Reviews with content warning for Blood - Godkiller

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Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

73 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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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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ellornaslibrary's review against another edition

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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

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laurenbaggy'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

4.0

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amy14's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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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.

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