Cover Image: Bad Gods

Bad Gods

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Member Reviews

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of Bad Gods by Gaie Sebold.

I apologise for the delay in this review!

The cover drew me into this one, and I was thrilled to find out it was by the same artist who did the Discworld covers.

Bad Gods was a great and classic scifi fantasy with brilliant characters and wonderful world building.

I really enjoyed it!

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This was brilliant! This really is sci-fantasy at its best. Its pretty old school and I was totally engrossed in the great cast of characters and their species. The complex world building was skilfully done. The plot was interesting. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

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Bad Gods by Gaie Sebold is about Babylon Steel, the madame of the Red Lantern in Scalentine, the city of portals, where you can find anything.  Babylon has been a mercenary, and a priestess, and some of the things that she did in the past are starting to catch up to her.

This is a fun fantasy book, which made me think of Robert Asprin's series Myth Adventures , with Babylon investigating some crimes, and a variety of characters, creatures and religions.  I found the portals a fun idea, and one that was used well.

Bad Gods was published on 4th January 2022, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Gaie Sebold on twitter, and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Rebellion publishing.

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I was hoping for a rich fantasy world similar to Thieve's World and boy did Gale Sebold deliver spectacular world building! Unfortunately, that was the absolute best part for me. The plot dragged and dragged and dragged. The pacing is SO SLOW. After reading the first third of the book, I was still wondering if anything other than characters socializing was going to happen. I don't think it ever got any better after forcing myself to keep reading. If NetGalley and Solaris hadn't sent me this, I would have put it in the DNF pile.

Don't despair though. This is just my opinion. If you like a long-ish book that spends a lot of time running the characters all over the landscape building relationships and showing you how everything works, you may love this one. It just wasn't for me.

Thank you Solaris and NetGalley for sending me this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Man I really wish I had liked this one more. The cover has such a comedic feel and showed the characters in a comedic light but no one had a personality. Plus the scenes of little girls being taught in detail how to pleasure a man made me sooooo uncomfy.
Full review is on my YouTube channel.

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I enjoyed revisiting this book – more so this time around, I think, because right now I thoroughly appreciate reading a story with a humorous element. That said – this isn’t some rollicking farcical adventure played solely for laughs. There are some really gnarly subjects covered in this adventure, including kidnapping, sexual and mental abuse, religious intolerance and a series of very grisly deaths. What keeps this story bubbling along is the first person narrative from Babylon’s viewpoint. I really like her tough, no-nonsense attitude. And the found family of strays who work together at the Red Lantern are a joy – their everyday activities provide a lot of the humour that runs through the story.

Despite the story being told from one viewpoint, it is also dual narrative. Alongside events unfolding in Scalentine, Babylon also tells her backstory in interludes. It’s a difficult technique to successfully pull off. Far too often I get caught up with one plotline and feel frustrated when narrative flips across to the other one, so start skim-reading to get back to the storyline I prefer. Not so this time around. The story of how Babylon comes to be in Scalentine and running a brothel is every bit as riveting as the events unfolding in the bustling portal town.

I was impressed all over again with the quality of Sebold’s writing and was sorry to reach the end of this adventure. So I was pleased to discover there is another Babylon Steel story, Dangerous Gifts. I’ll be tracking it down very soon, as I’ve really missed Babylon’s character and the dangerous, layered society that makes up Scalentine. Very highly recommended for fantasy fans. The sharp-eyed among you will be aware that the first time I reviewed this book, I gave it a 9, while this time it’s a 10. I originally knocked off a point because I was unhappy that the cover featured a white protagonist when the book repeatedly mentioned her darker, copper skin. The new cover is a huge improvement and I commend the publishers for deciding to fix this issue. While I obtained an arc of Bad Gods from Netgalley via the publishers, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
10/10

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I was granted eARC access to Bad Gods via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Rebellion for the auto-approval status that allowed me to grab this book when I wanted it! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

I would also like to apologize to Rebellion and Gaie Sebold for not getting this review out before publication. I started reading this one well in advance, but year-end blog tours and family Christas plans (which involved travelling for the first time in 2 years) got in the way, and the next thing I knew publication had passed and I hadn't picked this back up in weeks. That's absolutely not a comment on the quality of this book, it's a comment on my planning skills and how crazy the end of the year gets. Sorry!

How to summarize Bad Gods? Okay, stay with me. There are many planes to the world. On at least one of these planes, the Gods take avatars, which are human slaves imbued with a bit of demi-godly power but bound to their God and treated as they please. On other plane, we've got a brothel owner and an inter-species harem. These two things intersect because two of these characters are, in fact, the same person, and that person is about ready to tear it all down and become a God herself.

