Gods below, this was good.

The mortals broke the world. As the skies filled with ash and the air grew hot, the mortal Tolemne made his way down into the depths of the world to ask a boon of the gods.
Kluehnn could not restore all the world at once, but he could manage it one realm at a time, until the whole world was restored and the land could finally be healed.

Half of the population would be remade. Half of the population would disappear, their matter used to remake the realm.
Hakara and her younger sister Rasha are separated between borders when the restoration sweeps through their realm.

Desperate to be reunited, Hakara is an illegal refugee and aligns herself with the Unannointed who want to gather gems hoarded by Kluehnn and fight the god.

Hakara is feisty and doesn’t know when to give up. She pushes herself past breaking point and regularly also pushes away people, not willing to let herself form attachments only for them to be ripped away.

“Aren't we all here to be consumed? To be looked at, to be judged as savory or sweet, to be licked and swallowed and converted into fuel for others' ambitions?"

Rasha, left alone and changed to suit the new landscape becomes a godkiller, one of Kluehnn’s favoured to hunt down the other surviving gods.
She has always relied on her older sister but now she must fend for herself in a world where only the fittest survive.

”Saplings are always pliant before their roots dig deep, and the strongest trees grow in the harshest conditions. It has always been so."


Pitting sister against sister unknowingly was tense and fraught with anticipation.

Okay, so some of the characters felt a little flat or archetypal of the fantasy genre. However, I had such a blast and I trust that Stewart will develop them in the future.
Bearing in mind this is book one balancing five point of views, I think Stewart handled it well and had quite a firm grasp on her world’s history and how she wants it to play out.

In that sense, the secrets and peeling back slightly reminded me of The Book that Wouldn’t Burn.

Thank you to Orbit for providing me an arc in exchange for a review!

Andrea Stewart comes back with a new epic fantasy trilogy and first thing that springs to my mind about it is... ambitious.

The story follows two sisters, Hakara and Rasha who were orphaned as kids and surviving on their own until fate separated them on the border between two lands. Hakara was taken away to the territory of Langzu because her ability to hold her breath for a long time makes her a perfect fit to dive into sink holes and mine precious gemstones. Rasha was left behind in Kashan and got forever changed through process of Kluehnn's restoration sisters were trying to flee from. She became one of the "altered"- humans who acquired animal features and abilities. Ten years later, Hakara is trying to mine a gemstone big enough to buy her passage to Kashan and back to her sister, while Rasha who was taken in by the religious order is now training to become a godkiller. As the Gods wage their own battles, ordinary people are caught up in it and the forces that separated Hakara and Rasha once now may force them on a path of collision.

