As A God drew my attention on Netgalley and I thought I would give it a try. It took me a while to get used to the world, its rules and – in general – what was going on. There was too much information thrown at the reader in the first few chapters; it was hard to grip on and not be swept away.

Once I could establish who was who and roughly who was allowed to do what, As A God really drew me in and I enjoyed it more than expected. The plot is a far cry from your normal murder story, with Gods and monsters and skills most people cannot possess taking the fight – and flight – of the characters to new extremes, and the reader along with them.

While it took me a while to warm to Sequa’s character, her sheer determination and stubbornness – to go where she was denied access, to lie when the truth was compelled from her – made her great fun. Nothing surprised me when it came to her, apart from the moments of honesty and vulnerability that added more depth and complexity to her personality.

The Avatars of the Gods – The Voice of God and the Shadow – were strong characters as well. The Voice of God was easily the most likeable in the whole novel. Commander Amen was a steady secondary character – while she didn’t actually do much, her presence moved the plot along.

The pacing was slow considering the brutality of the murders, hence why it took me a while to become engaged. So saying, when it came to the concluding fight, I literally could not put the book down. The tension had sucked me in and I simply had to know how it ended. A little less dialogue in places could have quickened the pace and helped keep the reader gripped.

As A God was not the best novel I have read this year, but I generally enjoyed it and would be interested to see more from this author. I am not sure, however, I would read it again any time soon.