Godkiller – Hannah Kaner

The premise of Godkiller by Hannah Kaner sounded a really intriguing concept to me and so when I found that this was on offer, I felt compelled to try it out.

We are introduced to Kissen, who is a trained godkiller and assists local towns in destroying a god in the vicinity, who have wrecked their well-being through various means. She has been orphaned from an early age, as her family were made to be sacrifices to a fire god by the villagers in her old settlement and so it’s clear to see why she has such a resentment towards gods in general. Once this task is done, she ends up saving Inara, a daughter of a noblewoman, who has a god attached to her. Kissen takes it upon herself to find a way of separating Inara from Skediceth, the god of white lies and in doing so, they meet Elogast, a retired soldier, who is now a baker. His mission is to help save the king from an early death. The only way of doing so, is to get assistance from the wild gods in the city of Blenraden.

Each chapter is told from each of the four main character’s points of view and we get an insight to their perspectives as the story unfolds. Through Elogast, we see the impact of warfare on him, as he reluctantly becomes a fighter again, having sworn to never return to it again. It explores the impact of PTSD in a delicate manner and you feel his own misgivings in the mission put before him. The book explores themes of loyalty, new found family and trust.

There are two main tropes in this book, which are that of new found family and a quest, however the strength lies in the characters and their own growth throughout the story. I felt that Kissen’s character arc was the strongest, from begrudging the task that she was forced into, to slowly accepting and caring for Inara and Skediceth in particular. The way that Kaner manages to include both LGBTQ+ and disability representation in a way that doesn’t feel forced, is brilliantly done and in the context of the story feels natural. The two main influences of the author that I spotted in this book, were that of Neil Gaiman and Philip Pullman. Each god in this world draws their power and strength from the number of people who believe in them and subsequently pray, which is almost straight out of American Gods. Skediceth and Inara are linked together and they can’t be too far away from another, as they are linked by an invisible bond, otherwise it causes them both great pain, much like in His Dark Materials and the humans and their daemons.

I wouldn’t say that this is the most unique fantasy book I have read, however I absolutely fell in love with the characters and the world that Kaner has created. The start and climax of the book were brilliantly done, the middle section was a tad repetitive for my liking though. This is definitely a series I will be continuing with and look forward to the next installment.

3.5/5