It looks like I’ve been on a ‘gods’ kick when it comes to my reading list these last few months: Shadow of the Gods and Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne, Wrath of a Hungry God by Sean Crow, and now Gunmetal Gods by Zamil Akhtar.
This isn’t intentional. I’m just reading books as they come recommended to me. (For my next read, I make sure it doesn’t have “gods” in the title.)
The Crusades meets Lovecraft
Gunmetal Gods is a fantastical retelling of the Crusades–set in a world different yet similar to our own. The story switches back and forth between the first-person perspective of the two main characters: Micah the Metal (a conquering general from the west who can’t be stopped) and Kevah (an old veteran from the east who was once celebrated as a hero but who now wants to grow fat in peace). Both characters suffer great losses, and these losses drive them to revenge. Their stories intertwine and parallel one another as they try to figure out what it means to wield power and deal with grief.
Akhtar’s writing is simple yet powerful. His pacing is quick, covering a lot of action and many scenes in a single chapter. In some stories, a quick pace might create some distance between the reader and the story with too much going on. But Akhtar’s use of the first person point of view gave personality to the narration which kept me emotionally invested in what was happening.
The story carries the characters to some dark places, but I appreciate how the author shows the painful consequences of delving into the dark. This makes Gunmetal Gods a cautionary tale that warns of the destruction that comes with vengeance. The story didn’t end how I thought it would. And I’m not sure about how I feel about how it “landed.”
But overall, however, it’s a great story. And I recommend it to fans of military fantasy.
What have you been reading lately? Share in the comments below.