This book is weird, wild, wonderful, and a whole lot of fun! It pokes fun at fantasy tropes and tries to turn the genre on its head, but it manages to still tell a genuine good, unique story at the same time. I'd also like to rave about all the amazing LGBTQIA+ representation we've got here! We've got many genders, many sexualities, many relationship configurations, lots of sex positivity, and very few characters who look down on any of it. (Well, some people are prudes, but that's also kind of the point of putting the brothel where it was...) Fellow demi and ace readers, fear not, the sex-positivity doesn't equate to an overload of erotic scenes, either. It's wild and carefree in the sense that there's nothing to judge and everything to place from and centre in front of society here, but it isn't excessively steamy either.

I will definitely be looking for more Sebold titles in the future!

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Loved the characters! This new cover truly captures the characters. Especially, Previous. And that's another thing, the characters names are unique and interesting.

I loved all the different types of alien races. Would be an awesome sight to see on the big screen. The story includes portals to different planes, demi-gods and gods. But it's much more than the world building. I think the magic lies in the characters and their relationships.


I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, so I could give an honest review.

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I would like to start by thanking Netgalley and Rebellion publishers for allowing me to review an ARC of this book. As a lover of fantasy this book certainly caught my eye. While I can understand it may not be for everyone it was certainly an interesting and enjoyable read and refreshing to see a different kind of ‘good’ guy characters take centre stage.

The story focuses mostly on Babylon Steel (ex-mercenary, ex-priestess, ex – well a lot of things) and now proprietor (Madame) of the Red Lantern Brothel. Arguably the best brothel in Scalentine. But tensions and headaches are rising for Babylon with prurient cults protesting in the street, sex workers disappearing and bills piling up. So when the Diplomatic Section hires her – off the books – to find a missing heiress she has no choice but take the job…Only then her past starts to catch up to her.

First of all I have to say that the world building is top notch. Secondly the characters are most certainly an interesting mix. It was refreshing to have those who might be considered bad or at least morally grey in other fantasy settings as the main characters. I would say the book does not take itself seriously but that would be far from true, that said it does play around with things such as puns, interesting characters, turning stereotypes of fantasy races on their head and such like.

As I have said it won’t be for everyone, sometimes the pace may seem slow and there are some more raunchy bits to the book. What do you expect when the main character is a brothel owner, but it fits the story and the setting.

Definitely one I enjoyed and would recommend to someone who is wanting a fantasy that is a little different.

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I was drawn in by the stunning artwork on the cover depicting a host of interesting characters, and I stayed when the story matched the artwork. Intriguing, full of depth, and sexy, Bad Gods is everything it’s cover promises. Join me as we head to Scalentine, the city of portals, where you can find anything…

To say that Bad Gods is the story of one woman doesn’t do it justice. This is a story of many people, all of whom are connected by the illustrious Babylon Steel, a woman who has many experiences under her belt by the time she reaches the plane of Scalentine. There she settles with her travelling companion, finally choosing to stop running from her mysterious past and eventually opening the Red Lantern brothel. It seems like an old choice for someone who came to the plane as a mercenary, but as we find out, Babylon has had many titles under her belt and brothel owner is just the latest one.

The story begins with Babylon taking a job to find a missing heiress when she realises that the books, which she’s been judiciously ignoring, are a mess and the brothel is desperately in need of some money pronto. She’s spurred on by the fact that something dark is happening on Scalentine, and the local religious faction, zealots who hate women, are ramping up their activity. The idea of a young girl lost and alone in the city is a powerful motivator, especially when it reminds Babylon so much of herself. As Sebold leads us on an investigation through the city of portals, we learn all about Scalentine, and its diverse community. There’s weres like the Chief of the City Militia, fey, the reptilian Ikinchi, the human-catapillar-like Barraké and many more.

As Babylon seeks to find the missing girl she finds a connection to the past she left behind a long time ago, and Sebold expertly interweaves chapters of Babylon’s past between those of the current story. It’s a dark story, full of plots and intrigue, and I absolutely loved it. For those who might find alternating stories, especially one from the present and one from the past, being told at the same time irritating let me assure you that there is a point to it, it’s not just a fun gimmick to explain the character’s background. Both do intersect and lead to a brilliant conclusion.

In some ways I found Bad Gods reminiscent of Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel Legacy series. While Bablyon Steel is much more of a warrior compared to Carey’s Phèdre nó Delaunay, there are similarities in their stories. This is also the only fantasy novel I’ve found, other than Carey’s work, where sex scenes and fantasy have co-existed without devolving into romance or pure erotica. Bad Gods is very much a fantasy novel, just as Carey’s Kushiel Legacy is a fantasy epic. Likewise, Sebold’s scenes are elegantly written rather than becoming smutty as they so often do in paranormal romance novels.

Humour keeps Bad Gods from getting too dark, reminding the reader that no matter how difficult life has been or becomes, the love and support of found family will get you through your darkest days (and kick some ass too).

