Sunbringer

I will not think back to this book fondly.

Firstly, unlike Godkiller, whose prose was one of my favorite aspects of the novel – easy to read, descriptive yet deceptively simple, largely inoffensive – Sunbringer has many issues when it comes to writing as an artform and logic. There are many sentences that simply did not flow well, with extremely repetitive language, or with errors where wrong names were used for certain characters (such as Hestra getting called ‘Hseth' on page 29, but returning to Hestra on page 31). This book was, on a basic prose level, not ready to publish. it should have gone through at least one more round of edits, where the name-swaps, the awkward sentences, the repetition, too long sentences and lack of commas in certain places would have gotten fixed.

Secondly, this book holds none of the appeal that Godkiller did. While Godkiller starts out extremely slow, one can find something appealing within through the worldbuilding that is explored and given quite organically to the reader, but mostly; the character dynamics. While the characters are not necessarily weak on their own, the main attraction towards Godkiller seems to have been the interaction between the characters moreso than the characters themselves. With the main party split, following their stories, the characters are forced to carry the plot as individuals rather than a cohesive whole, and this is where the appeal falls apart. One of Sunbringer's strongest scenes is the climax, where the main three characters reunite, but it is a long time coming, and by that point, I just wanted to get done with this book. While I do love Kissen, Elogast, and Inara, and Skediceth, I was struck by the feeling that these should not be the people who's story we follow in this book. Kissen especially. I think it would have been much more powerful, much more poignant in a way, if we could only speculate that Osidisen saved Kissen based on Godkiller's ending; I would have much rather followed Lessa Craier. Kaner focuses on character exploration, but the ways in which this is done just... does not land sometimes. Especially when it tries to harken back to Godkiller's intercharacter dynamics.

One such moment that stands out is on page 97, where Elo's narration states “He was not broken. He was never broken. Kissen had taught him that.” and my genuine and immediate reaction was “but did she tho????”. This to me is telling rather than showing. There were some instances of it in Godkiller too, but those I found easy to look over. Not here for some reason. It would have been much better, I think, if Elo instead had flashed to some memories of Kissen that would be relevant in this instance. Show how Kissen taught him he is not broken, maybe emphasize that with the telling phrase, rather than just proclaim it as truth. My own version would be something along these lines: “A broken man. Was he? Charred and burned, betrayed by Arren, his brother, nothing but a sacrifice to a god, and for what? For power? Elo's mind ached as images flashed before his eyes. Kissen, when they had first met. A mystery that unfolded slowly, with her bruises and broken curses and metal leg. The world had tried to break her, and she certainly looked it, but it had failed. Hearty or hurt, gloriously alive or tumbling to her death, Kissen had been whole; Elo was as well.” Is this the best alternative? No. But I'm also not a writer. Still, I feel like like this paints a stronger connection between Kissen and Elo, shows what exactly brokenness means to Elo here, why he doesn't believe himself to be broken still, and how Kissen plays a part in this belief. Yes, Elo is pained and somewhat weakened by his injuries and the horrors he has gone through, but so was Kissen, and she had the strength to fight a fucking god. How could she have been broken? Even if, like Elo, her body had been damaged.

I also honestly found the story to be boringly predictable. When it was revealed that Inara is a demigod, the child of Yusef, the God of safe haven, it did not feel earned. For multiple reasons. Firstly, it was something I theorized back when Inara was introduced and her father was absent, unknown by her. Secondly, there are many more hints throughout the story to lead the reader to that conclusion. The way then reveal is presented, it feels like the reader is supposed to be held in suspense, or maybe surprised, by Inara's godly heritage, perhaps as much as Kissen may have been. But here's the thing: it was not surprising. When you drop so many hints about a plot point that it might as well have been nailed into the reader's forehead, you don't focus on the official reveal, you focus on the reactions. We cut away before we see Kissen's (which was extremely underwhelming; especially when we are told she had thought it without that thought ever truly appearing in either book in any way that mattered). What would have been better is if the reveal was firstly introduced in an official capacity through Inara herself, supported by her actions, and then made “official” in Kissen's POV with Lessa Craier with a focus on Kissen's reaction and the resulting conversation (or bullying from Kissen). But because that's not how it goes down, I just felt frustrated with the book, saying “I know that already!”. This is also true of Lessa Craier being alive. The second we met the unnamed woman, even without recognizing her appearance, I thought "oh god, this can't be Ina's mother, can it?" and then it was. It felt like a cheap reveal. I would have preferred Inara to stay without guidance, without a key to the past, until, perhaps, Yusef rose again, until Skedi's memories might have come back (since they come in flashes sometimes)... Also, what the fuck was with Telle and the scroll? When did she have time to do research like that? How would she know??.

