Reviews with content warning for War - Godkiller

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Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

118 reviews

kaylaswhitmore's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This was a fun read with lots of rich world-building. The system of gods and humans felt both wondrous and intuitive, often making me curious about just what other gods there are out there and how much their power stretches (which I suppose I should simply read the next book sooner rather than later, then). I also enjoyed the characters in the story, from the lovable side characters to our main cast of heroes. Their voices all felt starkly unique to each other and I appreciated how their bonds grew over time.

That being said, I did have some critiques of the narrative and style.

First, I felt that Skediceth’s point of view—while it shed light on a god’s perspective—did take away from the pain of his betrayal to Inara. Instead of feeling surprised by his takeover of her mind and body, I saw it coming a mile away and therefore didn’t feel as stunned or hurt by it as I think I could have, had his POV chapters not foreshadowed it so heavily.

In that regard, I do wish she had perhaps limited her use of POVs to just Inara, Elo, and Kissen to maintain more suspense. Secondly, the big reveal of

Arren’s betrayal also felt a bit lacking due to how intensely evil he was upon Elo sacrificing himself. I would have liked to see him struggle a little more when faced with the reality of his selfish power grab in front of someone who I do believe he must have loved at some point.

That came across a bit superficial or disingenuous if only because it leaned more towards a place of “aha! the mask is off, muahahah!” as opposed to a hard hitting betrayal.

I do feel that Kaner really brought the story together for a very engaging end, however, and it certainly kept me wanting to see what happens next! Despite the few things I was a bit dissatisfied with, I felt that there were many more things to be excited about. Kissen, for one, is a breath of fresh air. I’ve read quite a few “angry women” protagonists now at this point, but I really loved Kissen’s flavor of it. She’s both down to earth and wildly spontaneous, and that combination made her an extremely fun character to follow. I also adored Inara, and think that she was a cool spin on the “naive girl discovering the world” trope. Her power and individuality made it easy to root for her and exciting to imagine what she will become.

I’m looking forward to reading Sunbringer, even if I’m nervous about the fates of our favorite found family!

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missgarceau's review against another edition

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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

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mazomazli's review against another edition

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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

4.5

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megang519's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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hflh's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-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

2.75

Cool world with good character potential diminished by a slow plot (and I usually like slow) and the most mustache-twirly villain speech I’ve seen in adult fiction.

That being said, the world is very compelling and I like the characters. I’m hoping this is a good set up for a stronger second book.

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little_miss_book_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

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charley0796's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I enjoyed the unique world building to this book. It was a strange novel in that no one knew what was going on at any point, as opposed to having one narrator with at least more understanding of the bigger picture. This made for a strange albeit intriguing read.
I did feel the romance was thrown in there and the sex unecessary - that could have waited until the third book.

I also loved how sexism didn’t exist in this book and the way diversity was incorporated into the text - including disability! It was done in a sensitive and clear way throughout. Often sexism features so heavily in fantasy, so this was really refreshing.

I usually really struggle with picking up names when reading, but this was so well done I didn’t have any problems for once!

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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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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.

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quitegood's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I did like this book, and I'm curious to see it continue, its just that I had issue with certain bit of the narrative's structure and with how the themes were executed, and to discuss them will require spoiler, so the non-spoiler version is; good but not great, falls short in places, am interested in the sequel.

So the twist where it turns out Arren is evil does not work because Arren has showed up once at the book's beginning, so finding out he's actually been corrupted by the god who saved him carries very little weight. We're meant to feel as heartbroken as Elo, to know the man he loved has truly gone, but we can't because we don't know who Arren was. Secondly, I love the theme of overcoming hardship and disability, and living to just live, not because you need purpose. But I wish it hadn't been loaded into the final 20% of the book. I know Kissen and Elo are very private characters, but you could have had small moments peppered through out the journey. These are nitpicks, I'm aware, but in that spirit, why'd they have to fuck? I get it, I'm ace, but bloody hell you normies think with your genitals too much!

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blewballoon's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

4.5

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I was worried that it would be a more grim fantasy story with a lot of violence and pain, maybe like Ashes of the Sun by Django Wexler. There are definitely dark elements and high stakes, but the characters are really charming and easy to invest in. There is always a running theme that finding and caring for people is good, even though sometimes there are betrayals and mistakes. There were a couple turns the plot took that were refreshing compared to where I expected the story to go. A lot of plot was crammed in here. It felt much longer than it was, in the best way. The audiobook narration was pretty good as well. I'm definitely looking forward to more from this series.

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