Gunmetal Gods by Zamil Akhtar – Review

Published: October 15, 2020

Publisher: N/A

Series: Gunmetal Gods #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 475 (Kindle)

My Rating: 4.0/5.0

Synopsis:
They took his daughter, so Micah comes to take their kingdom. Fifty thousand gun-toting paladins march behind him, all baptized in angel blood, thirsty to burn unbelievers.

Only the janissaries can stand against them. Their living legend, Kevah, once beheaded a magus amid a hail of ice daggers. But ever since his wife disappeared, he spends his days in a haze of hashish and poetry.

To save the kingdom, Kevah must conquer his grief and become the legend he once was. But Micah writes his own legend in blood, and his righteous conquest will stop at nothing.

When the gods choose sides, a legend will be etched upon the stars

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You ever wanted to read a book that was like the Crusades, but with Lovecraftian horrors as very present and terrifying gods? Of course I did, so I picked up the audiobook (which is awesome, btw). It was wild and if you thought the cover looked a bit creepy then you would be right. This is at times unsettling and the angels are pretty damn horrifying.

Kevah, a famed former janissary and mage-killer, has come out of retirement at the request of his ruler because there is a magus running amok. He’s been keeping to himself since his wife disappeared ten years prior and he’s neglected his adopted family. There are also rumors that Micah the Metal, the warlord now promoted to Grandmaster, is preparing to invade the holy city of Kostany. 

The dual perspectives of Kevah and Micah reveal that the two men are remarkably similar in many ways, though they are on two different sides of a conflict. Both are broken men, with difficult pasts. While Kevah would have rather disappeared into anonymity, Micah has risen high and has embraced the Angels and become their faithful warlord, seeking only to bring them glory. The highest possible glory would be the retaking of Kostany and this particular goal is what brings Micah and Kevah together on the field of battle.

There are numerous fascinating side characters from magi to princesses and each bring an added layer of richness to the story. Micah and Kevah are definitely given the most detailed backstories, but certain other characters are fleshed out more significantly as well. I’ve mentioned that the Angels are creepy as hell, right? They have giant single eyes, tentacles, odd numbers of wings, and one is even a pulsing gelatinous blob. There’s definitely something otherworldly and sci-fi about them which is such an interesting offset to the historical fantasy setting. 

The plot is intricate and engaging, though there’s a great deal of time spent with Kevah and Micah both being a bit maudlin and “woe is me” at times. I liked the complexities of the politics on both sides, particularly with Micah because of course he eventually thinks it might be a great idea to overthrow the Imperator he answers to. I didn’t love it, but that’s largely because I don’t pick up as much dark fantasy and this is definitely dark! I greatly appreciate the characterization, the rich worldbuilding, and how epically cool some scenes were. I’d definitely recommend it and at some point in the near future I’d love to pick up the next book in the series.