Gunmetal Gods: A Dark Fantasy Epic (Gunmetal Gods Saga Book 1)

Gunmetal Gods is a book that I’ve wanted to read for a long time. It was one of those cases where I fell in love with the cover (and I’m still in love with the cover, in fact, I’m in love with the covers for this series in general), and the blurb sold me – as I’m a fan of fantasy where the Gods are directly involved and that was very much the case here. I will say now, having read it, that the blurb really doesn’t do justice to the sheer scale of this book. Also, as a note, Gunmetal Gods is a dark book – there is violence, there is darkness, and it is not always easy to read, although it felt incredibly true to the world that is created and I never found it overdone. The world-building was my favourite part of this book, and it was there that we really got to see the scale of the world Akhtar has created here, not just in terms of breadth – although as the map (and yes, that is an immediate bonus point) shows just the physical layout of this world is also huge in scale, but also in-depth. Gunmetal Gods is a book of layers and hidden depths. It is also a book that demands your total attention because of just how richly layered it is because even things that appeared simple often weren’t, and this was a world where so many things had different meanings or interpretations depending on the point of view, or even just the point in the story that you had reached, and there were times when it could be some time until you fully understood them. It also meant that Gunmetal Gods takes a little while to get going, just because there is a lot to establish, but that is more than made up for when the book takes off. What I really enjoyed, and one of the major draws of this book is that it draws from the setting and history of the crusades, a period of history that I’ve always been interested in, and it was fascinating to see how Akhtar played off that in a fantastical setting. It certainly gave added meaning to the Gods being involved, and religion – in various forms, and not all positive – was a major facet throughout the book as you would expect.‘It was said the creator made the world in seven days but was frightened of her creation. It was a place of total chaos, with no rules to guide it. So the creator made the angels to tame the world and bring it under law. Then, as if ashamed, the creator unmade herself and ceased to be.’ There were a few points where it felt as though the differences weren’t clearly defined, and it might have been interesting to delve a little more into those differing traditions and beliefs. Yet at the same time, it works beautifully because that blurring of the lines, the common points that we got to see, highlight so many important questions and reasons behind the conflict, and the way meaning is often a result of viewpoint. I wasn’t quite as convinced by the miracles, although I did like that they weren’t used to ‘solve’ all the problems, which I feel would have detracted from the power of the story. However, the detail and scope of this aspect were breathtaking, and it wasn’t held in a bubble, feeding into the different cultures and locations, and to the political landscape, and the interests and interactions of the characters from our main POV characters to the complex cast of secondary characters. Gunmetal Gods is set in a world that feels alive and breathing, partly because of that interconnectedness of all the details, as Akhtar has layered the world in such a way that you can feel the history, the connections – good and bad – without everything being explicitly stated. This in turn was coupled with a writing style that was both compelling and beautiful, which brought the world to life – making it feel as though you could just close your eyes, and find yourself in that world surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells that were written on the pages. Akhtar also infused a lot of emotion into his writing, and across the spectrum, marrying beauty with darkness, and as I talk about later, I wish that there had been more time just for me to sit and savour the writing for itself. Akhtar has crafted his characters in much the same way to the world, and particularly our two main POV characters Micah the Metal and Kevah are compelling, complex characters in their own right – and so individual, that there was never any danger of mistaking whose chapter you were in. Despite the almost overwhelming strength of the worldbuilding, these two characters, in particular, demanded your attention and again we see that use of emotion coming into play through the use of the first-person point of view, and Akhtar takes us deep into these characters, again utilizing depth to great effect. Similar skill is shown with the rest of the cast, and there is a wide range of peoples within this world, some more or less human than the others, and this was another layer to the worldbuilding – as we had Djinn and spirits, alongside the main sides in the conflict, and it just added to that epic scale of this book. A lot was happening in this book, and at times the pacing was relentless and it felt as though if you so much as blinked then you would miss some key detail, especially towards the end of the book when the revelations came more quickly. Akhtar does an amazing job of juggling all those balls and bringing it together, and there is certainly never a dull moment and it makes it all but impossible to look away. However, I feel as though if there had been a few more minutes for us to catch our breath, then perhaps some of the impact would have been heightened because sometimes you are so focused on following what is happening and trying not to miss something, that you can’t just breath in the story – and this was a world, a story and a writing style that I really wanted to take that time with. I also feel that would have given us a little more time to get to know the characters better – especially those that we spent a little less time with, as while they were compelling and really well written, it was a little hard to grasp hold of them due to the pace of the book. Gunmetal Gods was a fascinating read, and for me, the sheer richness of the worldbuilding and the writing which really brought the world and story to life made up for any pacing issues, and I am looking forward to checking out the second book – Conquerer’s blood – which came out earlier this year as soon as I can. I will say, this was not the easiest of reads – it demands your attention, and it starts off dark and only gets darker, and the pacing will sweep you away and may risk losing you in the currents, but honestly, it was more than worth it and I couldn’t put it down, and this is a book that you should certainly add to your TBR.