The only POV that I was genuinely invested in because I had no clear idea where it would go was Elogast's. I absolutely loved the way he was regressing in a way, becoming his worst self, a commander and ruthless warrior, and the way it conflicted with how he viewed himself, the people around him, Arren, the world, gods... all of it. I still found many aspects of it rather weak, but it actually surprised me on occasion. Skediceth was also a highlight. Getting glimpses into Arren's POV was also quite a surprise. It's a bold move on Kaner's part to introduce the book in the villain's perspective. However... if it was meant to make me care for Arren, get me invested... not really. I get that he's been hurt, and why he feels that way, but frankly I don't like him, nor do I find him particularly compelling. I sympathize, empathize even, but there was not enough of him to make a favorable impression. I think that there is a chance I will grow to like him if/when I read the third book, but from the decrease in quality from Godkiller to Sunbringer, I'm a little scared the third installment will be even more rushed and, thusly, and even more frustrating read.

That isn't to say I hated everything. The climax is quite strong, the darkest hour is fucking dark, and I did genuinely feel moved during some scenes, like Scian being confronted on Scian's Day and choosing to walk in the streets of the city.

However, the good parts were surrounded by the middling parts and the bad parts, and there were few of them to begin with. There were also some concepts I found to be significantly less interesting than my own theories. For example, Canovan is Lethen's son. This had been rather awkward as a reveal because I thought that Canovan and Lethen were lovers; that they had married once before the God War, and after Lethen was killed during it, Canovan brought her back through his own love, his solitary admiration and devotion, and I thought Lethen lost all her memories of the past, but fell in love with Canovan anew anyway. I thought maybe they had a child together that had been killed during the God War, too, and that it is the loss of his family (the old Lethen being just a little different from the new Lethen) that led him to the path of destruction he had been on. Him just being Lethen's kid feels.... simple and boring in comparison. Especially since he could have been explored more in-depth, perhaps seeing the echoes of what-could-have been in Inara, had his own child been able to live and grow to that age.

Overall, while Sunbringer does try to resolve and continue all plots and threads Kaner had set up in Godkiller, they felt lackluster and did not live up to the expectations that I had. They lived up to some theories, sure, but in ways so boring or predictable or cliched that it honestly detracted from the experience. Being predictable does not make the book bad, but sometimes these ‘known twists/reveals' have to be tackled in more creative ways to actually be poignant, to make those reveals and twists matter to the reader beyond the basic “official” confirmation. There is definitely more action happening in Sunbringer than even in Godkiller's climax, but the book still has dragged its feet, did not utilize it's POV gimmick in exciting ways, kept losing focus because of it, and just generally failed to deliver fantastic conclusions to fantastic setups. By no means a horrible book, but to me it is not a good one.

As a last little addition, here are some of the notes I made whilst reading, in chronological order (with varying amounts of context):
pg. 76: what a sentence. why is there so much ‘then'?
pg. 156: ‘godhead' instead of ‘godhood'... or maybe Kissen genuinely thinks Arren wants a divine blo-
pg. 187: genuinely what the FUCK does this mean
pg. 248: “generously” did NOT have to be there
pg. 262: well, look whose shoulder survived!
pg. 342: THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN, “TOO FAR?” KELT CAME FROM FUCKING BELRADEN, YOU'RE IN SCIAN'S GODDAMN HOME!
pg. 344: the “standing still” is, at the very least, very strongly implied by “unmoving”

Really liking those books so far ! I enjoyed Sunbringer as much as Godkiller.Though I would have loved to see more of Kissen it was really interesting to have a new PoV in this book. Looking forward to read the next one !

A lot slower than I expected, but still enjoyed returning to this world - Kissen rocks! A great read, but I enjoyed Godkiller a lot more.

Being absolutely honest, I feel a bit conflicted about Sunbringer. I loved everything about Godkiller, and although I think Sunbringer it's an interesting follow up book, it just didn't hold the same appeal with me.