First things first, if you are a fan of The Drowning Empire series this novel is no way connected to the world of Sukais, Mephi and bone shards. I don't know if it's going to stay this way or Andrea Stewart will find some way to connect them as surprise, but so far, it's a completely new world with completely new characters.
When I say that this new series is ambitious, it's not due to the characters or the plot. It's purely for the world-building. You see, my main take from Stewart's first trilogy is incredibly well imagined fantastic world where everything comes together at the end. It's not just bunch of cool magical things like talking dragon-cats, flesh constructs and super-powers thrown in. Everything is connected and every question you had about it she answered by the end in a way that it makes sense and it was tied into overall story. She is really imaginative author who welcomes the challenge, but with The Gods Bellow I feel like she perhaps girlbossed too close to the sun. There is a whole Pantheon of Gods who have different powers. One faction with god Kluehnn in charge managed to overthrow the other gods. He also made a pact with Tolemne, a human, to fix the world on the surface and make it hospitable again... for the small price. He will "restore" the surface lands, making them lush and green again and in the process some humans will disappear and some will be altered by the "aether", the magic into a new spices, a humanoids with animal abilities. Each territory also has to provide it's share of gemstones mined from first and second layer of aether that is incredibly dangerous to humans, making them lose their mind. Old gods are considered evil and have to be hunted and brought into Kluehnn's dens where his priests and priestesses take care of dangerous foe. That is the life under benevolent god Kluehnn./s Everything regarding Kluehn has this Lovecraftian vibe and it was, by far, my favorite part of the story. Stewart has a knack of infusing horror details into fantasy like she did with the constructs in her other series. But this magic system in on a larger scale and it gets a lot more convoluted and, sorry to say, info-dumpy the further you read. The whole thing about aether and the two layers and gemstones of different colors and sizes that give some humans powers, but they have to have another human as an anchor and that bond between them is strong and makes them feel each other or something. And there are some magical, spiritual trees called Numinars whose sap is essential for old gods who can manipulate aether by calling it from the layers or from the deep or something. And the old gods vary in looks and have animal characteristics like horns, wings, tails or scales and it's obvious "altered" are altered in their image- the whole thing reminds me lot of Crucible from the Elden Ring. Because she's done a good job in her previous series I have faith in Stewart she will connect everything by the end, but at this point, after first book, there is just too much of information thrown at reader withou connecting tissue.
The narrative structure of both series is very similar. We are following several characters who are on in different parts of the world, each on their own journey. Naturally, two main characters are Hakara and Rasha. And somewhat in the background we are following: Sheuan, an ambitious member of the Sim family clan who is also their only hope for gaining back influence with the Langzu's Sovereign. Mullayne, a brilliant inventor of the Sim family who is on an expedition following Tolemne's path to the center of the world, to the Unterra, where old Gods lived. And we have Niaonen, whose point of view is the only from the past covering the Shattering and the war between Gods. Some chapters are more interesting than the others, but at different times and after a strong beginning, the story gets into this weird lull where on the page it seems like a lot of things is happening, but you struggle to care and even the eventual meeting between sisters didn't make an emotional impact I hoped it would. Rasha and her training to become a godkiller was the arc I was the most invested in, but her story is, on one side at least half the chapters of Hakara's and on the other I felt like around the middle her arc got somewhat lost in Sheuan's. Though, I have to say I am looking forward to Sheuan's story the most in the next book because Sovereign, the ruler of Langzu, is part of her arc and he is one more intriguing to me than some of the main players. Oddly, the only romance and friendship relationship that worked for me were Mullayne's chapters between him and Imeah and Pont. Other, more prominent romances, were kind of sudden and seemed to just happen without any believable chemistry, but I hope that will change in the future. Niaonen's story is kind of separated in my head because it's in the past, but I liked the relationship between him and Irael if not really the whole story of war between the members of the Pantheon. Al

All in all, this is somewhat clunky beginning of the new series. I know that first book carries the weight of explaining the world, so I hope it leaves the place for the next one to flesh out characters more and make me really care for their journey because Kluehnn is a fantastic antagonist. His every appearance electrified the story and hopefully, Hakara Rasha and the crew will match it. :)

1⭐
Aïe aïe aïe... Catastrophic...
Well, it's hollow, it's hollow! Shortcuts, inconsistencies, in short it's a shame given the plot which was quite nice but I ended up reading passages with certain characters dying of laughter as it was just so implausible and so hollow.
Thanks for sending me this e-ARC I wanted to love it but the inconsistence of the characters were too hight 🤔

It's very obvious that Andrea Stewart put thought into this: into the magic, into the mythology, the world, the roles of the characters. There was a lot of care put into crafting this book - I only wish that I had cared about it more, but I was never able to fully connect with the story as a whole.

The magic system was so creative and unique! I definitely have never read anything quite like that, and I loved the fusion of science/geology with the god gems, and how Hakara was able to use them like some kind of video game character. The whole world felt full and well plotted, and I really liked the myths and getting to know more about the former gods and the rise of Kluehnn. I could have probably taken a whole book of the gods' initial war with Kluehnn, to be honest, and more of their backstories as I think the hints we got were wonderful. The whole mythology was rather tragic, but in a way that begged to be explored more - or maybe it's just me begging for that, since I did really enjoy the mythology.

I found Mull's expedition intriguing, and kind of reminiscent of some kind of sci-fi horror exploration, but with less horror (sadly?). That said, he didn't really fit into the narrative as neatly as the other POV chapters and while his chapters were sometimes the most interesting to me, he felt like the odd man out.

Which segues neatly into what left me a bit cold about this book: the characters. All of them felt fairly one-dimensional, they each had a single motivation. And there were so many chances for the secondary characters to be built up, but the chances just were not taken. Alifra and Dashu each were given a single bit of development, with each getting a backstory, but I don't feel like we ever got to see their personalities, and Naatar and Khatuya didn't even get that. Which I could have forgiven, having five POV characters, had I felt any sort of connection to the five POV characters. Hakara and Rasha should have been the emotional backbone to the entire story, and yet I just could not engage with them. Sheuan started out with the most promise but never truly delivered, though Mull and Nioanen did get some emotional beats and good storytelling at the end of their arcs - but it wasn't nearly enough because by that time, I didn't really care deeply about them.

