Review: The Godless (Children Trilogy #1)

Author: Ben Peek
Started reading: July 13th 2018
Finished the book: DNF
Pages: 392
Genres: Fantasy
Published: August 19th 2014
Source: Goodreads Giveaway
Goodreads score: 3.59
My score:

Synopsis
The Gods are dying. Fifteen thousand years after the end of their war, their bodies can still be found across the world. They kneel in forests, lie beneath mountains, and rest at the bottom of the world's ocean. For thousands of years, men and women have awoken with strange powers that are derived from their bodies.

The city Mireea is built against a huge stone wall that stretches across a vast mountain range, following the massive fallen body of the god, Ger. Ayae, a young cartographer’s apprentice, is attacked and discovers she cannot be harmed by fire. Her new power makes her a target for an army that is marching on Mireea. With the help of Zaifyr, a strange man adorned with charms, she is taught the awful history of ‘cursed’ men and women, coming to grips with her new powers and the enemies they make. Meanwhile, the saboteur Bueralan infiltrates the army that is approaching her home to learn its terrible secret.

My Thoughts

Let this be clear: This is not a bad book. And I still hate to write reviews with a 1-star or 2-star rating. This book just wasn't for me. It's getting a lot of good reviews on Goodreads. This book was much better than other books that I DNF, that's why I gave it 2-stars this time. Writing this review feels so bad, especially because I won the book in a Goodreads Giveaway, but like I said; This book isn't for me.

Pros

• Writing style: The writing style in this book is beautiful. I really liked the way it was written and the choice of words was different from other books. I could've easily finished the book if I didn't have all these other feelings about this book.
• Worldbuilding: This is a big world, with a rich history. I think one of the big pros is that Ben Peek has made up this world where he can totally shape it to his own liking. The maps in the book look great and that shows that he really gave the worldbuilding a good thought.

Cons

• What did I just read?: The biggest con for me whas that the story was very vague for me. I went all over the place and most of the time I had no idea what was going on. The story didn't really feel like a story but more like summary of events. I can't explain this all that well, but I have read the first 200 pages and I didn't feel the need to keep reading.
• Personalities: All the different characters need a much stronger personality for me to keep remembering them. Especially the characters with more than one name and different titles. I couldn't tell them apart all that well.
• Didn't feel involved: Like I just said, I have read 200 pages, I usually DNF after 100 pages, but I couldn't put it away because I won the book and I didn't want to be rude. After 200 pages I asked myself: Am I curious in what's to come next? The answer was no, and I wasn't sad to leave the world and characters behind. That's when I know to DNF a book.

Overall

Not a bad book, but just not a book for me. I've read a lot of positive reviews on Goodreads for this book and I know that it's not a bad book. I wasn't involved enough, I didn't get the story all that much and I didn't feel like reading another 200 pages in this book. Sad.. But true.

Other opinions on this book

"Peek is a talented writer who juggles viewpoints, complex religious ideas, and conflict expertly, creating a vivid and detailed world for his characters to tromp around in, combining some complex issues with an excellent story."

- A Fantastical Librarian

"An original, fascinating and bloody enjoyable work that all fans of fantasy should read! One of my reading highlights in recent years!"

- Smash Dragons

Thanks for reading!

I'd love to talk books, so let me know what you think about this book/review.