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I discover this is the first in a series and I'm very happy because I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Great characters, a lot of humour, a riveting plot and a fascinating world building.
It's an excellent mix of sci-fi and fantasy and it kept me turning pages.
I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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As much as it caught my eye a decade ago when it was released as Babylon Steel, it's taken me this long to finally make room in the TBR and give Bad Gods a read. It's an interesting book, immensely entertaining in the ways it embraces diversity and sex work, and utterly fascinating with its take on portals, pantheons, and prophecies, but I felt it stumbled in its pacing.

Where I breezed through the first 25% over the course of two nights, it took me a week to make it through the middle 50%, and I started to get distracted by other books. Something about the novelty of it all stuck with me, though, so I eventually found my way back into it and, I'm happy to say, raced through the final 25% just as quickly as the first.

The novelty of it all, the diversity of the races and the genders and the sexualities, was a sheer delight. We have fey and fauns, angels and alligators, lizards and lamias, caterpillars and cats, many of whom have no gender, multiple genders, and blended genders. Even with lust spells, glamours, mind reading, and things like dual penises, though, it all has an air of sweet innocence that makes every character who passes through a delight.

Babylon Steel, proprietor of The Red Lantern (one of the best brothels in Scalentine) is a wonderful protagonist, a refreshingly strong, confident woman who lives and loves as well as she fights. She's got a great backstory, and the way it intersects with her search for a missing young woman is the drive behind the novel. That the search takes too long, drawing out the middle part of the book and confusing the purpose of it all, is the only downfall of the book - had I loved the story as much as the characters, you'd be reading a whole different review.

Not quite what I was hoping for, but more than I expected, Bad Gods was a solid fantasy that does all the little things right.

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I'm very glad Rebellion decided to re-release Bad Gods by Gaie Sebold - I missed it the first go-round but thoroughly enjoyed reading this quick read. Flashing between two time periods, Sebold's adventurous fantastical romp is a great read for anyone who enjoys their fantasy crossed with a little romance-novel feeling sexuality. Reminding me somewhat of Forgotten Realms novels, the worldbuilding a top notch and seems to allow for infinitely more stories with Sebold's chosen protagonist. I definitely am planning on reading the other books already released within this series, and am hopeful for more in the future.

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NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

A wonderful read for the end of 2021. You will fall in love with the characters, the world and storyline. I am holding out hope for a part 2. Fabulous and would make a great FX Network series.

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I have to admit I requested this mainly because of the cover , it drew me like a comic book cover so I was drawn in, I am so glad I did, this is funny, creative, clever , a completely captivating and enchanting read. I think you definitely need to be a fantasy , it’s got some very original and odd characters, fantastic writing and a fabulous female lead.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

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3.8/5

🌱THE EXCELLENT
~ The plot over is good, with colourful (literally) characters who have tangled histories behind them
~ There are some layered mysteries which hold ones interest
~ The cosmology, theologies and ideas of dimensions and planes are intricate and interesting
~ The setting is somewhat novel and overall is judgement free

Babylon Steel runs the Lantern, a whorehouse on one of the well-trafficked, prosperous and trade-filled ‘planes’ in this very exciting world/universe. Here it is possible to jump between worlds using portals and meet a ridiculous variety of beings, all of which can find companionship at the Lantern. But, Babylon isn’t what she seems and her past will bring a series of dangerous god-like challenges to the family-staff of the Lantern and their friends.

✨Give it a read.

🌱THE MEH
~ The timing seemed off - The flashback, in which a lot took place, happened within a very short period
~ Hated Tropes: OLD man + JUST turned 16 yro seggs - ewww; First Person Idiocy; Lie and delay; Pregnancy to weaken
~ Sigh…

♡🌱 This one was tricky because while I really ADORED parts of it, YET there was much I DISLIKED, but this may not be the case for everyone ;)

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The trade dress and blurb for Bad Gods makes it look like it is aiming a the Pratchett zone of comic fantasy. And while there is a fair bit of humour in here, that really isn't all that fair. This is a republish of a book that is ten years old buyt has probably come into a more sympathetic time, being a fantasy adventure set primarily in a brothel, and is very sex worker positive. It is a very good setting, brothels are the slinking unloved twins of fantasy taverns, engaging in an activity that much heroic fantasy would rather suggest didn't happen. But here not only is the establishment well run and safe for all involved, it also allows a natural place for the camaraderie of its female ensemble, all of which rotate around the proprietor Babylon Steel.

Admittedly that was a relatively hard pill to swallow, and I am not sure the name Babylon Steel gets any better when you discover it is a result of self renaming. Nevertheless swallow that and you get some really interesting world building, a large city located at the heart of a number of planar portals, to different worlds to different societies (all with different rules on magic etc). Again with the Pratchett there is a touch of Ankh-Morpork in this melting pot (inclusing a xympathetic multi-species guards), and Steel is - as well as a brothel-owner - an occasional troubleshooter who is hired here to find a missing girl. At the same time we her backstory parcelled out in short intermediate chapters, and its a tale of Gods, chosen ones and really rather interesting.

