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missgarceau's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, War, Violence, Genocide, and Hate crime
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Sexual content
beckyremillard's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Child abuse, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
bookcheshirecat's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
“Gods are not always the enemy; even your godkiller knows that. People make gods, and, for better or worse, gods make people. We show each other for what we truly are. Yearning beings, desperate for love, power, safety.”
➽ Godkiller was an interesting Fantasy debut, but didn't quite live up to my expectations. The story follows Kissen, who makes a living killing gods after a fire god wiped out her entire family. Initially, I thought this book would be told solely through her POV, but she's joined by a young noble girl called Inara who is bound to the god of white lies Skedi and a retired knight-turned-baker. Their dynamic was very interesting and I liked Kissen, as she's a tough character with a hidden soft spot! I also appreciated that the story included her disability (she's got a prosthetic leg because of the injuries she received from the fire god). Skedi was by far the most interesting character, as he's a minor god, but bound to a human. He cares for Inara in his own way, but still can't shake his desire to be worshipped.
➽ I liked the premise and the world was certainly very intriguing. Gods used to be revered and people prayed at their shrines for a chance to get a blessing. The gods range from powerful elemental beings to smaller gods like Skedi, whose domain is white lies. However, the gods were driven back by the current king and worshipping them has been forbidden. Some people still practice in secret, but gods need shrines to exist and have been mostly replaced everywhere in the country. Godkillers like Kissen take down the gods that reappear, as they're dependent on faith and can't be completely vanquished. I found the world very interesting and I liked the different perspectives on the gods. Some of them e.g. the fertility goddess bestowed important blessings that people can no longer access. However, gods can also be vicious and selfish, as they love being revered and might even use humans as sacrifices.
➽ Unfortunately, the story was so slow and the character didn't make up for it. With 300 pages, this book is on the shorter side for Fantasy, but it still dragged. The beginning and ending were more action-packed, but everything else felt much slower. This is a journey-based book so there was a lot of travelling to Blenraden, the story all characters need to go to. I feel like the story could have added more exciting subplots and explored Kissen's duty as a Godkiller. I felt like I didn't get to know the characters as well as I liked, as there was a lot of telling. The multiple POVs were detrimental in this book, as I wish the focus had stayed on Kissen. I didn't fully fall in love with the characters and some aspects like the romantic subplot didn't grip me at all. I don't think I'll read the sequel, especially as I heard it's even slower than this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Violence, Mental illness, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: War
spikehype's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Medical trauma
ellechen48's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Murder
gardens_and_dragons's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This slapped.
I’ll edit and add more thoughts when I’m not tired.
I’ll edit and add more thoughts when I’m not tired.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Murder, and Grief
Starts off with a major trigger warning for fire injury and human sacrifice.ellornaslibrary's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Violence, and War
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Animal death, Blood, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Child abuse, and Slavery
Minor: Alcohol
This book. . . how do I put into words how much I adore this book. I am baffled that I had not heard about this book sooner given the absolutely amazing disability/chronic pain rep to be found within it. Not just the side characters, no, but the main characters too. I was floored. And it wasn't just one type of disability experience, but people that had different disabled experiences. Found within the pages there's great mental health rep and LGQBTIA+ rep too. On top of this are a variety of well-written characters, including the side characters who feel beautifully fleshed out, and the brilliant unveiling of a fascinating world. I could not stop reading this book and want more. So much so I'm re-reading it this month(April) on audiobook just so I can read the sequel sooner as my ebook hold still has like 7 weeks to go cause people are realizing what I did: this book is amazing. Anyways, while I wanted to write a more involved review, I forgot I hadn't gotten around to it so instead this babbling mess of me gushing at 3am is the best I can do. I'll write something better at a later date.korpney's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Fast-paced, exciting, and original fantasy with a very eclectic found family aspect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Death, Cursing, Death of parent, and Grief
emmagreenwood's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Abandonment, Death, Animal death, Death of parent, Genocide, and War
