Gunmetal Gods by Zamil Akhtar

Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t recall in all my years of reading fantasy seeing a book as obviously based on the Crusades as Gunmetal Gods. This is no criticism – learning of the Crusades in High School and beyond was fascinating, but let’s just say what we learned was somewhat biased. We had armies from Europe going on their Crusades to free the Holy City of Jerusalem from the Saracen hordes. Thankfully, I had a history teacher who gladly pointed out historical bollox bias whenever it popped up. Which brings me to my point – how does one maintain a sense of balance for one of history’s major bones of contention for many years? For a first time author, Akhtar does a good job. 

So, what’s it all about?

The city of Kostany is a holy one but unfortunately deemed so by warring religions. Micah the Metal, hellbent on revenge, leads a massive army to take Kostany back. Faith and revenge never go well together, so Kevah, former hero of the janissaries, is tasked with fending off the invaders. There are two small problems. One, Kevah has gotten old and out of shape, not even to beat his 15-year-old daughter in a sword fight. Two, the invading paladins have guns, lots of guns. Who will win the day? Well, I’m not going to tell you here.   

Is it any good?

Yeah, for a first-time author it’s quite accomplished. It starts fast, throwing you straight into it, before slowing down in the middle. The story is told from the point of view of Micah and Kevah, and it works really well. Micah is the worst kind of idealist, so devout not even his priests pass muster. He is a force of nature as a warrior, still wielding a sword when guns are now in vogue. Not long into the book, the author paints him as a POS, but as the story progresses, we wonder is there more going on (there is, so don’t ditch it out of disgust). Kevah, on the other hand, is at the end of his soldiering career, working as a  blacksmith (I think) before being called up by the Shah to take out a wizard, something he is famed for. Kevah comes across as self-deprecating and likeable, but perhaps there is more in store for him too? The author has a sense of humour that pervades throughout and, despite our reservations about the two leads, he drops breadcrumbs that suggest there is more going on. This is a book with plenty going in the background that we don’t necessarily see from the MCs’ perspective, so hopefully, we can expect more from book 2. I have to warn you though – this book gets dark, and the characters’ pain is regularly on display here, so this may not be for everyone. 

Verdict

Not perfect, but definitely worth a read.

• Format: E-Book
• Obtained from: Amazon
• Print length: 500 pages
• Publisher: Eight Point Press
• ASIN: B08W7SPRKX