Scan barcode
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
kattila's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Great disablility representation and people just casually being gay without it making a fuss. Loved the story too and was invested in the characters and their goals.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Genocide, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol and Animal death
Minor: Child abuse and Trafficking
catherineallsop's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Classism, Trafficking, Grief, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
hardbackhoarder's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Self harm, War, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality
gramco's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It was okay. The overall concept was intriguing but the characters were ultimately very flat.
Kissen, despite being a bisexual femme amputee, felt incredibly one-dimensional. She's traumatized and as a result is hard and brusque, and the author attempted mysterious but failed thanks to the multi-pov format. There's no room for Kissen to develop and grow in a way that's entertaining or interesting. I take issue with that because the book attempts to set her up as the main protagonist when, at most, she plays a supporting role to the overall plot. I found myself wondering why I was supposed to care about this character when the story really isn't about her?The sexual chemistry between her and Elogast (a complete Mary-sue) was shoe-horned in, and it did nothing to enhance the characters or the story. Despite all those things that could make her a complex and fascinating character, she is failed by the writing.
The little creature Sketi was the most compelling of them all, but even he fell flat a fair amount. But his arc has good bones to it.His psychic connection to Inara is something that kept me reading because I was so curious about what that is and how it will play out in the story. Sketi is what kept me in this book. He develops and learns and questions himself and his motives. He messes up and redeems himself. However, like all the others, he is limited by the writing. Still, Godkiller would have been better off being told entirely from his perspective as opposed to the multi-POV format, which just feels lazy at this point.
Finished it because the plot was fun and the world the author built felt fully-realized, if a little redundant. It was a decently fun romp but be patient with the mediocre writing and character development.
Kissen, despite being a bisexual femme amputee, felt incredibly one-dimensional. She's traumatized and as a result is hard and brusque, and the author attempted mysterious but failed thanks to the multi-pov format. There's no room for Kissen to develop and grow in a way that's entertaining or interesting. I take issue with that because the book attempts to set her up as the main protagonist when, at most, she plays a supporting role to the overall plot. I found myself wondering why I was supposed to care about this character when the story really isn't about her?
The little creature Sketi was the most compelling of them all, but even he fell flat a fair amount. But his arc has good bones to it.
Finished it because the plot was fun and the world the author built felt fully-realized, if a little redundant. It was a decently fun romp but be patient with the mediocre writing and character development.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence, Cursing, and Sexual content
Minor: Trafficking and Child abuse
hammie_32's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
This was a frustrating read towards the end. The book set up pretty well, without any major flags for me, especially considering the main character perspective is queer and disabled, and I'm not aware of the author sharing those identities . Middle of the book comes around and it seems a bit more obvious that the diversity this book is praised for is really kind of shoved in there sloppily, and didn't seem to me like the characters' inclusion was for much other than to claim a diverse cast. The story is really fast however, and I think it would been more successful given a longer, slower plot line. I found the ending disappointing, unfortunately. Major spoilers of the ending here, so warning: It seemed like the male lead was romantically interested in another man throughout the book, and suddenly within 2 chapters at the end, him and the female lead have sex and establish some emotional attachment? Against most characterization that had taken place? And then she "dies" at the end by his perspective, although she doesn't actually. It just fell into a disappointing ditch of setting up for an mlm queer love/betrayal, and then last moment making it another bi woman in a hetero relationship, because that's what's digestible to a heterosexual audience. As for the female lead dying, it just cheapens the story for me if your main characters are immortal . Overall, I wouldn't say that it's not worth reading. I'm hoping the sequel will maybe redeem these characters by letting us know them more, but for now a lot of them end up rather empty. A decent book, very good world-building with a unique idea behind it, but it needs to slow down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: War
Minor: Sexual content and Trafficking
clarabooksit's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Child death, War, Death, Murder, Ableism, and Death of parent
Minor: Trafficking and Child abuse
saltycoffee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Medical content, Gore, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Ableism, Blood, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Trafficking, and War
_teoeo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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: Death, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, War, Animal death, Death of parent, Police brutality, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abortion and Trafficking
sophieamreacher's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Amazing! I loved the world building and the scene setting. Loved the characters and slow unraveling of the secrets. Loved the LGBTQ rep and disability rep.
I maybe would have wished for a bit more action but it was a shorter book and the first in a series so it’s maybe building up to that in the second book.
I maybe would have wished for a bit more action but it was a shorter book and the first in a series so it’s maybe building up to that in the second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Trafficking, and War
Moderate: Sexual content