This was such a fantastic end to the series and I loved every minute. This book rounds off everything I loved about the series so far with more dragons, more politics and more high stakes that drive everything towards a satisfying conclusion that has left me wanting more (I really hope that there will be more!).

Picking up right where we left off, we follow the various characters we've come to know and love be pushed into new situations and challenged by their principles to find the truth behind the God King. I particularly enjoyed following Zhanna and Livinya's chapters this time around as they had some of the more interesting plot lines as both divert from their known cultures and begin stepping into new lives and new kinds of power. I also enjoyed the few times we got to experience Alazar's perspective; tonally it is so different but puts so much of Marin's point of view into perspective.

While I found Marin's chapters to be a little slower than the others - namely for all the plot he brings to the book - I really enjoyed that he is the one to carry us until the end. I feel his character has the most unrevealed so I'm hopeful that he may become the new protagonist of a spin off series.

I'm still a little burnt that my favourite character died (what I feel was) a bit of a pointless death but overall I really enjoyed this read. The ending had the perfect amount of suspense, intrigue and plot twist to keep me hooked until the very last page. I feel that this is easily one of my favourite book series of all time and I look forward to what comes next!

One of the things The God-King Chronicles has made me realise is that I’ve largely lost my taste for epic fantasy. I grow impatient with all the extraneous detail and additional supporting narratives; I start tapping my foot and waiting for the plot to get to the point. I adored The Black Coast because it meandered through fabulous worldbuilding; I have far less patience when the same level of attention is lavished on minor plot progressions and yet another point of view character..

That said, The God-King Chronicles rewarded my patience with excellent characters (Tila! Saana! Daimon! Zhanna! Jeya! Alazar! Ravi!) and a full-blooded commitment to rebuilding the inequalities built into its own world. Brooks makes clear from the start that he has neither heroes or villains - all his societies are flawed and the most amazing things happen when people bury their differences and cooperate rather than stabbing one another (sorry Tila). While I have quibbles about some of the delivery (seriously, cut some subplot), I can only applaud the trilogy’s ambition even as I weep into my Kindle. Is it perhaps a little too neat? Maybe. Do I care? Hell no.

The Godbreaker by Mike Brooks is a solid conclusion to the God-King Chronicles, bringing together the themes and wider story arcs to a mostly satisfying finish. I have some quibbles about execution, but those were overwritten by how enjoyable a read it was overall.

The Godbreaker finds most of our characters poised to enter a conflict – Saana and Daimon are under attack by the neighbouring Thane’s forces, Marin has joined Nari reborn in the West, while the Golden and his raider army are heading towards Narida from the other side. The only ones in relative peace are Jeya and Bulang. Only a few chapters into the book a massive region-spanning event happens that upends things for most of the characters. I found this to be a really bold way to start the story, heightening the stakes and twisting some conflicts completely on their head.

One element I found frustrating is that Jeya and Bulang’s storyline has very little effect on the overall plot. By the end it felt more like an excuse to show off the interesting culture they live in, and it wasn’t fun to find out that the plot I’d already found weak in the first book wasn’t even that important on the scale of things.

As usual, Saana and Daimon were great, and Darel and Saana both have pretty decent arcs to them too. In fact, I was pleased with the arcs for all the characters (other than Jeya and Bulang) but this brings me to the other major criticism – everything happens too fast. See all those conflicts that had been set up? It was too much to fit into one book, making a lot of events occur so fast after each other that a lot of the storylines didn’t quite have enough time to breathe. I enjoyed them in the moment, but I don’t think the journeys will stick with me the same way that other fantasy books have. I do wonder if this series was originally supposed to be more books, but got shortened due to publisher pressure.

I think one of my favourite things about the books in this series is the way that characters solve problems not only through action, but through reaching out to others and trying to work together to find solutions. This was present in the first two books, and that theme of coming together is strong again here, with the example of Blackcreek being an important factor in the resolution of problems further down the line.

If it wasn’t for those elements, and my love for the characters (and the pretty readable prose) I have a feeling that you’d be looking at a much lower score.

The strengths outweighed the flaws for me in this final outing for the God-King Chronicles, but I could understand if someone else leant the other way. It’s still great to cap off this trilogy that focuses on optimism and working together, while still having many of the familiar trappings of an epic fantasy story.

I will start off with saying this isn't the most fantastic epic fantasy story I have ever read but it was quite readable once I got past the first book and it's multitude of third person, multi-gender confusing way of talking because there was a lot less in the second two book comparatively.

