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A review by gperna01
The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was so profoundly unique in its magic system and its plot. The world building can be a tad bit confusing at first but about 30% of the way in everything began to connect and make a lot of sense. Stewart is the queen of multiple POVs which gives her the ability to weave a story and interconnect all the characters slowly but effortlessly. It took me longer than I expected to read this book as it was a lot to take in, it is by no means a fast-paced book as the world building takes some digesting.
This story centers around four main characters, Rasha, Hakara, Nioanen, and Sheuan. The mortals have leeched the world of all its sustenance and the gods have allowed it, so when the world is dying one god is forced to make a deal with another god, Kluehnn, to save the earth. Kluehnn's plan to save the world above is to restore every country, he cannot do this all at once but bit by bit. When the world is restored, any mortals left are altered into the image of the gods, but the hitch is that only half of the population survives restoration. The story begins with young sisters, Rasha and Hakara trying to escape their home being restored by the god Kluehnn. During the chaos of the restoration the sisters are separated, and it leads to a 10-year long search for one another leading to strife and perseverance. Both are irrevocably changed and not who they once were ten years later. One fights for Kluehnn and the other fights to bring his demise.
In typical Stewart fashion this book was top tier high fantasy and filled with a magic system I have never seen before; I am curious about the other worlds yet to be put on the page that live in her head. This book unlike her first trilogy has a lot more tropes and I enjoyed it. It had enemies to reluctant allies to lovers, force proximity, cute cat guy, and found family. The tension of the romance in this book was so well written and I enjoyed the buildup and then the reveal at the end. This book was nothing but fantastic and I cannot wait for the sequel.
Thank you NetGalley and Orbit books for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This story centers around four main characters, Rasha, Hakara, Nioanen, and Sheuan. The mortals have leeched the world of all its sustenance and the gods have allowed it, so when the world is dying one god is forced to make a deal with another god, Kluehnn, to save the earth. Kluehnn's plan to save the world above is to restore every country, he cannot do this all at once but bit by bit. When the world is restored, any mortals left are altered into the image of the gods, but the hitch is that only half of the population survives restoration. The story begins with young sisters, Rasha and Hakara trying to escape their home being restored by the god Kluehnn. During the chaos of the restoration the sisters are separated, and it leads to a 10-year long search for one another leading to strife and perseverance. Both are irrevocably changed and not who they once were ten years later. One fights for Kluehnn and the other fights to bring his demise.
In typical Stewart fashion this book was top tier high fantasy and filled with a magic system I have never seen before; I am curious about the other worlds yet to be put on the page that live in her head. This book unlike her first trilogy has a lot more tropes and I enjoyed it. It had enemies to reluctant allies to lovers, force proximity, cute cat guy, and found family. The tension of the romance in this book was so well written and I enjoyed the buildup and then the reveal at the end. This book was nothing but fantastic and I cannot wait for the sequel.
Thank you NetGalley and Orbit books for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.