Review: The Godsblood Tragedy by Bill Adams
Blurb:
An orphan, without a trueborn name, returns to the city of her birth to uncover her past. Hounded by the servants of the Dark God and dying from the poisonous mist that covers the land, her path leads to one of the magical seals protecting the holy ruin of Eminence.
A father, murdered and reborn, aims to bring down the floating fortress hovering over his homeland. Burdened by loss, he’s willing to sacrifice his soul to free his city and get revenge for the destruction of his family.
A mother, captured and bonded to a daemon, kills in the name of the Dark God so she can free her tortured daughter. Relentless in her vengeance, she hunts the one person who could end her suffering: the man who would destroy her vile master.
A drake, the banished hatchling of a failed advisor, seeks his father’s stolen horns. Untested, he desires to right his father’s wrongs in the eyes of the gods and restore his family’s honor.
As all converge in the occupied desert city where the world’s fuel source is mined, one family’s bond will be tested. Old betrayals will resurface, anger and resentment will flourish, but one thing remains clear: blood rules all.
Review:
Bill Adam’s The Godsblood Tragedy is a multi-POV novel centering on a dystopian-esque desert city. It touches on lots of themes such as rebellion, forced servitude, and destiny, but the most important was family (both by blood and by bond) and the lengths we will go to for them.
It was the only thing Emre had left of their memory. The only physical link to the Benld name. Except the scars and the hatred.
I think the novel shines most when it boils down to the characters’ motivations. In some way, all are inspired by their familial bonds, but they sometimes clash with other desires. Cadrian, a woman serving as an assassin for a malicious man, kills to keep her daughter safe; yet her inner morality (as well as her talking dagger, which c’mon, who doesn’t love a sentient blade?) scream out against her. She feels like a more fleshed out version of the blind woman in Samurai Champloo, which is very high praise indeed if you know the reference. Emre, a resurrected man, has to weigh his family against his desires to see the city freed. He strikes a lot of the same notes as Kelsier with his restrained, quiet rage at an unjust society, and he’s willing to go almost as low as his targets. Lojen follows in the footsteps of his father, even when it seems impossible. All in all, that’s where the novel shines brightest.
The world-building is also very cool. Small details are being eeked out, passage by passage, but never fully revealed. It leaves you yearning for more, but in a good way.
RIDDLES. THAT’S ALL IT IS. THE RAMBLINGS OF A LONG-FLED MIND.
I did have a few smaller issues. Keeping the characters separate for the first 100-ish pages was a challenge—lots of POV’s are thrown at you in an almost Malazan way. Some of the dialogue falls flat, which is sometimes intentional as one character’s running joke is she tries to make jokes that don’t land, but sometimes tension will be cut unnecessarily.
Like I said, these are smaller issues that didn’t take away much from it. The plot is well constructed, the characters nuanced, the world-building sleek, the banter consistently placed, and it has a ballsy ending. Plus, that cover is freaking gorgeous.
If you’re looking for a book about rebellion and the lengths we go to for family, or some of your favorite characters include Kelsier from Mistborn, Sara from Samurai Champloo, or Eska from The War Eternal, check this one out! I’m excited to see what comes next in the sequel Lady Drakeslayer.
