For this year’s Women in SFF, Nils and Beth decided to return to a firm favourite together, and buddy read Andrea Stewart’s upcoming new fantasy, The Gods Below.  We’ve tried to keep this a spoiler-free review!

Before we find out what they thought, here’s the official blurb of this brand new series:

After a divine war shattered the world, humanity struck a pact with the god Kluehnn: in return for regular tribute of magical gems, Kluehnn would restore the world to its former glory. But as each land is transformed, so too are its people changed into strange new forms – if they survive at all.

Hakara is not willing to pay such a price. Desperate to protect herself, and her sister Rasha, she flees her homeland for the safety of a neighbouring kingdom. But tragedy strikes when they’re separated, and Hakara is forced to abandon Rasha to an unknown fate.

Yet when Hakara discovers she can channel the power of the magical gems, she’s invited to join a clandestine plot to destroy the God Pact. To win Hakara to their cause, the conspirators reveal a startling secret: Rasha is alive – and they can help rescue her.

But only if Hakara goes to war against a god.

The Gods Below begins an epic new fantasy series from Sunday Times bestselling author Andrea Stewart, where two sisters find themselves on opposite sides of a war against gods

The Gods Below is due for release 5th September 2024. You can pre-order your copy HERE

A billowing black wall swept over the landscape, swallowing everything in its path. People ran ahead of it, clutching children, loved ones, belongings. One by one, they fell, they grew tired, they stopped and gave up – and restoration took them. I would not be them. I would not let Rasha be them.

As always, we like to start with our first impressions and what we were expecting!

Beth: Andrea Stewart has become an auto-read author for me – I don’t necessarily need to know what the book is about, I have confidence it’s going to be the kind of fantasy I’ll love and it’ll be well-written. Oh, and in this particular case, there’s a big grumpy winged guy with a cat. Those were all the expectations I had, and chapter one of course didn’t let me down. We have two orphaned siblings, we have a world that has gone through some form of apocalypse called ‘the shattering’, and there’s some kind of rapture-like event that a god is performing in different countries that the protagonist doesn’t seem to trust… 

I’m here for all of it 

Nils: I agree with Beth, if Andrea Stewart writes it, I must read it. I think what makes her books always so appealing to me is that she has incredible worldbuilding, it’s the kind that blends magic with nature, humans with monsters and one that has so many layers to see unfold. The opening chapter to The Gods Below showcases all of this, it’s the exact kind of opening that draws you in and leaves your jaw hanging open. We have two orphaned sisters, Rasha and Hakara, who are immediately endearing, we have a plight to escape an event known as the Restoration which we know little about but discover that it’s catastrophic, and we have a mighty cliffhanger to compel us to read on. What really impressed me though was the emotional impact of that opening, the feel of desperation, fear and the anguish. Beth, from the word go we felt such tension for Rasha and Hakara, didn’t we? 

Beth: You’ve summed it up so well Nils, only two chapters in and it was already so tense and emotional! And evocative! My god the pressure and the noise and the dust and the fear – my heart was pounding! Andrea really made us feel like we were right there with the sisters.

What do you think of the epigraphs at the start of each chapter? Are you generally a fan of these?

Beth: for the most part, yes… unless they’re too dry and long at which point I usually start skipping them (or if a story is really good and the pace is pounding and I don’t want to be distracted). I enjoyed these epigraphs; some appeared to tell the story of the world, like the lore of what happened. I love these kinds of stories generally, because they always get twisted by the voice of the victor who writes history, and just time in general, so I was looking forward to learning the truth of this particular story. As the book went on, they became quite conflicting, telling different versions of stories about the gods, and it was a great reflection of the conflicting narratives of the story and the opposing sides to the issues.

Nils: I am probably in the minority here but I love epigraphs, I even love prologues and epilogues.

Beth: Ooh yes, I love prologues and epilogues!

Nils: They just remind me of the classic high fantasy books I love to read and I love the extra nuggets of information they provide. As Beth said here the epigraphs are used to paint a picture of how the world changed, the conflict and plight of the gods. Later on they depict each of the elder gods so we get to know them better, but they felt very unreliable. Which had me thinking, who wrote them? I still don’t have an answer but I can’t wait to find out. 