Sunbringer starts immediately after Godkiller events, with an additional POV that I loved and added much value to the story. The narrative continues with the remaining characters we already love, but for most of the book, they are apart, and I really wanted more time with them all together. I also wanted more of Kissen, which is my favorite character, and we didn't get to see nearly enough of her. I understand the reason behind it: Inara, Skediceth and Elo need more time to grow into themselves, and I'm loving to read about it, but I miss Kissen (and Legs too! Why would you make the horse suffer Hannah? Why?)

The book is slower paced than Godkiller and has significant less action during the first half of it, which affected my overall enjoyment of the story. I could see that Hannah was moving all the pieces for an epic ending, but I just wasn't curious enough to know it and struggled to get going.

Hannah is making a terrific job writing Fallen Gods characters, and this remains my favorite bit of the series. I'm loving to see their change and growth, from the main characters to the villains. I also love the premise around the Gods and their power source, which I believe it is a great foundation for interesting conversations around religion and beliefs.

That said, the ending is quite good and worthy of my struggle. Although I've guessed the twists, that didn't affect my appreciation for the story, and I will be waiting expectantly for the next installment of Fallen Gods.

I cannot review this series and not comment on the stellar representation included in it. This is wonderfully done.

I would like to thank HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, HarperVoyager and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest an honest review.

Kembali ke semesta Godkiller, buku kedua seri Fallen Gods. Di bagian akhir buku pertama, Pembunuh Dewa Kissen berkorban dengan menyeret Hseth, sang dewa api terjun ke lautan, ke dalam pelukan dewa laut, Osidien. Osidien melaksanakan janjinya dengan menyelamatkan Kissen, dengan memberi peringatan bahwa Hseth akan bangkit kembali dengan kekuatan yang lebih besar dari sebelumnya.
Masih terguncang karena kehilangan Kissen, Inara dengan dewa dusta putih Skediceth masih harus menemukan jawaban mengenai kondisi ikatan mereka. Sementara Elogast, bukan lagi ksatria dari Raja Arren, mempunyai tugas untuk menghabisi sang Raja, yang dulunya adalah sahabatnya.
Melanjutkan dimana buku pertama berakhir, Elo, Inara dan si dewa Skedi terpisah dengan Kissen. Dan akhirnya di buku kedua ini terungkap rahasia mengenai Inara dan asal mul Skediceth bisa terikat dengan Inara. Seri Godkiller mungkin bukan level fantasi bintang 5, namun aku sangat menikmati petualangan Kissen, Elo, Inara dan Skediceth. Www

A fantastic sequel to an amazing first book! I really liked the pieces coming together and building up for an absolute nightmare of a showdown in the third book.

I will say that there was a lot of slow-moving plotting and worldbuilding and politicking (a lot of dialogue) in the middle half of the book, punctuated with some action, but most of the action was at the end of the book. 

The realizations and plot twists, I think, were done really well. The dramatic irony between the different POV characters came to a head nicely. 

If I had to critique something, I'd say make the showdown between Elogast and Arren a little longer. I did like Inara a lot in this one, she had drive and agency with the flaws one would expect from a traumatized preteen (especially one with god powers).

Definitely gonna get the third book the moment it's released!

[20/02/24] It has been a year since the first one came out, but I don't remember it being as meandering as this. Honestly, I found the whole thing quite dull. But what drove me truly bananas is the fact that the reader isn't trusted at all.

“‘Absolutely the fuck not,' said Yatho. ‘I'd not trust the either of you with a goat, let alone a child.'
Inara winced. Yatho just then had sounded exactly like Kissen. Elo clearly thought so too, because his colours sparkled with recognition in the colour of Kissen's auburn hair.” p54.

Why not just “Inara winced. Elo's colours sparkled auburn.” Hell, even just “Inara winced” would have done the job. The reader has spent enough time with Kissen to notice the similarity. We get it!

“His breath stopped, his eyes stilled. Dead. The boy was dead. The first person she had killed was barely more than a child, barely older than Inara.” p87

When the previous three-hundred and four pages that constitute the previous book alongside the first eighty-seven of this one establish (many times) that your heroine kills gods, NOT people (and also has an affinity for the child protagonist) you don't need to spend this long to make sure the reader truly GETS it. She killed a child! A boy! We GET it already.

Maybe were I to go back to the first I'd look less kindly on it. Maybe it genuinely was much more polished. Maybe one day I'll go back and see!

Regardless, I found this disappointing.