Two sisters fight for survival in a world left in turmoil from a cataclysmic war between the gods in Andrea Stewart's The Gods Below, the epic first book of the Hollow Covenant series.
When Hakara was 15 and her sister, Rasha, was nine and they were alone in the world, divine restoration came to the land of Kashan. The god Kluehnn had promised to remake humanity at a price: half the population would be transformed to fit the new landscape, but the other half would die, consumed to fuel the restoration. Although Hakara attempted to flee with her little sister, they were separated just before the arrival of the shadow wall that divides the restored and unrestored lands. Ten years later, the war between Kluehnn and the other gods continues, and Hakara and Rasha are still trying to stay alive with no knowledge of what happened to each other.
The bond between the two sisters provides the heart of a novel that Stewart (The Bone Shard Daughter) populates with scheming nobles and royalty, ruthless devotees of the gods, and seekers of ancient powers, all vying for advantage in a splintered existence. When the sisters each learn that the other is alive, it is only the beginning of the emotional roller coasters of their journeys, and unanswered questions about the restored lands promise an increasing scope. Fans of epic fantasy series that put their readers through the wringer, such as those by George R.R. Martin and Robin Hobb, will be eager for the next installment in Stewart's series. --Kristen Allen-Vogel, information services librarian at Dayton Metro Library