Let’s talk about the magic system – Andrea Stewart has been quoted as saying she based it on her experience as a swimmer and having to hold her breath. What did you make of this?

Beth: Ok my love for this magic system is two fold. Firstly, let’s talk about the breath-holding. There is only one character who is mortal and can do this magic, so it’s quite rare and special. I loved Andrea’s descriptions of holding your breath, the pride the character has in her ability to sustain it, the sensations she experiences, the point at which she forces herself past and the problem is no longer holding it in but remembering to restart.

Nils: So when I first discovered that the magic system revolved around holding your breath I was really intrigued by how this would work and how could holding your breath even possibly be useful! I’m glad I was wrong to doubt Andrea Stewart because not only does it work but it’s bloody fascinating. So without giving away too much there is the concept of the aether and breathing it in is deadly, so being able to hold your breath for a long time is bloody useful when you’re surrounded by the aether that is found in sinkholes and underground caves and you’re diving to find valuable god gems. To find out more about these god gems and what they do, well you’ll have to read the book to find out.  

Beth: The second aspect I loved was the mystery surrounding it all. Performing magic is forbidden, the character who does it stumbles across the ability accidentally and doesn’t realise at first what she’s done. Secret forbidden magic that no-one understands is one of my favourite tropes; we get to learn about the magic alongside the character, and we get to try and pick apart the secrets, which is always fun.

Nils: Totally agree, Beth! Forbidden magic and discovering secret magic is one of my favourite tropes too and Stewart really depicts it well here because most of our main characters know very little and are stumbling across powers and abilities as they go along.

As I mentioned before I love how Stewart blends magic with nature, she did this fantastically in The Drowning Empire trilogy which featured moving islands and bone shard magic. Seeing how she ties in her magic with a world that is slowly dying and in need of healing in The Gods Below was equally fantastic. You see for centuries humans have neglected nature, reaped it of its beauty and let it fall to ruin. The soil is too dry, the climate is too hot and eventually nothing will grow. There is a way to fix this, a way using magic, but it has harrowing consequences which each of our characters are trying to avert. Beth, did you also find this a fascinating aspect of the magic system? 

Beth: Yes, it’s all kind of mixed up in the secret mysticism of it, isn’t it! The magic is used to repair the land, so it has importance elevated  from the people of the land… so when we discover people can actually wield magic too it paves the way for a great deal of questions.
We had a taste of what magic some of the gods could do too, but these were quite brief – manipulating nature, changing form and appearance… I hope this will be explored more in the next book!

Just as in The Drowning Empire trilogy, we have multiple PoVs here and different narrators. What did you make of them? Did you have a favourite?

Beth: I’m not sure why, but I didn’t expect us to have quite so many perspectives? That sounds like a complaint, it absolutely isn’t. So, there were sisters Hakara and Rasha, and there were Sheuan and Mullayne. Then there was also the perspective, set in the past, of Nionen. We didn’t get nearly enough of that perspective for my taste; I loved his storyline, but I can understand why those moments were only fleeting. I fell head over heels for Sheuan when we first met her, I loved how political and scheming and utterly unscrupulous she was. But ultimately, Hakara was my favourite. In our recent interview with Andrea and Melissa Caruso, Andrea described her as “three raccoons in a trenchcoat… she WILL bite you” and it’s so spot on. She’s so chaotic, and I loved her sense of humour.

Nils: My girl Hakara was an absolute delight! I’m always drawn to humorous, impulsive and slightly deranged characters and Hakara ticked all my boxes.

Beth: omg deranged lol 

Nils: She so is though!! I loved how Stewart represented different aims and conflicts for each of the characters and how they helped us to learn about different aspects of her world. Hakara gave us a glimpse into the magic system and how it could be used to fight against the devotees of the God Kluehnn whilst Rasha’s POV brought us knowledge inside the den of the cult that worships Kluehnn. Mullayne’s chapters brought us an almost Indiana Jones type quest where he was deep underground and wanted to discover what lay beneath where the gods were once believed to have dwelled. Then Sheuan gave us some political intrigue and insight into the various human clans and Nionen gave us a sorrowful tale of the dying gods.

For each POV I really enjoyed how they all had distinct tones. For example the atmosphere/melancholic tone of Nionen’s chapters to the sarcastic and humorous tone of Hakara. It always adds a nice balance and variety. 

