Synopsis

Kissen kills gods for a living, and she enjoys it. That is until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skediceth, god of white lies, who is connected to a little noble girl on the run.

Elogast fought in the god war, and helped purge the city of a thousand shrines before laying down his sword. A mysterious request from the King sends him racing back to the city he destroyed.

On the way he meets a godkiller, a little girl and a littler god, who cannot find out about his quest.

Review

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner was a really fun, quick read for me, and what I thought to be a really solid debut.

We are dropped into a world where Gods are to be killed rather than worshipped, which is a take on deity’s that I found very exciting. I found the world itself well crafted, and while at it’s foundations seemed a fairly typical fantasy landscape, the history and the people made it feel different and vibrant. The way that gods were written into this story was what really made it unique and interesting for me. The worship of gods gives them power, and worship is outlawed so people have to pray in secret and hide their faith. The gods that do end up being manifested through these prayers are then hunted and killed by the Godkillers.

Kissen is one of the characters we follow, and she is the titular Godkiller. If you enjoy feisty characters, you will like Kissen. I found her a little too aggressive sometimes, but I did admire her tenacity and the compassion that hid beneath the brusqueness. The other characters were great to read too, all of them seemed fully realised with fears and wants and histories of their own – nobody felt like a spare part at any point. Also, a shout-out here to Legs the horse, I loved them.

The prose was lovely – I found Kaner’s writing very easy to read. It has a YA quality while exploring the darker themes of an adult fantasy novel. I did find the plot a little slow in the middle of the book, but the characters and ease of reading didn’t make it too much of an issue for me. I am glad of that, because the ending was thrilling and definitely left me excited for the next book.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel. I found it an exciting story with a great cast of characters, and a really fresh take on gods that I am eager to read more about.

Some other mentions: I thought disability was dealt with really well in the book, and it was a highlight to have the disabled character be the MC. We also have some LGBTQ+ rep too! I also can’t stop staring at the cover of the book either, it’s absolutely stunning!