Ultimately, I wish there was more time spent with the characters and expanding them. I also feel like the writing, while serviceable as a whole, did the characters a disservice as all of the POVs had the same voice (though some in first person and some in third person, and I do wish Andrea Stewart would commit to third person as I think it's the stronger for her in both this book and her previous trilogy). This all sounds fairly damning, but I do think this had a good story and a lot of truly good bones to it! I just never got fully attached, which made it difficult to love.

Andrea Stewart excels at imagining detailed worlds, mythologies, and magic systems, and blowing your mind a bit with the creativity of it all, and this book is absolutely no exception. If only I could actually care more about the story she puts those great ideas into and especially the characters, but alas.

Thank you to the publisher, Orbit, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc. This was fun! My first Andrea Steward, I didn't really know what to expect. But this is a solid start to a new series.

3.75 stars

Overall, I really liked "The Gods Below", but there were some things that could be improved on in my opinion.

The magic system and world building was quite interesting, and I quite enjoyed the general plot and the characters.

My main problem was with the relationships between the characters: most felt rather rushed, especially the romantic relationships.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

This is for you if you love a slower paced fantasy, if you really want to immerse yourself into a world. Personally, I struggled a bit with this. The prose flows well, and the world building is strong and interesting, but the plot is so slow to start moving that it was a little hard for me to stay engaged. I feel like it had too many POV characters, many of them feeling a little flat.

It feels a little repetitive at times, the dialogue could flow a little better, but I could see people really loving this. It plays with interesting concepts, climate disaster and religious propaganda, with the heart of the story being the relationship between two sisters on opposite sides.

3⭐️

First, a huge thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book.
I was captivated on the spot by the drop-dead gorgeous cover! It is stunning and when I read the synopsis I was intrigued for good!
Unfortunately, despite the good idea with the magic system, gods it couldn't immerse me in the story or captivate me.
The plot unfolded too slow and, combined with all the different POV's in different time periods, it became a little challenging and sometimes boring. At some point, I was expecting the plot to move, but instead, the next chapter was introduced to a new POV starting a new story, and it became a bit frustrating.
The characters felt one—dimensional, and it was challenging to connect with them on an emotional level and live the story through them.
And the information that was given thorough the story, in my opinion, was too little and leaves you with too many questions, and you're struggling to build the world in your head.

3.5⭐
This is the kind of book that I liked many things about it, disliked a few things but unfortunately didn't love anything about it. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it (I mostly did) but I wanted more..
I'll start with what I liked. A very interesting beginning (reminded me of a non-fantasy book, White Chrysanthemum, that I really like) has us, mainly, following the story of two sisters who get separated and try to reunite. We are slowly introduced to the world and it's history and that is one of the most beautiful and interesting parts. The lore is explained nicely and it's quite intriguing. There is also an allegory on climate change, that many readers will appreciate. More POV's are introduced and we find out about the magic system which is clever and in a way similar to Mistborn's.
I must add that we also quite a few action scenes, also done quite well.
So as I said before, many things worked for me but..
The character work unfortunately were below par. They are almost all prety one-dimensional, each one driven by a single motive and when finally they have to make some hard choices their actions are not believable and defy their previous behaviours.
There are two romantic sequences that were totally out of the blue and made me question if they were at all necessary or presented in some more believable way.
And finally it's the plot. This being the second trilogy of Andrea Stewart, I would expect her to take some risks, but instead I felt that, even though I enjoyed the story, there is nothing new added to the genre. Everything felt overly familiar.
In conclusion The Gods Below is a good start to the trilogy, that if the author had played it less safe, could have been much better. As it stands I believe that newcomers to fantasy will certainly enjoy it more, as will people who are fans of Sandersonian magic systems.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with the ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. The premise of this one sounded really promising and I do have to give the author credit for her truly imaginative ideas. The issue I have is that if you have these really unique magic systems and world building/lore you need to provide sufficient information for it to feel truly immersive, and I think this book does not quite pull that off. I have a lot of questions after the initial installment and yes many of these will probably be found in the sequels, but it I still wanted a little bit more from the first book. I would also say that some of the character development/relationships seem rushed/underdeveloped. Having said all that, I did enjoy the book for its unique concept and story and would recommend for fantasy fans.

My thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Group UK for a free e-ARC of "The Gods Below" the first book in an new trilogy, "The Hollow Covenant" by Andrea Stewart.
The gorgeous cover and the premise of "The Gods Below" convinced me to give the author another chance.
While I could see the author's evolution in this work I still had most of the same issues as with her debut: the plot and the characters did not captivated me at all.
I just found myself not motivated to continue reading and not emotionaly invested. The charcarter voices did nothing for me as a reader.
The Eco-Fantasy world and the gods were intreaguing, but that was just not enough.
Maybe I'll try the author again if she will write a standalone....

I was supremely bored, reading this. The worldbuilding had potential – there were a couple of details I was intrigued by, especially the underground realm of the gods, which has its own star and also a sea?

But absolutely none of the characters held my interest at all – even as the cast started to expand towards the 20% mark. It was the very odd sensation of, all their various plotlines/goals *should* interest me – a woman trying to get back to her younger sister; said younger sister training to become a godkiller; a guy out to find the path to the underground god realm; a woman who wants justice for her executed father and also to save her clan from its decline – there was even an actual god amongst the PoV cast!

And they all bored me. Each one seemed so one-dimensional; none felt like fully developed people. They each had one defining goal/personality trait, and that was it. Any interest I had in the aforementioned goals was drained away by their monotone first-person perspectives (this book might have worked a lot better if it had been written in third-person instead).

The slight interest I had in the underground world of the gods just wasn’t enough to keep me reading. DNF.

Andrea Stewart’s “The Gods Below” is a mesmerizing entry into the realm of epic fantasy, weaving a spellbinding tale that captivates from the first page. Stewart, already celebrated for her prowess in fantastical storytelling, delivers a narrative that is as rich and multifaceted as the mythical world it inhabits. This novel is a triumph of world-building, where ancient deities stir beneath the earth, their power and wrath shaping the destinies of mortals.

The plot unfolds in a realm where magic and legend intertwine, chronicling the journey of Elara, a warrior with a mysterious past, and Kaelen, a scholar obsessed with uncovering the secrets of the ancient gods. Their quest to understand and control the dark forces lurking below the surface propels the story into a crescendo of tension and revelation. Stewart’s prose is both lyrical and vivid, painting a world that feels simultaneously familiar and wondrously alien, filled with intricate societies, towering cities, and ominous landscapes.

What sets “The Gods Below” apart is Stewart’s masterful characterization. Elara and Kaelen are drawn with a depth that makes their struggles and triumphs resonate profoundly. Their personal arcs are seamlessly interwoven with the grand tapestry of the plot, blending their growth with the unfolding epic. Stewart’s characters are imbued with a raw humanity that adds emotional weight to their heroic endeavors.

Thematically, the novel explores the delicate balance between power and responsibility, the lure of forbidden knowledge, and the enduring struggle between destiny and free will. Stewart’s exploration of these motifs is both thought-provoking and exhilarating, adding layers of meaning to the gripping narrative.

“The Gods Below” is an epic triumph of fantasy literature, a tale that transcends the genre’s conventions to deliver a story that is as emotionally resonant as it is thrilling. Andrea Stewart has crafted a world and narrative that will linger in the minds of readers long after the final page is turned, a true testament to her talent and vision as a storyteller. For fans of epic fantasy, this book is an absolute must-read, a journey into a realm where gods and mortals clash in a dance as ancient as time itself.

Actual Rating: 4.5

As someone who devoured ’The Drowning Empire’ series last year I was incredibly excited to pick up ’The Gods Below’ and it did not disappoint. If you want a new, fascinating, danger filled fantasy world to explore then this is undeniably the book for you. Gods, monsters, magic, scheming, Godkillers, perilous journeys; what more could you possibly ask for in a fantasy read?

For me the standout feature of this book has to be its deeply intriguing world which managed to reel me in from the very first page. It’s taken the perils of climate change and pushed them to magical extremes with mystical components and a Godly solution that’s downright terrifying. There are intriguing glimpses of varying cultures but given the danger filled way that this world is divided you don’t see too much of some of them. There’s a strong religious following too and the previously mentioned Godkillers which I’m sure will pull many a fantasy fan in. There’s so much more that I’d love to say about the setting of this world but personally I think half the fun of this novel is in discovering it for yourself so I’ll keep things somewhat vague.