A few questions didn't get answered like where the Draugr came from or the one who was proclaiming himself a god reborn. There was a lot of bouncing between different character's points of view that were following or in the different armies and the whole reasoning between the fighting wasn't overly apparent as well as the odd side story of the Splinter King's story that could have quite easily been cut out and not really affected the story.

I only really liked the bits that involved the dragons and fighting but the rest was just kind of confusing.

I probably won't be re-reading this series.

The epic conclusion of an epic series: had fun, enjoyed it and loved the excellent storytelling and world building.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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.

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.

The last book in this trilogy takes a look at how long loyalty can survive when pressure is applied. The story is spread across viewpoints where the protagonists are in opposition to each other.
It starts with the smaller scale conflict which besets Daimon and Saana at Black Keep where a local lord is trying to take control, and it seems only Saana’s knowledge of the sea will save the day. The other smaller story is on the City of Islands where Bulang’s heritage as a pretender to the throne of Narida makes them both a prize and a threat to the various groups on the islands. The throne in question is currently held by the GodKing Natan a descendant of the divine Nari, but in the west, Tyrun, who claims to be the reborn Nari, is gathering an army which includes soldiers of the Godking. And then The Golden, a demon who now leads the Tjakorsha raiders, is leading an invasion fleet to Narida. And Natan’s sister Tila is trying to find a way to survive it all.

What I liked about this book was how events were unexpected and yet made sense. There were unanticipated deaths, but not just unanticipated in who died but how they died. The resolution was not the standard, one ruler is defeated and the rightful ruler claims the throne. But there were also observations about human character that were very accurate, a small throwaway one is how there were several characters called Natan, because of course a loyal subject would name a son after the king. Since the first book I’ve been pleased at how the story is a variation of the standard fantasy plots, and it continues that uniqueness while still having all of the intrigue and action of a good fantasy. I can see myself re-reading this trilogy in the future. And there is a hint there may be other stories to come in this world.

I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley

This is the conclusion to the series, and I really enjoyed finishing this up. I've reviewed the first two and would recommend checking out those reviews too if you're interested in the series, but suffice to say this is a fairly satisfying ending with a lot still left to explore either in your mind or if the author wants to return to the world. I would certainly read more set in this world as by the end of this I feel like there's a lot of new directions that our characters are going...

Surprises, I have to say this series kept me guessing with where people would end up. Most of the time in series all the multi-POV characters end up coming together and they all have a big dramatic ending. In this, Brooks does something different by sending some characters on their own paths, although their story is relevant to the overall, they never 'meet' other characters but their decisions affect others.

I loved the way that so many of our characters grow over the course of the series. When we first meet them they are new to their places in life or their roles and they gradually learn and develop and change and I loved seeing that flourishing. The storylines challenge the characters and take a few wild twists which make it exciting to see how the characters will react.

This is a story of who should rule, who is justified, gods, dragons, and ordinary people trying to find acceptance. I highly recommend the series as a whole and will certainly be checking out future works by Brooks as I now have him firmly on my radar! 4*s for the whole series overall :)

Congratulations to Mike Brooks and Orbit for a groundbreaking series.
I love the language throughout this book.

5 stars for this outstanding book written with such significant language and full of heart.
This 3rd and final installment left me mulling over the ending, murmuring "yes, just right!"

The Godbreaker is an epic ending to an epic series. It wraps up all the loose threads, while also leaving more to be explored (which, given that note at the end, I have hopes for). Basically, it was brilliant all round.

I won’t try summarise the plot here—not least because it was vast and expansive and not really something that you can cut down to a line or two. In the way all the best fantasies are, to be honest. To be as general and vague as possible, it was the culmination of all those more minor plot threads that had been bubbling away in the background of The Black Coast and The Splinter King.

There are several things I’ve loved about this series but number one is probably how it deals with language. A fair amount of the time in fantasy, societies look and think and speak like we do in the modern world. But in this one, Mike Brooks has put a lot of thought into how the three different societies of his world interact with one another, how they are similar and how they are distinct. And probably the most obvious indication of this is in their speech, and in the way there are several times that characters from each society butt up against those differences.

That attention to detail is present throughout the series in its worldbuilding. This is fantasy at its best, for me, the sort that absorbs you in both action and detail. Because, let’s be honest, this is a long book with a lot of POVs. You need to be fully engaged to want to read it (and then entire series, really). And Mike Brooks does just that.

Not only with the worldbuilding either, but also the characters. To take a moment for about the one negative thing I have to say about this book, it felt long in a way the previous two didn’t, so what kept me interested was the characters. Okay, yeah I had my favourites, and ones I cared less about reading about (which is another point. You go the entire book thinking that characters will all come together, but then. Some don’t), but they were still all compelling.