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
One of my favorite things in GODKILLER is that all of the characters change in very significant ways, prompted by their interactions with each other, but no one changes into any other character's ideal. They bend without breaking, they fit in with each other on the road without wholly molding to one another. Inara is a little girl with a god, Skediceth, living inside her. She seeks out a godkiller to try and find a way to free Skediceth from her, to let them both live separately, no longer intertwined. Kissen, a godkiller, seems to have already changed enough by not killing Skediceth when she meets him, but as they journey together it becomes apparent that being a godkiller doesn't actually mean that she kills every god she meets. Instead, Kissen kills the ones who are making life worse for people, the ones she's paid to kill. Elogast is on a mission from his best friend and king, Arren, to go to a city whose gods he tried to kill, to get one of them to become the king's new heart. Publicly, the king wants all the gods dead, or at least no longer worshipped, so Elogast must keep this mission secret, for the sake of the king. All four of them and up in the same pilgrimage caravan, traveling together with a few others, braving the dangers of the road and the patrolling knights. Skediceth is a god of white lies, untruths that are meant to mitigate harm and make things feel better, even if reality doesn't change because of them. Because he's a god, he's able to affect how lies are perceived, how readily they are believed. This makes things much easier as they travel, deflecting questions and averting gazes, making some trouble never manifest at all.
There's a narrative focus on the way all of the characters have been marked by the gods, changed by them, for good or ill. Kissen has a prosthetic leg fashioned from leather and metal, replacing the flesh leg she lost as a child when the other villagers tried to sacrifice her family to a fire god. She uses the prosthesis when the situation calls for two legs (as travelling and fighting tend to do). Most discussion of her legs is logistical, such as when she's cut in the leg while fighting and just needs to repair or replace the prosthesis, instead of having been injured in her flesh. I like the matter-of-fact handling of it. While there was someone in her past who exploited her and other children like her, the narrative only briefly discusses that time of her life. Now, she has two legs, it's just that the lower part of one of them can detach from the rest of her.
As the first book in the series, Godkiller feels very complete, able to stand alone. It invites a sequel with the way that it changes the situations of the main characters by the end, and I want to know what they do next. It's more open than a standalone without giving me a cliffhanger, which is perfect. The main characters are all very different with competing motivations that have all placed them together for now, but they don't know if they can trust each other. The worldbuilding and characterization work together seamlessly to make an engaging story that isn't afraid to have a slow burn in the middle. Most of it takes place during this pilgrimage, complemented by a much slower story pace. It helps to create a sense of time, that this journey really does take a while, one measured in days or perhaps weeks though not months.
There's a narrative focus on the way all of the characters have been marked by the gods, changed by them, for good or ill. Kissen has a prosthetic leg fashioned from leather and metal, replacing the flesh leg she lost as a child when the other villagers tried to sacrifice her family to a fire god. She uses the prosthesis when the situation calls for two legs (as travelling and fighting tend to do). Most discussion of her legs is logistical, such as when she's cut in the leg while fighting and just needs to repair or replace the prosthesis, instead of having been injured in her flesh. I like the matter-of-fact handling of it. While there was someone in her past who exploited her and other children like her, the narrative only briefly discusses that time of her life. Now, she has two legs, it's just that the lower part of one of them can detach from the rest of her.
As the first book in the series, Godkiller feels very complete, able to stand alone. It invites a sequel with the way that it changes the situations of the main characters by the end, and I want to know what they do next. It's more open than a standalone without giving me a cliffhanger, which is perfect. The main characters are all very different with competing motivations that have all placed them together for now, but they don't know if they can trust each other. The worldbuilding and characterization work together seamlessly to make an engaging story that isn't afraid to have a slow burn in the middle. Most of it takes place during this pilgrimage, complemented by a much slower story pace. It helps to create a sense of time, that this journey really does take a while, one measured in days or perhaps weeks though not months.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Religious bigotry, Blood, Death, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Murder, Child death, Death of parent, and Confinement
Moderate: Ableism, Self harm, Sexual content, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Excrement, Trafficking, Animal death, Child abuse, and Slavery