The God Breaker is finally out! The God King Chronicles are complete! And I am… Not okay.
This is a trilogy that means a lot to me. If you’ve ever heard me wax lyrical about The Black Coast, then you know. If you haven’t, well… You’re about to. This isn’t just one of my favourite fantasy series of recent times. It’s one of my favourites bar none. And a lot of that has to do with how these books handle certain topics and plot-lines.
There are not many books out there like these. Maybe none.
Here’s why you should read them.
The Blurb:
When the citizens of Black Keep see ships on the horizon, terror takes them because they know who is coming: for generations, the keep has been raided by the fearsome clanspeople of Tjakorsha. Saddling their war dragons, Black Keep’s warriors rush to defend their home only to discover that the clanspeople have not come to pillage at all. Driven from their own land by a daemonic despot who prophesises the end of the world, the raiders come in search of a new home . . .
Meanwhile the wider continent of Narida is lurching toward war. Black Keep is about to be caught in the crossfire – if only its new mismatched society can survive.
Reason 1: It handles inter-culture conflict in a different way
Whereas many books with multiple countries and cultures default to the easy entertainment route of “what if they went to war?”, the God-King Chronicles take a different route. What we have instead is two peoples that try to come together in a way that makes both better. A sea-faring people land on the shores of their neighbours, not to raid, but to seek refuge from an unnatural force seeking to kill them. An adopted son has to stand up to his father in order to afford them that human right. And taking that stance… it isn’t easy. Not everyone agrees, and there are many difficulties that have to be worked through.
But these are books that stick up a middle-finger to the notion that people can’t change or co-exist. In some ways, you can look at this as fuck you to certain isolationist trends in modern politics. Sure, every culture has its own fucked-up prejudices — sexism and homophobia are two examples that show their faces here — but these books do the work to show that such prejudices can be confronted and bettered.
I genuinely haven’t ever seen a conflict like this in a fantasy series before. And that’s… slightly weird, right? For a genre that so often has multiple countries, multiple cultures… You’d expect this kind of theme to be more common. But I guess that seeming rarity makes for a very good reason for why you should read this.
Something to look out for: The supernatural evil antagonists
So I mentioned an “unnatural force” seeking to kill people. That force would be an immortal undead being known as “The Golden”. It’s worth noting that, at least initially, this character can seem slightly one-note. He wants people to follow him or die, and until maybe the third book there isn’t much complexity to him beyond that.
Across the ocean, there is also a very self-assured individual claiming to be Nari Reborn — the reincarnation of the Naridian God. Per a set of phophecies which he seems to keep unknowingly fulfilling, he’s may also be the rightful ruler of Naridia. A possibility which puts the current God-King on some very shaky footing.
It’s quite a strange juxtaposition to see the very human elements of these books tied to these very supernatural, traditional-epic-fantasy elements. Sometimes it makes for some very interesting reading: How do people react when led solely by fear? How far will people go when their religion is leveraged?
But at other times, and especially in comparison to some of the complex character and cultural exploration, they can feel a little simplistic. Which isn’t inherently a bad thing, and in fact some readers may prefer these more straightforward aspects to the slower social and political stuff. But given the stark differences, it may require a specific type of reader to love both (Me. I’m talking about me.)
Given the size of the POV cast and the amount of stuff going on, both the Golden and Nari Reborn take a back seat a lot of the time. They’re responsible for some inciting incidents and thus directly drive a lot of the plot, but for a lot of the series they function as slow-burning background threats.
Until the end, that is.
Reason 2: The depiction of language is really, really cool
So this point is one that will very much depend on the reader. But if you’re anything like me (you poor soul), you’ll love how the languages in this book showcase their attached cultures, and how they bring their values to the fore.
To give an example, we can consider how the “Naridians” in the series speak. This can come across very formal, with characters saying such things as “This man / This servant agrees”, rather than simply “I agree”. And admittedly, this might seem a little stuffy for some readers, but I found it to be a fascinating world-building technique that facilitates some great character moments. See, the Naridians have a bit of a Thing for social status, and this is reflected in the depiction of their language. A lord may have to refer to himself as “this servant” before a king. And given that Naridians are a slightly sexist society, a woman would be considered of lesser status than a man.
