When a novel begins with the death of an entire family at the hands of a god, that sets the tone for a novel. Especially when Kissen, the protagonist who witnesses the death of her family also loses her leg. From there, Godkiller jumps ahead quite a few years, with Kissen trying to put an end to any gods she comes across her path as a contracted Godkiller, which allows her to channel the pain and anger.
Gods are forbidden in the kingdom of Middren. Formed by human desires and fed by their worship, there are countless gods in the world—but after a great war, the new king outlawed them and now pays “godkillers” to destroy any who try to rise from the shadows.
As a child, Kissen saw her family murdered by a fire god. Now, she makes a living killing them and enjoys it. But all this changes when Kissen is tasked with helping a young noble girl with a god problem. The child’s soul is bonded to a tiny god of white lies, and Kissen can’t kill it without ending the girl’s life too.
Joined by a disillusioned knight on a secret quest, the unlikely group must travel to the ruined city of Blenraden, where the last of the wild gods reside, to each beg a favor. Pursued by assassins and demons, and in the midst of burgeoning civil war, they will all face a reckoning. Something is rotting at the heart of their world, and they are the only ones who can stop it.
When the novel picks after Kissen’s tragedy, many of the gods are dead under the orders of King Arren. While Kissen is the primary focus of the novel, there are a couple of other characters who are drawn to Kissen. While fulfilling a contract in a small town, the young girl Inara comes to Kissen’s notice. Inara, is herself of the nobility and bonded to a small, pocket-sized god named Skediceth (Skedi) much to her chagrin. This is not something she chose, but the bond is strong enough that Inara wants to help this small god find a shrine, a necessity for a god to live. Kissen is very reluctant to help the young girl and her little god, but when Inara is thrust into a similar situation as Kissen was when Kissen was a young girl, Kissen finds herself wanting to help Inara, to the point that she makes an oath to protect the girl.
The baker, Elogasat (Elo) finds himself along a similar path as the path Kissen trod. Of course, Elo is more than a baker, he is a former knight for King Arren. The trio are on the path to a place called Blenraden in the hopes of severing the tie between Skedi and Inara, and something else that Elo keeps from his traveling companions. Elo is not the only who is keeping secrets.
Fantasy Quest! That’s the structure of this novel and with a group of characters like those Hannah Kaner gives readers, much tension and humor can be explored. Kaner’s prose is very polished and her characterization is very strong. The consistency with Kissen and Inara in particular was very strong. What I mean by that is that there is an extremely strong and stable base / core to who they are, but enough sway like branches on a tree that the strength of the tree is only enhanced. Kissen is snarky, angry, but deep down there’s an empathy she’d probably like to keep hidden, but that empathy is what keeps her tied to Inara, despite Inara’s ties to something Kissen swore to destroy. She knows Inara, just like her, is victim of choices not her own.
Another element that makes this such a strong story is how diverse the cast is. The protagonist is a bisexual woman missing a leg, two characters who are partners are queer and Elo (and several other characters) are black or non-white, one secondary character is deaf (sign language seems more commonplace in this world), several characters are dealing with PTSD. What makes this diversity work so effectively is that it isn’t noticeable. Sure, the reader picks up the clues, but the characters themselves for the most part just see them as people in this world.
Godkiller is a novel with a lot to offer fantasy readers, well-crafted characters, a proven storyline (Quest being one of the 7 Classic Stories), and a world whose tip of fantasticalness has just been scratched. For as much as Kaner’s prose and characterization were on point, there were times I felt the plot slowed a little bit and wasn’t quite as even as the other elements of the novel. That doesn’t take too much away from the whole of the novel because Kaner has achieved something quite impressive with Godkiller.
© 2024 Rob H. Bedford
Harper Voyager | Trade Paperback
September 2023 | 304 Pages
Excerpt: https://preview.aer.io/Godkiller-NjAxNDA3?social=1&retail=1&emailcap=0
https://www.hannahkaner.com/ | Twitter: @hfkaner
Review copy courtesy of the publisher
