
The protagonist of Traitor God, the mage Edrin Walker, returns to his hometown of Setharis after 10 years of exile to avenge the death of his best—and only (!)—friend. It’s fair to say Setharis doesn’t exactly welcome him back with open arms. After all, he did kill a god there. Or so people say. He doesn’t remember doing it. Then again, you’d probably claim the same thing in his shoes, wouldn’t you?
Cameron Johnston’s debut novel features an unusual hero, a unique magic system, and a genre experiment that’s anything but conventional: a blend of dark fantasy, detective noir, and horror-thriller elements.
Edrin Walker is NOT Your Friend
Edrin Walker is the walking embodiment of self-destruction. He’s a drunk, a rule-breaker, and a foul-mouthed, unpleasant jerk who despises himself far more than he could ever despise anyone else. Yet, it quickly becomes clear that Edrin possesses what is arguably the coolest magical ability around. And yet… maybe not.
Being able to peek into other people’s minds? That’s handy, especially if you want to insult them with flair. But invading someone’s mind? That’s a whole other level. Edrin is a telepath who can take complete control over others’ minds. Unfortunately, Setharis has a bit of a history with mind-mages. So, here’s the general consensus:
#1. Blowing someone to bits or peeling their skin off with magic? Fine.
#2. Turning people into mindless puppets? Absolutely not fine.
(In such cases, it’s obviously wiser to keep your talents to yourself.)
Fantasy Noir
Setharis, the setting of Traitor God, is perfect for a noir-style thriller: a dark, overpopulated city full of shadowy, menacing alleyways, with slums sprawling everywhere. Every street corner has its share of pickpockets, cutthroats, or hired killers just waiting for you to stroll by. Corruption and decadence run rampant, and the mage caste isn’t just a source of constant intrigue—they might literally fling a fireball your way at any moment. Oh, and we haven’t even gotten to the (traitorous) gods yet.
In a good fantasy novel—like Traitor God almost is—the gods are, naturally, not exactly benevolent grandfatherly figures. Instead, they’re aloof, inscrutable beings indifferent to humans yet demanding absolute obedience and reverence. The gods in Johnston’s Traitor God fit this mold perfectly, with an added twist of being mercilessly cruel. So, it’s no wonder that Edrin Walker took one of them out. I mean, allegedly.
A World-Spanning Conspiracy and a Hint of Meh
Edrin Walker, the foul-mouthed mage, embarks on a private investigation that takes the protagonist of Traitor God to increasingly uncomfortable places within the grim backdrop of Setharis, but unfortunately, it quickly turns into a tedious dungeon crawling. (That’s when you endlessly wander through dark, underground tunnels, whacking everything you meet over the head with a sharp object.)
And guess what? It turns out being claustrophobic while dungeon crawling is a HUGE BUMMER.
Naturally (and unfortunately), Edrin’s investigation uncovers a WORLD-SPANNING conspiracy and leads to encounters with INCREDIBLY POWERFUL ENEMIES. If you’re getting major Supernatural vibes, you’re not alone—you know, like when Sam and Dean charge headfirst into some dangerous place armed with nothing but a single demon-slaying penknife, immediately get thrown into walls, yet somehow end up winning anyway?
And as the plot escalates, you’ll likely get the distinct feeling you’ve stumbled into a series finale masquerading as a debut novel. The stakes are so absurdly high (giant battle robots included!) that it’s hard to imagine where Cameron Johnston could possibly take things next from here. Outer space, maybe?
Edrin Walker Might Actually Be Your Friend
At some point in the story (and quite unexpectedly), you might realize that Traitor God’s protagonist isn’t as much of a heartless bastard as he thinks he is. As Setharis rapidly crumbles around him, Edrin’s main concern becomes the city’s dregs (All hail the hookers and gangsters!) and two of the deadliest assassins around—folks who could kill him (or anyone else) in three seconds flat using nothing more than a battered, second-hand Q-tip.
Traitor God might not be the most polished fantasy novel out there. But its world-building is superb, with the monumental, sin-ridden city of Setharis, its ruthless gods in their towering spires, and a completely unique, vengeance-driven protagonist. Johnston’s debut is definitely worth a try—especially since the sequel turned out even better.
Rating: 6.7/10
The Traitor God (Age of Tyranny, #1) by Cameron Johnston
432 pages, Paperback
Published June 5, 2018 by Angry Robot
—
Review of the sequel:
God of Broken Things
—
You may also like:
The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne
Doctor Strange (2016)