{"id":297,"date":"2021-07-26T08:12:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T08:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/minimal-kritikak.hu\/?p=297"},"modified":"2024-07-26T22:20:19","modified_gmt":"2024-07-26T20:20:19","slug":"god-of-broken-things-by-cameron-johnston-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minimal-kritikak.hu\/en\/2021\/07\/26\/god-of-broken-things-by-cameron-johnston-book-review\/","title":{"rendered":"God of Broken Things by Cameron Johnston \u2013 Book Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"God<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Edwin Walker is a bastard – but otherwise a nice guy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let’s not mince words: Edrin Walker is a vile scoundrel. At least, that’s what he thinks of himself. However, his self-perception didn\u2019t stop him from saving his hometown from a massive threat in the prequel to God of Broken Things (see The Traitor God<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In God of Broken Things, another massive threat looms over the ill-fated city of Setharis. This isn\u2019t bad news for the reader, as the second installment is somewhat more skillfully crafted than the first. The story is better developed, more comprehensible, and has fewer pointless antics and clumsy scenes (nudist grandma, ahem).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edwin Walker Uses His Brain \u2013 Advanced Mind Magic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The evil antagonists, literally brain-invading scarrabus, are dead ringers for the Goa’uld from Stargate. If I were Cameron Johnston, I would\u2019ve definitely stolen the idea from there myself. At first, this seems quite lame, and, well, it is a bit, but not entirely, because Edrin is an excellent practitioner of mind magic, as are these wretched little creatures. Thus, they have plenty of great opportunities to match wits\u2014or rather, brains\u2014in various skirmishes and eventually an epic battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God of Broken Things, much like its predecessor, is not free from unnecessary and bombastic embellishments. For instance, the galactic-scale backstory literally involves some characters throwing moons and planets around, creating such a contrast with the book\u2019s main plot that it\u2019s incapable of eliciting any significant reaction other than mild boredom. Fortunately, it\u2019s only a few pages long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God of Broken Things is gratuitously vulgar, screw that!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And how much of a vile scoundrel is Walker? For some reason, Johnston compulsively has the protagonist repeat how much of a disgusting, insensitive worm he is\u2014while, in stark contrast, our hero gives his last pennies to the hungry, volunteers as an anesthesiologist in a hospital, or saves the ENTIRE planet. Edrin’s constant self-flagellation is clearly meant to make the hero unique. However, the facade slips: besides a hefty dose of cynicism, disrespect, and self-pity, there’s not much wrong with Edrin. Except, of course, his foul, dirty mouth!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The constant and utterly unnecessary swearing drags down the text of God of Broken Things to a barroom level. And, as with foul-mouthed kids in kindergarten, it\u2019s hard to see what purpose it serves beyond shock value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cameron Johnston Creates a Memorable Hero\u2026 and\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

However, after a while, you hardly notice the foul language anymore, fuck you, but you realize that Cameron Johnston somehow succeeded. Despite some bumps in the writing, the protagonist remains memorable. Especially as, over the course of the second part, the character finds himself more and becomes more agile and effective, turning into a true badass figure. And the mind games, distinct from typical fantasy, guarantee some uniqueness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in the end, the only thing you don\u2019t understand is why, if Johnston went to the trouble of creating such a complex mythology and background world, he crammed the story into just two volumes. Because, truth be told, after the abrupt ending of God of Broken Things, you\u2019re left feeling a bit incomplete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rating: 7.2\/10<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

God of Broken Things (Age of Tyranny #2) by Cameron Johnston
432 pages, Paperback
Published in 2019 by Angry Robot<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Edwin Walker is a bastard – but otherwise a nice guy Let’s not mince words: Edrin Walker is a vile scoundrel. At least, that’s what he thinks of himself. However, his self-perception didn\u2019t stop him from saving his hometown from a massive threat in the prequel to God of Broken Things (see The Traitor God). … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[9,22,174,116,58,14,175,127,81],"class_list":["post-297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book","tag-action","tag-adventure","tag-antihero","tag-complex-characters","tag-dark-fantasy","tag-fantasy","tag-grimdark","tag-heroic-fantasy","tag-magic"],"yoast_head":"\nGod of Broken Things by Cameron Johnston \u2013 Book Review - minimal-Critiques<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The protagonist of Cameron Johnston's God of Broken Things is a nasty jerk. But he\u2019s also a good guy! Nevermind. 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