I've not read many middle-eastern centred fantasy series' (to be honest this might be the first) and I really enjoyed the experience.The author has a brilliant way of granting you a characters perspective, warts and all and then later revealing what the general population might think of the same thing. The mythos of the world is brilliant, stark and fascinating with layers of intrigue to unravel and the truth of the matter never 100% certain.I must say I found myself reliably rooting for the bad guys and in the third book I really missed Zedra!Although, as the author shows, 'bad' and 'good' are just matters of perspectives and there's not a character in the novels who isn't seen as bad by at least one other character!The choice to leave Kevah alone in the second book made it a little difficult for me to get into but I'm glad I persevered because the second one really started to reveal details of the magic systems in the world.The novels being based in a fantasy gunpowder age was also much more interesting than the generic swords and sorcery and allowed for some really interesting interactions.I would highly recommend these novels to anyone looking for a fresh fantasy universe full of uniqueness and twists and turns. I'm very excited about the fourth novel coming in 2024! If the author needs any spare proof readers I'd be eager to get an early look!

I am not sure I was quite prepared for this incredibly epic, dark fantasy. In short, this book is mind-blowing. Perhaps half of the ‘mind blow’ element is due to the fact that books with Arabian-inspired atmosphere have not made their way into my eyes before, so it was fresh and unique to me. Surprisingly, in hindsight, the book starts with being sassy as heck. The dialogue in between Kevah and the Shah was a hoot.“Kevah the Blacksmith,” the Shah said. “I’ve met eunuchs with better titles.”And through sass, the story builds up, with introductions made, the characters firmly planted to their places, and boom, things take a really dark turn! And once the dark starts, it does not end… boy, does it not end… *stares into distance…Gunmetal Gods is rich, gooey-gooey rich in religious theme! I love me my baddies to be morally grey, and hypocrites and fueled by their faith… I don’t know why, I just revel in it. Perhaps because with power comes great responsibility and no matter how holy one thinks they are, once they think they’re above others, a leader, they *will* be tainted by it… It’s the idea of a holy man thinking they have the right to judge others based on their beliefs whilst at the same time not ever practicing what they preach. And that, for some reason, is my guilty pleasure to read about. It’s a bit like pushing a finger into an already sore wound. Weird…"Rely on god and you’ll never know your own strength."On the other hand, I love people and characters who are driven by the passion that burns within them. Be it fueled by sport, the art of growing potatoes, knitting, or god. If someone is burning with that passion of theirs, it’s bloody hard not to be pulled along by it… you see that spark, you want to have some. Suddenly, you yourself want to know everything there is to know about growing spuds or knitting or curling or god. You’re jealous because it seems like their life has more meaning than yours. It is so in real life as well as in fiction, for me. And so it is, that I love characters who don’t dally around because ‘oh poor me, the prophecy said I have to save the world and I’d rather be doing maidens in the opposite direction‘. You know? I love plots that are driven by driven people! To the wind with the prophecy, you are the smith of your own luck and fate! Gunmetal Gods is ALL about driven people… it’s full of magic and a touch of godly fingers, pushing men to act out atrocious things, and all the while men still think they have it under control. Bwahahaha… how ironic, how wonderful!Micah and Kevah… opponents, both in their religion and their ambitions. And yet, cruelly and by an unexpectedly wonderfully twisty twist, connected. God, this book makes you want to pat the cover and sigh ‘my precious!’… I would say, there are times the lines in between villains blurs… you think, which one is the actual villain here? You will get to know both their stories, and you wonder if you have to choose the bad guy based on how relatable their stories are? It’s great, it makes the reader squirm 🙂Word of warning though- cruelty! It’s been a while I read a book and went- what the ... just happened! Oh, this is insane! Yeah, cruelty. Because this is what this world is like – extreme. That’s right. There’s no other way about it, it’s extreme. You’re either with us or against us and if you’re against us, you’re dead. And not just you, but your whole family is dead. Simple.Do know, that there is a LOT… a whole world of scenes and ‘action/reaction’ moments that drive forward the plot. There are some incredible twists and hard to stomach moments. There are moments of joy for small victories that will be yanked away from you by turns in the story you surely won’t imagine coming.But above all, with everything that’s happening, with plots and schemes to keep you occupied for days on end, the writing makes it all flow smoothly. Yes, admittedly, I did feel that the pace slowed after the halfway point but I have an explanation why for me, personally, it felt so… you see, SO MUCH happens. From the start. And by the time you get just past the halfway point you kind of expect things to calm down a bit, have that epic final battle, tie up some loose ends, the usual… Zamil Akhtar doesn’t do ‘the usual’ apparently. Yes, whilst some good chunks could have been left out of this book, in hindsight, these chunks still serve a purpose so they are far from waste of paper and reading time. Besides, Akhtar really knows how to write atmosphere into the book, be the pace as it may. I just kept on reading, even if eager for it all to just be over already because I felt like I had been to a war with the gods myself.What else is there left to say, but- epic!