The God Eaters

The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek

Age: Adult
Category: LGBTQIA+ / Fantasy / Romance
Rating: 5 stars

Rosie Thinks: I absolutely love when Fictionpress authors get their work published or self-publish on Amazon. Even if I’ve read it before, I’m there buying it and cheering them on in my reviews. ‘The God Eaters’ is a story that I tried to read on Fictionpress ages ago (his penname was Jumping Jack Flash and Chartreuse), but never continued it. I have no idea why, but I also don’t trust past-me’s decisions. I liked some very questionable things back then. Hajicek now has paperbacks of this, but you can read it for free on his website.

I’m not really sure where to begin with this summary. It starts off so small, then ends up so big and complicated that it’s hard to do it justice! The genre is like a fantasy Western, with magic thrown in. It begins with two men beginning their time in a max-security prison. It isn’t a normal prison though - it’s made for people with Talents, to be experimented on. Their crimes reflect their contrasting personalities. Shy, passive Ashleigh was imprisoned for his inflammatory writings, and is an Empath. Merciless, cold Kieran has a slew of crimes to his name, including murder, and has a dark ability that allows him to kill with a thought. They’re cellmates, and begin a strange friendship under the harshest of circumstances.

Both these characters could so easily have unlikeable. Ashleigh had moments where he was weak and spineless, and Kieran could be very brutal, but their written in such an in-depth way that I felt a strong connection to each of them. That shows the strength of the characterisation. A lot of the time, it’s either the plot that’s better or the characterisation, but that isn’t the case here. They’re both fantastic. The plot had some twists I guessed at, but many I didn’t. I would never have guessed where it ended from the beginning. The plot takes off from the beginning and there isn’t a boring moment. If you’re after a fast-paced action fantasy with the cutest romance in the world from the most unlikely of people, this is it! I wish this story went on forever.