FAITHBREAKER

A king who forbids religion becomes a god while a demigod searches for her place in the world in the conclusion to Kaner's Fallen Gods trilogy.

With the violent fire god Hseth reborn, King Arren and Lady Lessa Craier have put aside their differences to fight for Middren. Reunited with her old pirate crew, Lessa takes her daughter, the demigod Inara; Kissen, the godkiller; and Skediceth, the god of white lies, on a journey to drum up deific support for Middren. Meanwhile, Arren and his devoted baker-knight, Elo, ride out to meet Hseth and her armies on the front lines. But trouble awaits at every turn. Fighting Hseth head-on leads to devastating losses for Arren and Elo, and Inara's attempts at coaxing support out of a forge god leave Kissen fighting for her life. Alliances are tested, allies are killed, and the war rages on. Compared to Godkiller (2023) and Sunbringer (2024), the first two novels in Kaner's series, this one is a very slow burn, and the action never truly takes off. This, compounded with the deus ex machina ending, may leave some readers feeling disappointed. Fans of the earlier novels will find much to love here, though, as Kaner's well-developed characters compel the reader to keep the pages turning. As with the previous installments, the novel is refreshingly diverse. Elo and Kissen are both bisexual, and several secondary characters are gay. Kissen is an amputee, and her sisters are a deaf woman and a wheelchair user. Elo is coded as Black, while Lessa and Inara are coded as nonwhite.

An ultimately satisfying final chapter to Kaner's grimdark fantasy trilogy.