So really, the only negatives I had at all about this book were those minor ones I mentioned in the previous paragraph. And even those were barely blips compared to how much I enjoyed this book (and series as a whole). If you’re looking for your next epic fantasy read, let it be this one.

So. It's the end of a trilogy, and I have to stop myself from marking the book down because it's the end and I don't want it to be! I thoroughly enjoyed the first 2 books in this series ("The Black Coast" and "The Splinter King"), so I was fairly certain that this book would also gather 5 stars. Writing, plot, characters, setting - all are superb, and I will miss them (until I get time to reread the series!).

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

4.5 stars

The Godbreaker is the final book in the God-king chronicles and is a truly epic conclusion that brings everything together perfectly. Stakes are higher than ever as armies are on the move, a tsunami is on the horizon and homes + families are threatened.

I've really enjoyed this whole trilogy but this instalment was definitely my favourite. I'm really invested in all the characters and I thought the arcs of each character was very fitting and everything came together in a very satisfying way. In the splinter king I had a bit of an issue with all the POVs and how they felt very chop and change-y but in this book I felt they were much better structured, even though there were probably just as many different character POVs they were "clustered" so you followed only a couple for a bit and then switched which worked much better. Also there was a lot of set up in the splinter king and that definitely paid off big time in this book!!

My favourite characters are probably Darel, Marin, Alazar, Ravi and Zhanna and I was very happy with all their journeys throughout the book (although I wish we had gotten more of Zhanna and Yarmina hehe). The character moments and plot elements were balanced very well.

I never felt like the plot slowed down in this book, the beginning opens with the aftermath of the tsunami (which I actually loved this bit!!) and then the threat of the the golden and the "divine one" Tyrun escalates leading to a dramatic showdown. I also really liked how the book ends feeling concluded but with a lot of potential for future stories - it feels like the characters will keep on living even though you are not reading about them anymore.

I really enjoy all the themes in this series, especially the religious fanaticism elements (in this book in particular) and the over-arching theme of hope and belief in better for humanity.

In conclusion I would really recommend this trilogy for a refreshing take on epic fantasy with great loveable characters, a fun action packed story, a very queer-norm world with lots of queer characters and will leave you with a feeling of hope and joy whilst a bit bittersweet (which is my favourite way for books/series to end).

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher (Orbit UK) for providing me with an e-arc of this book. My opinions are my own.

Wow... I don't really know how to put in words how I feel about finishing this trilogy. But since this is a review I'm going to give it a try anyway :) There might be some small spoilers in this review.

Let me go back to the beginning first. I was just casually scrolling through Netgalley and saw a book that piqued my interest. It was about raiders not coming to, well, raid, but to find a new home in the country they'd been enemies with. That was a different point of view than a lot of traditional epic fantasy where good vs evil seems to be a big theme. Also, ohhh look, dragons! I requested The Black Coast from Netgalley and was happy to read the e-arc. I quickly fell in love with Daimon and Saana, and many other characters in the broad scope of this story. It was so refreshing to read about people trying to live together despite their differences, to try and make the best of it. To read about different cultures with their own traditions and way of life, and how they can influence and even help each other. I thought it was so important to see that one thing can be completely normal in one culture and be frowned upon in another. But this does not mean that one culture is necessarily better or worse than the other. They all have their pros and cons, so to speak. And they are just that: different. And by bringing people together, they can learn from each other and understand each other. So that ultimately there can be acceptance of people who are different from you. Acceptance instead of judgement, well, that's the ultimate dream, isn't it?

Fast forward to The Godbreaker. It starts off right where The Splinter King ends. I won't say too much about it because of spoilers, but let me say that I have enjoyed every minute of it (except for that one moment, whyyy 😭) and I thought that the ending truly fitted the story.

I finished The Godbreaker and I feel both sad and hopeful. Sad that it's over, hopeful because I feel that there is more story to tell in perhaps a new trilogy. I'd like to know more about Zhanna and her dragons, about Darel as an influential person in Idramar, about a certain brother and sister vying for the support of the people. I might like to know more about the Morlithians, too...

Go read these books. If you haven't yet, you are missing out.

Yet again I read a book that I really should not have, what I actually should have done was read the first 2!! Mike Brooks is one of my favourite black library authors and I have all his books, and the pleasure his writing brings to my humdrum world is immense, what his books have not done is teach me common sense obviously… not having any background to the characters I found myself a bit lost at time but that is 100% my fault, did I enjoy this book? Absolutely, have I now purchase the first 2? Too true I have