Narrative wise you follow five vastly different perspectives, all on very different paths. The main one is Hakara a reckless young woman who dives into danger without thought and is driven pretty solely by one mission. Then there’s Rasha and Sheuan; one training to become a Godkiller, the other desperate to save her failing clan. These three tales tie together in ways that you’ll uncover fairly early on and form the bulk of the story. Mullayne chapters, although on a very different path, never failed to fascinate me and I was always excited when his perspective popped up. Whilst Nioanen’s story gives you a harrowing and insightful look into the past – through the eyes of a God, no less. Needless to say I was invested in all sides of this complicated story.

Character wise everyone was fairly well fleshed out and offered vastly different personalities. The back stories that you uncover over the course of the book can be particularly harrowing. There are lots of twists and turns throughout too. One I’ll admit I saw coming fairly early on but it did twist upon itself later in unexpected ways. Others caught me completely off guard.

Honestly the only thing I struggled with at times is the feeling that some bonds between characters seemed to form too quickly and the occasional moment felt slightly out of previously established character. This wasn’t in any way enough to derail my excitement but it does hold me back from giving <i>’The Gods Below’</i> a full five stars. Regardless I’ll certainly be eagerly awaiting the sequel though; the ending left lots of intriguing lines of interest that I can’t wait to uncover more of.

Ultimately I absolutely recommend ’The Gods Below’, particularly to anyone who loves to explore fascinating, danger filled fantasy realms. The inclusion of Gods, and those with the ability to hunt them, adds a fascinating new layer of intrigue. There are multiple trails to follow but I didn’t once lose track of them. Plus there are so many secrets that I can’t wait to uncover. Needless to say I’m hooked.

This is an excellent book!

The world-building and setting for this story were really interesting and unique. The world felt rich, and had real depth and intrigue to it. It's definitely a world I want to keep returning to!

The two main characters, Hakara and Rasha, were both so well written, rounded characters, with their own desires, flaws, strengths and weaknesses. By the end of the book, I was rooting for both of them to succeed. There are multiple different points of view throughout the book, and each thread of the story is intriguing as the last. I was pleasantly surprised by this, as I often find books with multiple points of view has one that I find much less interesting.

The plot was detailed, with lots of inter-connecting parts, and I really enjoyed discovering how things all fit together (though, there are still lots of questions unanswered, so I'm looking forward to the next book already!) The intrigue and plot twists were wonderful, and definitely kept me hooked.

I found that it took a little while for me to get into the book, and wasn't sure whether I'd end up enjoying the book, but after a short while I found myself thinking about the book when I wasn't reading, and wondering what happened. That's when I realised I was hooked!

The bone shard series is one of my favourite books series ever, so I was so happy when I heard Andrea Stewart had a new book coming out.
And I have to say this book didn't disappoint. Andrea Stewart seems to just get better with every book.
The Gods Below has been on of my favourite reads this year so far.
Solidified now as an auto buy author :)

DNF at 25%. I tried this from 02/06/24 to 04/06/24. I am choosing to DNF this because I’m really just not enjoying it. It’s not bad at all, just not my thing. I have tried a book from this author before and I didn’t finish that one either so I just don’t think this author is for me. I am glad I tried this though but I just don’t find the world interesting and I haven’t connected to any of the characters.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars
This was a really cool concept- gods residing in a hollow earth and a war between them. Restoration which turns people into god-like creatures, two sisters trying to find each other, etc. I feel like I should have loved it, but I never really connected to the plot or any of the characters. I feel like a lot of the cool ideas were just sort of touched upon, and I really wanted them to be explored in more depth. The world building was so good but I just wanted more!!
The plot was fun for the most part and the action scenes were all well written. The plot twists were mostly pretty predictable though, which isn’t a bad thing necessarily but it didn’t really help me get invested in the story. Some of the characters were also pretty one-dimensional and there was a fair bit of just sort of stating what they’re like without properly showing it.
I will say that Kluehn was a really cool villain! Delightfully creepy and I really loved the scene with him, Rasha and the child god early on.
There was some really great stuff here, but it wasn’t all connected well and, though it was fine overall, I wouldn’t say I really enjoyed it. However, I feel like the series as a whole has a huge amount of potential with the unique ideas. I think I’d still recommend this to fans of modern fantasy with really cool world building, even if it wasn’t necessarily all for me.

Reading this, I loved learning about the magic of the world. It was so interesting to read and I loved seeing the different perspectives of the characters.

The world building was interesting and the magic system would appeal to Brandon Sanderson fans but I found the main character really annoying and preferred the sub-plots to the main one of the sisters trying to find each other. It also took a long time for the story to get going but, when it did, it certainly left me wanting more.