Recent years have seen a whole slew of new blood in the dark epic fantasy space. Bill Adams released his debut novel The Godsblood Tragedy, the first passage in his Divine Godsqueen Coda series. A dark, violent, and volatile tale of chosen ones, warring dark gods, evil creatures from the netherworld, and a plucky set of protagonists trying their best to stave off the apocalypse.


What immediately sets The Godsblood Tragedy apart from standard dark fantasy fare is the unique setting. Eschewing traditional blade and spell, Adams pulls in elements from steampunk with his “aether” based systems that draw modern technology like guns, vehicles, and even giant floating cities into his fantasy world. He deems it as “sci-fantasy”, although the execution has closer ties to steampunk tropes.

Adams also brings in various races into his tale, moving further away from grimdark, square into dark fantasy terrritory, with some almost whimsical additions. Alongwith humans (skilled with magic or otherwise), we also have analogs for elves, orcs, lizardkin, rabbitkin, and various kinds of demons, ghoulies, and beasties. The genre-blending of the worldbuilding, as well as the addition of uncommon fantasy races make The Godsblood Tragedy a unique jumping-off board.

The tale itself, is a familiar one — an orphan “chosen one” drawn into a world-ending conspiracy of warring gods, evil demigods with megalomaniacal motivations, evil henchmen (henchwomen? henchserpents?), divine prophecy, demon-possessed weapons, and a rag-tag group of protagonists joining together to stave off said evil demigod and beasties, you get the gist.

Adams succeeds in creating a unique enough world with his aether-based technologies not to immediately tune out as a grizzled veteran reader. He also gives us a decent cast of characters from ne’er-do-well Pirates with a heart of gold, lizard paladins shouldering the burden of their namesake, elven siblings with their powers and devious motivations, a rebel prince, a conflicted assassin, and a chosen-one waif lookinf for purpose, drawn into the larger plot. None of these are groundbreaking for anyone steeped in this genre, but Adams does a serviceable job of giving each of them a level of depth to keep them from being wooden. Some of these characters work better than others. The insecure Lojen, the plucky bunnykin, the soothsayer elf Val, and the conflicted templar-esque knight Cyan were cast highlights. Unfortunately, the main characters, the Gutter King, the orphan Ashe, and the thirsts-for-revenge-but-forced-to-serve-assassin Cadrianna felt flat and amateurish in their executions. In addition, Adams falls down the rabbit hole of adding Marvel-level witty banter between the protagonist crew that feels awkward, contrived, and far too overwrought. Ugh!

However, the length and pacing of The Godsblood Tragedy is where things began to fall apart. Another case of a long drawn-out first entry, with sections and passages that would not have made it past a spirited editor’s blade, many parts of the book felt like a narrative slog to get through. The plot is quite bog-standard, filled with the standard tropes and predictable twists and turns. Adams does belabor the point often, with long sections of woolgathering and self-pity via internal monologues that overstay their welcome. While there is action a-plenty in this first entry, it becomes easier to glaze over every set-piece as just another checkpoint to plod the plot along.

The worst sin that Adams commits in The Godsblood Tragedy is the artificial chicanery he creates to maintain distance between the machinations of the plotting of the characters and the readers. With the oft-reviled trope of “I wont tell you my plan, but you have to trust me”, lobbed at us at every stage of the story by the primary protagonists, the whole affair felt clumsy and comical. The divide between the oh-so-clever Gutter King as he sets up a grand plan to take down the evil demigod Lu Har, dubbed The Fallen, and his demonic lieutenant Solanine, and the rest of his crew, felt like Adams patting himself on the back more than smart storytelling.

The plodding pacing, bloated runtime, and the narrative divide, made the latter half of The Godsblood Tragedy a chore to get through. A unique setting and good ideas of a fun magic system is held back by lackluster narratives and a weak central cast of characters. However, the sequel Lady Drakeslayer has been released. Here’s hoping…

The Godsblood Tragedy delivers an ambitious, intricate world built on a foundation of power that blurs the lines between technology and magic. Bill Adams crafts a world that feels massive and alive, with layers of history, philosophy, and strange energy systems pulsing through its veins. If you like your worldbuilding dense and unapologetically expansive, this one’s for you.

The story drops you into a storm of names and concepts at the beginning, and can get confusing. And a bit slow at first. But then the pieces start falling into place, and by the time you’re halfway through, you’re fully obsessed. Adams’ prose is clean and direct, which makes navigating the complexity easier, but the imagery and descriptive depth give everything weight. And be warned; he’s not gentle. If a character’s death sharpens the blade of the narrative, it’s happening. No hesitation. He is evil.

The magic system in particular was a highlight for me. It’s the kind that hurts to use, which automatically makes it more compelling. I love systems that come at a cost, that force the characters to weigh power against pain, and this one nails that balance. The magic is brutal, raw, and plays a huge part in shaping both the world and the people in it.

With multiple POVs, each character brings their own drive and perspective. And it is quite fun watching how their paths tangle, sometimes in alliance, sometimes in disaster. Some of their arcs feel like slow-burning fuses; you know something is coming, and you just keep turning the pages, bracing for impact.

The setup is gripping, the stakes are high, and I already know I’ll be picking up the sequel once my ARC list calms down.

4.5 stars. Highly recommended for fans of sprawling science-fantasy epics where nothing and no one is safe.

There is an author who isn't afraid to kill off his characters if the story demands it. There were instances that I was BIG mad at him lol but in the end, everything made so much sense to the story. Still, as a character focussed reader, the plot faced movement threw me off a little bit but i can say that there were some pretty good character development as well on many places.