Once I got into Bad Gods (which wasn't hard) I really enjoyed it. It perhaps is a little lumpy in places with knowing what story to tell, the missing person storyline drifts as the backstory catches up to the now and we are left with a rather surprising heroic quest ending that didn't feel like it was being cued up. The characters and setting is good, and I see there is already a sequel, though this is series rather than a trilogy, it stands perfectly well as a stand-alone and wraps pretty much everything up. But there was something interesting about both the idea of this transit city, and running a bordello in such a diverse city. There are some clever parallels made between sex workers and soldiers in the middle section which I think gives the book some extra depth over just its narrative and it was a real pleasant surprise.

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All portals lead to Scalentine in Gaie Seabold's Bad Gods, which tells the story of Babylon Steel and her colourful band of outcasts, waifs and strays.

Bad Gods takes place in the city of Scalentine, a city whose residents come from the various portals to other lands that surround it. It's best described as being on an Ankh Morpork level of organised chaos that is home to a varied range of disparate peoples that find themselves thrown together.

In the midst of this is Babylon Steel, owner and Madame of The Red Lantern. A brothel that will serve anyone who has the right cash. There's a fey that will leave a man (woman, lizard or whatever) senseless for at least two weeks with her sex magick. And we'd best not mention the things that Cruel & Unusual get up to in the cellar.

However, in a former life, Babylon Steel was a mercenary. And it is these skills that she must use when she is asked by local 'entrepreneur' and casino owner Darask Fain to find a missing Ikinchli girl and subsequently avert a diplomatic disaster.

On top of that, the local religious extremists 'The Vessels' have targeted The Red Lantern as a Den of Inequity (which the Red Lantern has proudly cultivated for quite a while) and there's a killer on the loose targeting local sex workers. Oh, and Babylon Steel's past might be showing its ugly head as well

When I started this, I thought it was going to be frenetic romp that I didn't really know how it was all going to fit together.

In all honesty, I didn't really know much about this book at all except for the blurb and the fantastic cover by Discworld Artist, Steven Player. Anymore than that was a total surprise. And I have to say that this book was a total surprise.

For one, I never fail to be delighted by a good found family trope. There is just something about it that will draw me in everytime, and Bad Gods has this in spades. The characters of The Red Lantern all fit together perfectly. Each one of them adds their own little bit to the story.

The structure of the book primarily tells its story through the eyes of Babylon Steel, as she becomes embroiled in the various plots that abound in the book. However, running parallel to this is the story of an unknown orphan girl, left in a bag in the steps of an aristocrat's home and subsequently is brought up in the household of the master. When things start getting untenable for her in the her current position (mainly due to the fact that the master's son has designs on her), she ups and offs and ends up as a trainee avatar for the Goddess of War and Sex. It's not until later that we find out the girl's name and the relevance to the story

Initially, I have to admit that I wasn't quite sure where this book was going, particularly with the number of storylines and what relevance the parallel tale had and how it would impact on the story. However, they all do converge to make a satisfying conclusion to the book.

The start of the book does an impressive job of world and character building. There were times in the initial parts of the story where I became a little confused with the amount of characters and the intricate structure of Scalentine itself, which Gaie Seabold cleverly interwines the mystery of the missing girl and uses it as an opportunity for Babylon Steel to show us around the city and navigate its variety of districts and inhabitants. And whilst sometimes it was a bit of hard work I did manage to get past. Furthermore, I found the pacing a little off, particularly in the initial act of the book. It settles down really well and finds its feet in the second half of the book when the stories combine into one cohesive plot.

As you can imagine, there is a good deal of spiciness in the book and Gaie Seabold doesn't shy away from putting a number of sex scenes in the story, with both human and non human characters. However, this is a book about sex workers, so there are going to be some.

Babylon Steel herself is a really good character. She is moralistic, protective and a good female lead who doesn't take any kind of shit from her male counterparts. In addition to that, the other characters all make a good foundation for the story and add to it, particularly the occupants of the red lantern.

Bad Gods is a good introduction to the world of Babylon Steel that makes me want to read more of her adventures and carry on with the series

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Bad Gods was a lot of fun! A bit overwhelming at first, as there is so much new in the setting and the characters and the plot. But I think a bit of disorientation just reinforces how vast and creative Sebold’s world is. The more I kept reading the more I was sucked into the web of plots and couldn’t wait to find out how it all resolved.

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DNF. This book has a great premise, but sadly, it did not engage me. The plot feels all over the place, and I had no idea what was happening most of the time.

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