Godblind by Anna Stephens (Godblind #1)

The Mireces worship the bloodthirsty Red Gods. Exiled from Rilpor a thousand years ago, and left to suffer a harsh life in the cold mountains, a new Mireces king now plots an invasion of Rilpor’s thriving cities and fertile earth.

Dom Templeson is a Watcher, a civilian warrior guarding Rilpor’s border. He is also the most powerful seer in generations, plagued with visions and prophecies. His people are devoted followers of the god of light and life, but Dom harbors deep secrets, which threaten to be exposed when Rillirin, an escaped Mireces slave, stumbles broken and bleeding into his village.

Meanwhile, more and more of Rilpor’s most powerful figures are turning to the dark rituals and bloody sacrifices of the Red Gods, including the prince, who plots to wrest the throne from his dying father in the heart of the kingdom. Can Rillirin, with her inside knowledge of the Red Gods and her shocking ties to the Mireces King, help Rilpor win the coming war?

CONTRIBUTOR(S): Jean Ann Douglass (Narrator)
PUBLISHER: Talos (Skyhorse Publishing)
YEAR: 2017
LENGTH: 408 pages (15 hours 5 minutes)
AGE: Adult
GENRE: Fantasy
RECOMMENDED: Yes

Queer Rep Summary: Gay/Achillean Main Character(s), Closeted/Questioning Main Character(s).

GODBLIND is a relentlessly paced tale of invasion and war as the Mireces try to bring the Red Gods, hungry for sacrifice and slaughter, back into this world by ripping the veil between this world and the world of the gods. Several factions try to stop them, but many outside the Mireces follow the The Path, and not everyone has made their bloodier allegiances known.

GODBLIND has a rather large cast of characters, but the calendars and locations at the start of each chapter made it much easier to keep track of everyone or at least have a general idea of which culture's perspective was in play. The action scenes are detailed and visceral enough to give a sense of danger but not get bogged down in minutiae. It took until almost the end for someone to say the term "Godblind" and what it means. That reveal was so good! As a title drop it felt earned and important.

I almost quit reading when a very graphic murder happened at least a quarter of the way into the book. That was a bit over my personal tolerance for gore, but after giving myself a day or so to reset, I continued, and I'm so glad that I did. The graphic nature of that scene serves to make the stakes very clear and drive home what those who worship the path want to do en masse. I appreciate the way it felt like it was a point that had to be made once, and only once, thereafter leaving any equivalently gory scenes implied and taking place with unnamed characters, rather than marinating the reader in those details. It was as if each kind of graphic thing got one or two chances to really shine, making clear the scope of their cruelty without overwhelming the reader. The world of GODLBLIND is one soaked in danger and death, with the Mireces and other followers of The Path determined to make level of violence that not just normalized but expected, and everyone else trying to preserve their lives and families in the face of invasion. 

I loved it, the audiobook was a fantastic way to read this. I highly recommend reading GODBLIND in that format if it's one that generally works for you. 

If you like this you may like:

• Savage Legion by Matt Wallace
• Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

Graphic/Explicit CW for misogyny, sexism, blood, gore, violence, injury detail, body horror, torture, sexual abuse, war, murder, death.

Moderate CW for homophobia, vomit, alcohol, sexual content, rape, sexual assault, child abuse, pedophilia, self harm, slavery, animal death, cannibalism, self-harm.

Minor CW for ableist language, excrement, pregnancy.

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