Title: Godkiller
Author: Hannah Kaner
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Pages: 304
Release Date: 19 January 2023
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Hello fellow book lovers, I hope you've had an incredible month of relaxation and reading! Today, I'm sharing my review for Hannah Kaner’s deliciously explosive and utterly enchanting fantasy debut, Godkiller. A fast paced and fiercely addictive debut that's full of gods, demons, disillusioned knights and god killing mercenaries with hearts of gold who ensnared me from the very first page and left me breathless with excitement!
Synopsis
Kissen kills gods for a living, and she enjoys it. That is until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skediceth, god of white lies, who is connected to a little noble girl on the run.
Elogast fought in the god war, and helped purge the city of a thousand shrines before laying down his sword. A mysterious request from the King sends him racing back to the city he destroyed.
On the way he meets a godkiller, a little girl and a littler god, who cannot find out about his quest.
Review
This was such an action packed, whirlwind of a book and I loved every well plotted and exquisitely detailed second of it!
The world building was a huge part of what I loved most, it’s exhilaratingly atmospheric and threaded with uncertainty. I loved how vividly detailed the lore surrounding the dwindling gods were and how intrinsically linked their (and the world’s) magic was to the worship and offerings of desperate people, torn between their faith and the king’s new laws.
I also loved Kissen, who was such a fierce, and tenacious character whose gruff, standoffish exterior hides a deep well of compassion and protectiveness for her loved ones. She can be impulsive at times which does lead to some not so stellar results, but her ability to own up to them, learn and move on was something that really impressed me. As did her Geralt levels of attitude and badass-ness (and the matching feistiness of her horse, Legs also gives Roach competition for fave fictional horse of all time.)
Elo was likewise a really intriguing character, his endearing Jaskier/Dandelion level of goodness and self sacrificing personality make it impossible not to love him (not to mention his skills in baking and occasional renditions of bawdy military songs), plus his relationship dynamics and banter with Kissen was perfect.
I can’t talk about endearing characters and not mention the adorable-ness of Inara (the young noble) and Skedi, the little god bound to her. The bond they share was a genuinely sweet highlight for the most part and I liked that (alongside Kissen and Elo) we also got to experience both of their POVs—though Skedi’s did surprise me a little! If you loved Lyra and Pan from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, then you’re most likely going to adore these two.
The disability rep was really good (Kissen has a prosthesis) and it was really refreshing to see the representation in a main (and incredibly pivotal to the narrative) character too as opposed to just a minor or supporting character.
Overall, a phenomenally strong and enjoyable debut from Hannah Kaner which ends on a satisfying, though slightly cliffhanger-y ending. I’m definitely excited to see where the rest of the series takes us—and desperately hoping the wait won’t be too long!
Also, a massive thank you to Susanna and Harper Voyager for the proof.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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