Which, y’know, is bullshit. But it allows for some wonderful “fuck you” moments when certain newcomers realise that they can totally fuck with everyone else’s sense of propriety by referring to themselves however the fuck they please.
Another example of interesting language depictions would be the Alaban language, which has the capacity for five or six genders — high and low masculine/feminine, neutral, and agender — each represented by diacritics on the vowels of their pronouns. This doesn’t really come into play much until the second book, where someone is able to adopt a more comfortable gender with little fuss, but just the existence of those diacritics is another neat way of weaving cultural values throughout a scene.
Reason 3: It has “soft” moments without compromising on action
This is an area where I feel quite a lot of traditional epic fantasy fails to thread the needle. With epic fantasy, some readers read for the action, the magic, and the cool shit. Others are looking for more human character moments, amplified by high stakes or impossible circumstances. There doesn’t necessarily have to be a balance there, as each book is written for its own audience. But it is slightly rare in my experience for a book to strike it, which for me made this series a little bit of a unicorn. There are a number of aching, vulnerable moments. There’s also some high-emotion family squabbles at sword-point. And then there are the assassination attempts, the dragon battles, and the last stands against evil enemies.
To me, this seems like a mix with relatively broad appeal. Those who read for the emotional moments will find plenty among the swinging swords. Those who don’t want to bogged down in introspective thoughts will have enough action to keep them going. If you’re the kind of reader who bounces between both extremes (like me!), you might find this the perfect blend.
But with all of that said, I have to emphasise how much I loved how much I loved those human moments. Mike Brooks isn’t an author who is afraid to show the shitty sides of his characters. They may have their admirable aspects, but they also have their personal complexities and contradictions. It makes them feel more substantial, more believable, and more real.
Something to look out for: The structure
So this was something that I hadn’t really considered would be a turn-off for some readers until I had bullied some friends into reading The Black Coast and started talking to them about it (hi guys!).
The way in which the POV chapters are structured in this series is slightly unconventional. Personally, I love how it works out, but I can understand why others wouldn’t. Essentially, each book (particularly the first two) has a set of “focus” characters. Those POVs get the most page time, and that gets broken up by chapters from the perspective of our other characters. So in The Black Coast, characters such as Daimon and Saana will interact a lot and make up the majority of the book. Chapters from Tila and Jeya will be more sporadic, will break up the “main” action, and will set up a foundation for book 2, The Splinter King.
In book 2, the focus flips. Since Tila and Jeya’s Black Coast chapters have effectively functioned as an introduction, we’re able to dive straight into their stories from the beginning, while Daimon and Saana fade into the background a bit. Book 2 also brings forward a new perspective, which really comes into its own in book 3 — where all of the characters get a fair shake at page time.
This structure allows for one book to flow somewhat seamlessly into the next, but it also means that some of the POV characters don’t really have any conclusion worth speaking of at the end of a given book. I wouldn’t say that there are cliffhangers — as to me the word “cliffhanger” implies something a bit more bait-y — but there is definitely a bit of a “dangling threads” feel. To read a bit more critique on this, go check out this review from my SPFBO co-judge Adam, the Doomscribe!
This is something that I suspect will vary a lot with each reader, and how/when they read the series. If you really, really hate any semblance of cliffhangers or things-left-unfinished, reading one book at a time may prove frustrating for you. If you’re coming into this series with an intention to binge, you might really appreciate a strong thread between books. Either way, something to look out for!
To sum up…
The God-King Chronicles is a series that’ll satisfy your epic fantasy cravings, while giving you a healthy dose of Character Stuff, and the Feelings. It’s not a particularly “soft” series, as it does deal with real-world prejudices in a fairly head-on way. But there’s a degree of hope and escapism in the resolutions, and there are perhaps enough vulnerable moments to satisfy your softie cravings. Throughout, there are characters asking why their societies should have to remain the way that they are, and why they couldn’t change for the better. And there are dragons.
If you’ve read all of this and you’re intrigued… I’d say you should read The God-King Chronicles.
(And then come and talk to me. Seriously. I need more people talking to me about these books. If you wanna do that, or if you have any questions, ping me on Twitter!)
The God Breaker is out now! Add it on Goodreads, and buy it from Amazon, Waterstones, or Bookshop.org.
For those new to the series, check out The Black Coast on Goodreads, Amazon, Waterstones, and Bookshop.org.
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