The Replacement God by Zander Cannon

The Replacement God by Zander Cannon

Years ago I discovered and quite liked Mark Oakley's Thieves & Kings, and someone said to me "you should check out Zander Cannon's Replacement God, it's way better". I purchased the Replacement God TPB, enjoyed it and then promptly forgot about it in large part because it looked like it would forever stay unfinished. Then a few weeks ago I had a chance lunch with Zander in Paris, and decided to revisit the Replacement God. Zander's epic is fantasy, but not in the way you normally think of it. It has a lot of fantasy elements (myths and religions, kings and thieves, etc.) but they're all weird and unique. And why not? This is after all fantasy, you shouldn't be beholden by classic patterns. The most striking aspect of this is the way the goths (a dwindling tribe of fierce warriors) speak, both hilarious and delightful. The Replacement God is the story of teenage boy Knute who turns out to be the designated "replacement god". Once every 900 years or so, the god of death dies and is replaced. But said teenager knows nothing about that, and neither does he know that the king strives for immortality and wants him killed before he comes into his powers. Full of compelling characters and epic action, the Replacement God is intricate and somewhat complex, but that makes a deep dive into it all the more compelling. I understand from talking to Zander that it might not in fact be the unfinished work that I initially thought, and that fills me with excitement...