This was a very creative look at an alternative world that almost could have been, with an interesting story taking place in that world.
Godstorm by Solitaire Townsend is now available to buy.
I have this weird thing with books that are set in the world I spent years of my life studying – sometimes I absolutely love them because I get thrown back into my own past; other times, I’m not a fan because they don’t portray that ancient world as I saw it. This one was an odd one that sat somewhere in between. The wider world itself was fascinating – what if the Roman Empire hadn’t fallen, if they’d instead discovered how oil could be burned, and used this in every possible way to succeed?
In the midst of this, you have a gladiatrix in this weird mash up of a steampunk London that feels a bit like the ancient world, but has vehicles powered by oil, who is a governess. When her charge disappears on a museum outing during a “Godstorm”, Arrow will stop at nothing to get her back.
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It’s a book of two parts: set in both London and on a voyage across the sea and into the “Amazonian” – a different version of the jungle we know that has been touched by the Roman Empire but is set apart from it. The two parts of the book felt quite distinct from one another, but both were worlds that have been well realised and were very interesting to read.
The only reason I’ve knocked this book down a star is because I felt the storyline wasn’t as strong as the world it was set in. There was the overarching plot of Arrow trying to find Livy, but in the timeline of the book, she’s found quite quickly and another storyline takes over as they head into the jungle. At this point, it somewhat meandered into a different plot that I wasn’t sure had the chance to be fully fleshed out, being around half of the book. It felt like it was either going to lead into a second book, or maybe should have been deepened and split into two books.
You can’t talk about this book without mentioning the references to climate change. My husband is very into this at the moment, so though I rarely talk about fiction with him (he doesn’t read fiction!), I brought this one up with him – it’s the type of book that could easily be a book club read with a lively debate! It makes you see a world being destroyed through a different lens, and without losing sight of the fact that it’s still an enjoyable book at its heart – very well done, I personally think.
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The characters were brilliant. Arrow is a flawed, self-deprecating woman living between two worlds. The class system that is quickly introduced in the book highlights this even further; she doesn’t fit in anywhere. I would love to have seen more from the child’s perspective too as she seemed like a strong, interesting character.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for an ARC of this book.
