, complex characters, disability rep

This book was absolutely fantastic. I loved the characters and the worldbuilding, the adventure and the magic. It’s a relatively short book and I zoomed through it and now I desperately need the sequel.

In this world, gods used to be as common as loose change. Since the god war though, they’ve been slowly killed until many of the old and wild gods are dead and the ones that still exist remain hidden. I always like worlds like this, where there are gods aplenty and you just sort of ‘pick some,’ and this is no exception. I also liked that the gods could take different forms, though some of them remained in one form (like Skedi). The book also deals a lot with the different ways gods are created, maintained, and destroyed, which I found to be super interesting.

Despite the erasure of the gods from everyday life, and the unity that seemed to exist for at least a short while after the god war, Middren is a country on the brink. On the bring of rebellion, on the brink of religion. We come across a lot of different people throughout the book, some in support of the king and his policies (or at least uncaring enough about them) and others who are completely against both, and then of course some that fall somewhere in the middle. I really liked seeing the wide range of people the three/four MCs come across and liked the feeling of complexity associated with them.

The settings were also rich and I wished I could step through the pages and be in Lesscia or on the road with the gang (not so much Blenraden, but I am intrigued). Kaner does a good job of not just capturing what the world around the characters looks like, but also what it sounds and smells like. The imagery felt very vibrant and each of the main settings is distinct enough to leave an impression.

For the characters themselves, Kissen is definitely my favorite. She’s a godkiller, has been equally loved and reviled by gods, and is world-weary enough to be gruff about it. Kissen is 100% the poster child for ‘grumpy character with a heart of gold’ and it shows. I like how complex she is as a character. Yes, she’s a godkiller, but she doesn’t kill them discriminately, just when asked because they’ve become dangerous to the humans worshipping them. Likewise, she makes sure people know the god part of godkiller is the important part, she’s not one to kill other people. She definitely becomes more open during the course of the book, and considering what that means in terms of her travel companions and ideologies, I’m going to call that character growth. I’m very interested in seeing where book 2 takes her.

Inara is my second favorite. She’s a pre-teen girl tethered to a godling, and if that wasn’t enough, it seems nobody outside her noble house even knows she exists. After having nearly 24 hours to think about the book, secrets, and characters, I’m fairly certain I know why, but I’m definitely still intrigued and am curious to see how the next book deals with that question. Inara definitely has to shoulder a lot throughout the book, but she actually handles things pretty well and even if she has an attitude sometimes, I’m inclined to think she’s entitled to it. She’s the kind of person too who may be freaked out by what’s going on but will jump to action if she thinks it’s the right thing.

Skediceth, Skedi, is a curious one. He’s Inara’s godling (or Inara is his worshipper, whatever), and it’s immediately clear that he cares about her and enjoys being her companion, even if he wants to find his own shrine and be free. At the same time, despite that love, Skedi also has a huge capacity for making terrible choices…but at least he realizes it, lol. I also really liked the description of him as a size-changing wolpertinger (or winged jackalope).

Elogast, Elo, is an ex-knight-turned-baker who used to be BFFs with the king back when they were boys and the current king wasn’t even really a consideration for the throne. Like Kissen, Elo is pretty world-weary, just for somewhat different reasons. While he’s put his knighting behind him, Elo is still drawn by loyalty and a mile-wide streak of justice to go on his quest. I think his character is particularly interesting because he’s dealing not just with his past, but what he’s missed of the present re: evolution of Middren since the war. He really does desire to put things right, whether it be with his king or with Inara or with random strangers, but that desire sometimes also blinds him to the bigger picture. I still really enjoy his character and want to know how he handles things going forward.

Something I think Kaner does quite well is her inclusion of mental illness and disabilities. Kissen is an amputee that uses both a prosthetic leg and a wheelchair at different points in the book. While she uses her prosthetic for most of the book, Kaner includes little details about it and how it affects her in the day-to-day and when fighting so that Kissen’s disability isn’t just brushed off as ‘oh she can walk with a prosthetic, moving on’. Kissen’s adoptive sister/friend, Yatho, also uses a wheelchair, and Yatho’s wife, Telle, is Deaf and uses sign language. Kissen and Inara also use sign with each other when they don’t want other people overhearing. Elo fought in the god war and, as a natural progression of that, has PTSD (though it isn’t called that in the book). There are moments when he suffers from tremors and flashbacks, and I liked how he turns to kneading bread as a stim/comfort action.

There are a lot of really interesting things going on in this book and I’m eager to see where they lead in book 2. I definitely recommend this if you’re in the mood for an epic fantasy and it makes for a great quick read.