Book Review: ‘Faithbreaker’ by Hannah Kaner

Faithbreaker

Faithbreaker is the third and concluding book in Hannah Kaner’s Fallen Gods trilogy. Over the course of the first two books (Godkiller and Sunbringer) we were introduced to a world where humans have a personal and complex relationship to the multitude of gods and goddesses who inhabit their world. For the gods not only exist metaphysically, but walk the world in physical form.

We were also introduced to a series of remarkable characters: Kissen, who is a godkiller by trade and an independent and contrary person by inclination; Inara the young girl Kissen is sheltering who is half mortal and half god; Skedi, the god of white lies who is Inara’s companion; Lessa Craier, Inara’s mother and leader of armies; Elogast, the once knight, commander and friend of the king; and finally the king, Arren.

At the beginning of his reign Arren declared war on the gods living in his country and created the godkillers whose job it was to eliminate every god in his realm. From the little gods of sandal straps to the ones of every stream and tributary throughout the land, fighters like Kissen killed them all.

Ostensibly this was to remove the threat the gods posed, but the king also had an ulterior motive: to set himself up as the only god people worshipped. For in a battle against the gods his heart had been damaged and replaced by a god, so the king was kept alive by a god and was becoming a god himself.

Now his land is being invaded by another country and the god of fire its people worship. His allies and enemies within his realm are forced to unite to fend off an outside invader. They may not worship him, or even recognize him as their king, but they all have to work with Arren to save themselves from destruction.

In Faithbreaker Kaner brings together the strands of story she has been weaving over the first two books of the series to create a riveting and exciting conclusion. However this is not just a simple sword-and-sorcery book. For while there is plenty of action, Kaner also manages to raise interesting questions about the nature of faith, love and sacrifice.

Wisely she doesn’t try to offer answers, but lets us see the nature of each. There is a difference between making someone a martyr for your own ends, and doing it as a gift given in love, in the belief it will help others. 

Faithbreaker isn’t a religious book, in fact it’s brilliantly earthy, and sexually ambiguous, as both Elogast and Kissen have no hesitation about sleeping with partners of either gender. In fact, it’s a remarkably human book, replete with all our foibles and merits on display everywhere.

Faithbreaker by Hannah Kaner is not only a wonderful adventure story but a beautiful look at faith and humanity. in it, the former desperately needs the latter to keep it balanced. A lesson we should all be heeding.