The blurb:
Enter a city of dragons and darkness.
The Godswar has come to Guerdon, dividing the city between three occupying powers. While the fragile Armistice holds back the gods, other forces seek to extend their influence. The criminal dragons of the Ghierdana ally with the surviving thieves – including Spar Idgeson, once heir to the Brotherhood of Thieves, now transformed into the living stone of the New City.
Meanwhile, far across the sea, Spar’s friend Carillon Thay travels towards the legendary land of Khebesh, but she, too, becomes enmeshed in the schemes of the Ghierdana – and in her own past. Can she find what she wants when even the gods seek vengeance against her?
The review (slight spoilers previous books):
I love this series. Let’s get that out of the way first. I love it. I could read a hundred novels set in Guerdon, and I’d likely ask for more. So it’s really no surprise that I loved this book, too.
Gareth Hanrahan has recently said that he’s aiming for five books in the Black Iron Legacy series. Which is great, because that means there’s more for me to read! But I feel like I should mention this up-front in case anyone is coming into The Broken God prepared to read a big, explosive, series-stopping conclusion. We’re not quite at that point yet.
Although, that being said, this book is big, and it is explosive.
For fans of the series so far, think of The Broken God as a book that lies somewhere between The Gutter Prayer and The Shadow Saint. You’ll remember that the first was more chaotic, more impulsive, and more high-energy, whereas the second was more thoughtful and deliberate (before everything blew up). Here, we have sort of a mix. I’ve seen some fans that have indicated that they have a preference between the first two books, but this feels like it threads the needle between the two very well. I’d guess that there’d be something to enjoy for all existing fans.
Cari returns as a main POV character, as does Spar to a certain extent (or what remains of him). We also have two newcomers in Rasce (a leader amongst the dragon-worshipping Ghierdana) and Baston (a former thief in the brotherhood run by Spar’s father). The stories of the two newcomers become closely intertwined, as Rasce looks to gain an advantageous position for his people in the new political landscape of Guerdon, and Baston is at heart a man looking for a leader to follow. Cari, meanwhile, isn’t in the city at all. Instead, she’s at the other side of the godswar, looking for some magic that will keep Spar from death. Eladora lurks in the shadows, and for much of the book we only get glimpses of her and the larger game she’s playing.
Speaking just as a fan of the series, I was overjoyed to have Cari back as a main character. There’s just something that speaks to me about a character who deals with every possible situation by stabbing someone. What’s even better is that Cari has underwent a great deal of growth since the events of the first book — she now thinks about what she’s going to do before doing it. Occasionally. And it was this kind of growth that led to perhaps my favourite line that I’ve read this year:
“The problem of who to stab, though, is vexing.”
I found Rasce to be an engaging character too, mostly because of the relationships he shares with others. I was intrigued by his presumed position of authority over Baston, his subservience to a dragon that doesn’t seem to care much about him, and the interplay between him and a certain sentient city district. Baston is quite interesting in his own right, and his “stop, think, then punch” attitude reminded me a lot of Spar’s chapters from The Gutter Prayer.
I’m struggling to think of what else to say about this book, other than that (as expected) I loved it. The world that Hanrahan has built is a frantic, bat-shit crazy mess in all of the best ways. There’s city politics and economics juxtaposed with dragons, god-touched saints, and a ghoul with severe personal boundary issues.
If you’re a newcomer interested in starting the series, I’d recommend checking out my reviews of the The Gutter Prayer and The Shadow Saint to see if it’s your thing. If you’re a returning fan… well, I hope you have this pre-ordered.
And now I wait for book 4.
We received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you to Orbit UK for the review copy!
The Broken God is available to purchase in ebook now, and will release May 20th in paperback!
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