Beth: Stewart’s characters were all so distinct and individual, and I love your point about the differing tones between each narrative. It really set everyone apart.

We also have the mix of first and third person tenses again; do you feel this is a technique that works?

Beth: I didn’t even notice until Nils pointed it out. Hakara and Rasha’s perspectives are both first person, and everyone else is third. As I said, I didn’t really notice it, but I did have it in my head that Hakara and Rasha are the main two characters, and I guess I developed that sense from the fact that the tenses were different. First person is my favourite tense, so it’s unsurprising I was drawn to them the most. 

Nils: I think this is a narrative style that really works for Stewart and I enjoy the variety of it. It cleverly made us feel more emotionally connected to Rasha and Hakara as we got to experience their inner thoughts and see the situation through their eyes. Whilst with Mullayne, Sheuan and Nionen we see a bigger picture and although it is less intimate it’s still immersive. 

Beth: Agreed, in being a step removed from them, they’re not as reliable as narrators either, they have their secrets from us!

Nils: That’s an excellent point! They were the characters with the most secrets.

The Gods Below features an array of non-human characters and monstrous creatures. Was this an aspect you enjoyed? Were they easy to visualise? 

Nils: I’m a huge fan of non- human characters and monsters of any kind so I was delighted with the amount we get here. There are winged, clawed, horned and scaly creatures of all kinds, the wildlife has some pretty deadly creatures too and then there are the gods, some of which can shapeshift. I felt Stewart described them all well and my imagination just went wild with visualising them all. I think Kluehhn was the freakiest though, with his many eyes and many mouths. I feel like if this book was ever adapted Guillermo Del Toro will have a field day with creating Kluehnn!

Beth:  Oh good shout Nils, he’d be perfect for this! The only thing I struggled to picture was Kluehnn – I ended up picturing NoFace from Ghibli’s Spirited Away after he goes crazy and eats everyone… but that wasn’t exactly accurate. I thought the concept of people becoming altered and part animal in some way was really interesting. There really is such a strong connection to nature throughout the story, the fact the creatures affect humans differently to the altered acting as a punishment for the way in which humans had destroyed the world. There’s a strong climate message here. 

Nils: Oh definitely, Stewart really does portray a world where everyone just ignores climate change and their ignorance becomes their downfall. 

Ooh Beth, we didn’t talk about all the cats! So there was a character called Thassir (I love him so much!), who gets tangled up in Hakara’s mission and to say he loved cats is an understatement! 

Beth: Omg Thassir and his cats! Thassir is precious and I loved that we had this giant grumpy scary man who was utterly beholden to cats.

Nils: Even when they were all in deep peril 😂

Beth: That was probably my favourite scene in the whole book, because that’s exactly what my cat Juniper would have been like. Oh, you don’t want me to go over here? Right here, is it? Why no- UNHAND ME YOU FOUL BEING.

Favourite quotes – Please note Beth and Nils read an advance copy and quotes may change before publication. 

Beth:

“But perhaps the same fire burned in all people – the desire not to be beholden to a bargain they did not make.”

Nils:

“I cannot tell you the future. I cannot tell you what will happen to the world or to us. But I can tell you to sleep, Nioanen. If you worry about being tired, then you should rest.”

I find this quote both so sorrowful and beautifully comforting. 

Overall thoughts.

Beth: I honestly don’t know where to begin summarising my thoughts on this one. I only finished it last night, and I wasn’t ready to leave that world. I have such a bad book hangover right now! 

Nils: The Gods Below is an incredible start to a new series. This is the kind of epic fantasy I’ve been looking for and Stewart delivers an outstanding read. Within these pages are old gods, a dying world, altered beings, deadly creatures and characters who will go to any lengths for those they love. It’s a book you’ll race through and then feel lost when it’s over. 

Beth: Stewart just doesn’t disappoint. She’s a writer really coming into her own; you can depend on Stewart for utterly unique worlds and magic systems, and the most endearing characters. She bravely tackles major themes such as generational trauma, familial pressures, identity; but all wrapped up in an exciting story with a mystery that will have you hooked. Stewart is going from strength to strength and has created something uniquely special in The Gods Below. 

The Gods Below is due for release 5th September 2024. You can pre-order your copy HERE