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A review by thebakersbooks
David Mogo, Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
4.0
4/5 stars — a vivid adventure of self-discovery as one man faces off against the Yoruba orisha
"War is blood, fire, and iron, and you are all three."
David Mogo lives in Lagos, Nigeria, a state now gripped by supernatural dangers that range from the mostly annoying godlings to full-blooded orisha: gods of legend with little affection for humankind. David is a demigod, although he doesn't know his divine mother; he uses his ability to sense godessence for small-time jobs like removing godling pests. When he takes a high-paying gig kidnapping a pair of gods for a powerful wizard, even being a demigod won't keep him safe.
For the most part, I enjoyed this novel. It's told in first-person present tense, which makes the action visceral, the threats immediate. David is a lightly voicy narrator whose observations of the world and the people around him are insightful and sometimes amusing. He's a demigod with mysterious powers who hunts orisha on a motorbike. What's not to love? Further, the narrative turns on themes of family, community, and peace versus power, chaos, and destruction, setting up for major late-story emotional impact.
The first act lays down a lot of interesting worldbuilding surrounding the magic system used by wizards like David's surrogate father, Papa Udi, and the charmcasting used by high gods. The magic is innovative, requiring ingredients based on qualities like scent, sound, and texture. In the second act, the pacing drops off as David gains allies in his fight against some of the hostile orisha. (However, would have liked to see more time spent on David undergoing training to use his godly powers, because his proficiency felt like it came on too suddenly.) The third act is my favorite part. The action/fight scenes are incredible, and I enjoyed how many female characters got a chance to shine toward the end.I also loved David's line "He tried to kill my father and my sister," because it signifies David finally, in a moment of pain and fear, acknowledging Papa Udi as his father. (Also, David practically adopted Fati as his sister the moment he laid eyes on her, which is adorable.)
David grows immensely as a character over the course of the book, which contributed greatly to how much I enjoyed his story. Not only did he become even stronger and more powerful, he developed emotional ties to augment his strength and allow him to become a valuable leader and a more well-rounded person. If there are sequels to this, I'm definitely picking them up.
A few things that didn't make it into the review proper that I liked a lot:
- there's a really sweet f/f side-character couple!
- David's commentary on police/government corruption in Lagos even before the orisha arrived
- the line "Shit. I'm the fucking god of war now, dammit."
In short, this is definitely a novel worth picking up, particularly for fans of pantheon-based mythology and badass characters who can go toe-to-toe with gods. It's post-apocalyptic without being too terribly dark, which hits all the right notes for me. If you were a Percy Jackson kid, this book is for you! Same goes for fans of the "God of War" video game franchise or Hellboy (either the comics or the movies). Also, that cover art! It's by Yoshi Yoshitani and it's absolutely stunning.
** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. **
"War is blood, fire, and iron, and you are all three."
David Mogo lives in Lagos, Nigeria, a state now gripped by supernatural dangers that range from the mostly annoying godlings to full-blooded orisha: gods of legend with little affection for humankind. David is a demigod, although he doesn't know his divine mother; he uses his ability to sense godessence for small-time jobs like removing godling pests. When he takes a high-paying gig kidnapping a pair of gods for a powerful wizard, even being a demigod won't keep him safe.
For the most part, I enjoyed this novel. It's told in first-person present tense, which makes the action visceral, the threats immediate. David is a lightly voicy narrator whose observations of the world and the people around him are insightful and sometimes amusing. He's a demigod with mysterious powers who hunts orisha on a motorbike. What's not to love? Further, the narrative turns on themes of family, community, and peace versus power, chaos, and destruction, setting up for major late-story emotional impact.
The first act lays down a lot of interesting worldbuilding surrounding the magic system used by wizards like David's surrogate father, Papa Udi, and the charmcasting used by high gods. The magic is innovative, requiring ingredients based on qualities like scent, sound, and texture. In the second act, the pacing drops off as David gains allies in his fight against some of the hostile orisha. (However, would have liked to see more time spent on David undergoing training to use his godly powers, because his proficiency felt like it came on too suddenly.) The third act is my favorite part. The action/fight scenes are incredible, and I enjoyed how many female characters got a chance to shine toward the end.
David grows immensely as a character over the course of the book, which contributed greatly to how much I enjoyed his story. Not only did he become even stronger and more powerful, he developed emotional ties to augment his strength and allow him to become a valuable leader and a more well-rounded person. If there are sequels to this, I'm definitely picking them up.
A few things that didn't make it into the review proper that I liked a lot:
- there's a really sweet f/f side-character couple!
- David's commentary on police/government corruption in Lagos even before the orisha arrived
-
In short, this is definitely a novel worth picking up, particularly for fans of pantheon-based mythology and badass characters who can go toe-to-toe with gods. It's post-apocalyptic without being too terribly dark, which hits all the right notes for me. If you were a Percy Jackson kid, this book is for you! Same goes for fans of the "God of War" video game franchise or Hellboy (either the comics or the movies). Also, that cover art! It's by Yoshi Yoshitani and it's absolutely stunning.
** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. **