Review by Lorelei
May 17, 2024Sunbringer picks up right where Godkiller left off, but I don't want to spoil anyone who hasn't read that yet - let's just say all of our characters have some hard truths to face and hard decisions to make. Each is having to face that some of their foundational "truths" may not be so true after all. For Kissen, a godkiller who's always been very black and white about the need to get rid of the gods, relying on them and working with them forces her to confront her beliefs. Elogast has always been unshakeable in the knowledge of Arren's love for him, and the prospect of losing that has rocked him to his core. Inara possibly fares the best in this, in that she's young and still learning who and what she is, hungry for answers and determined to get them. Everyone else already has an idea of what they are, and it's the sudden uncertainty that is so difficult for them.
Kissen is an important part of this story, but we focus more on Inara and Elogast, and the majority of the POV chapters are from their perspectives. We get some Arren perspective too, and I don't know whether to hate him or just feel sorry for how he's obviously being duped. I feel like he wasn't hugged enough as a child and it's left him with some serious issues, you know what I mean?
The book started out a little slowly, and trying to get all of our characters into place for the big showdown made the book drag towards the middle and took longer than I'd like. But once everything was in place things really picked up, and there were some unexpected developments that set the stage for the next book in a big way. I'm VERY interested to see where these characters go next. There's a lot of interpersonal issues and drama that's going to make things... tense... going forward, and I do looooove me some good drama.
And can we get some love for that cover art? If it's not my favorite of the year, it's definitely in the top 10. By the amazing Tom Roberts, who seems to have been the artist of SO MANY fantastic covers lately - he also did Godkiller, The Book That Wouldn't Burn, The Book that Broke the World, and The Tainted Cup!
Sunbringer picks up right where Godkiller left off, but I don't want to spoil anyone who hasn't read that yet - let's just say all of our characters have some hard truths to face and hard decisions to make. Each is having to face that some of their foundational "truths" may not be so true after all. For Kissen, a godkiller who's always been very black and white about the need to get rid of the gods, relying on them and working with them forces her to confront her beliefs. Elogast has always been unshakeable in the knowledge of Arren's love for him, and the prospect of losing that has rocked him to his core. Inara possibly fares the best in this, in that she's young and still learning who and what she is, hungry for answers and determined to get them. Everyone else already has an idea of what they are, and it's the sudden uncertainty that is so difficult for them.
Kissen is an important part of this story, but we focus more on Inara and Elogast, and the majority of the POV chapters are from their perspectives. We get some Arren perspective too, and I don't know whether to hate him or just feel sorry for how he's obviously being duped. I feel like he wasn't hugged enough as a child and it's left him with some serious issues, you know what I mean?
The book started out a little slowly, and trying to get all of our characters into place for the big showdown made the book drag towards the middle and took longer than I'd like. But once everything was in place things really picked up, and there were some unexpected developments that set the stage for the next book in a big way. I'm VERY interested to see where these characters go next. There's a lot of interpersonal issues and drama that's going to make things... tense... going forward, and I do looooove me some good drama.
And can we get some love for that cover art? If it's not my favorite of the year, it's definitely in the top 10. By the amazing Tom Roberts, who seems to have been the artist of SO MANY fantastic covers lately - he also did Godkiller, The Book That Wouldn't Burn, The Book that Broke the World, and The Tainted Cup!
