Godkiller by Hannah Kaner takes nearly everything I loved about epic fantasy as a kid and makes it better. It doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, but it does a damn fine job of making that wheel beautifully functional and delightfully queer.
If you like the trope of a grumpy badass reluctantly protecting and mentoring an innocent kid, you’ll love Godkiller. To start, there’s two grumpy badasses. Kissen is a cynical godkiller who lost both her family and her leg as sacrifices to gods and now makes a living putting down the many small gods that arise. Elogast used to be the commander of the king’s army and closest friend but has turned to the quieter life of a baker. And reluctantly, they join together to help a young noble girl reach the ruined city of Blenraden to ask the gods for help in separating her from a fledgling god of white lies.
Godkiller sticks to many of the tropes and genre conventions I grew up on while managing to put its own spin on things. There are gods everywhere – if someone hopes for or believes in something strongly enough, a god will take form out of those desires. These gods feel both whimsical and powerful, and their magic follows some clearly-defined logic while maintaining some sense of wonder (or horror, depending on the situation).
The world is queernormative and includes multiple prominent characters with physical or mental disabilities without making that their defining trait. The story dives into the murkier areas of morality but never crosses the line into misery porn. There’s always hope and humor and love.
And who says epic fantasy has to be full of bloat? Godkiller hits the ground running and doesn’t stop. If anything I broke out my typical gripe with novellas – give me more!
Godkiller also does something I rarely ever see: trauma, disability–even just character backstory–remains relevant through the entire story. Kissen is constantly maintaining and caring for her prosthetic leg and it’s treated as a valued treasure that doesn’t have the luxury of plot armor. If she gets in a nasty fight or has to take an unexpected swim, the damage to her prosthetic has a real impact on the story. Elogast doesn’t just flip a switch and leave his baker ways behind him, he’s always baking something nice for his friends on the road or helping to prepare food to earn his keep. In one memorable scene, he yells at a traveling companion for undercooking his rolls while fleeing from shadow demons.
I actually ended up reading Godkiller three separate times. I was lucky enough to scope an advanced review copy before the initial release in 2023 but took so long getting around to the review I had to read it again to refresh myself (that time in audio, which is fantastic). And I still didn’t get to the review, so I read it a third time. If you think that sounds like a lot of work or a burden, you’re wrong – Godkiller was just as fun the third time around.
Overall, this was just such a fun book. It hits all the right notes of nostalgia and builds on them to create something new and wonderful.
I received a review copy of Godkiller by Hannah Kaner in exchange for a fair and honest review.
