“Maman lied when she told me there were ghosts in the ocean. Cold water pressed at my ears, the breath in my lungs warm and taut as a paper lantern. Shapes appeared in the murk below, towers rising out of the darkness. Strands of kelp swayed back and forth between broken stone and rotting wood with the ceaseless rhythm of breathing. There were no ghosts down here – just the pitted, pockmarked bones of a long-dead world. I forced myself to calm, to make my breath last longer.”
-The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart
This book absolutely swept me off my feet, out of this world and somewhere else entirely. And goddamn, was it a hell of a journey. The Gods Below is the first book in Andrea Stewart’s new trilogy, The Hollow Covenant, and it was an absolutely stunning novel. I loved this book so so much, and I can’t thank Orbit Books enough for sending a copy my way.
Hakara and Rasha are sisters living in a world that is being remade by the god, Kluehnn. One realm at a time, Kluehnn unleashes his power and after restoration, half the people are changed forever and half the people are gone. Once a realm is restored, it’s cut off from the rest of the world, but the promise is that one day all the realms will be restored and the world entirely transformed.
After the death of their Maman and Mimi, Hakara takes care of her younger sister Rasha by diving for abalone, a dangerous job, but one that keeps them both alive. One morning, after returning from a dive, Hakara notices that everyone near their camp has disappeared, and it soon becomes clear why. Kashan, their realm, is about to be restored. As people rush to the border, hoping to make an escape before it’s too late, Hakara and Rasha attempt the same. But it soon becomes clear that the way across won’t be easy. Hakara attempts to make a deal with a group of sinkhole miners, leaving Rasha nearby, hoping she can bargain for both of them to get out of Kashan before restoration hits, but it’s too late.
Restoration descends upon Kashan and Hakara and Rasha become separated.
The rest of the novel follows both sisters as they grow and get used to life without the other, as they each adapt to the changes that the restoration of Kashan has thrusted upon them. For the first part of the book, the point of view flips back and forth between both sisters, but when you least expect it, more characters arise, and Andrea Stewart weaves their stories together magnificently, without flaw and with utter perfection. The book grips you from the very first line to the last, and every scene and chapter delivers more emotional attachment, more magic, and more incredible world-building.
I’m stunned and in awe. My only regret is that I have no idea how long I will have to wait for book two, and I’d start it right this minute if I could. The Gods Below promises to be a phenomenal trilogy, and I can’t wait to see where it takes readers next.
Of Worlds Forgotten 