Synopsis

20 Climbers. 20 Watchers. 5 Hunters. 1 Colossus.

After both their parents die during the live broadcast of the Tournament of the Colossus, Quinne promises to always keep Benn safe. Even from the deadly Hunters who scour the slums for those who can wield magic. But when Benn’s rare ability manifests during a public confrontation, the Hunters see them for what they truly are: riveting contestants.

Quinne will be a Climber, where she’ll be chased by Hunters and mechanized monstrosities through a trapped forest before attempting to climb a thousand-foot-tall destructive god. And Benn will be her Watcher, as his consciousness will be transferred into nothing more than a glorified camera in the form of a metal bird.

The odds of survival are low, the likelihood of death and blood great. Tune in today, for this Tournament will be a ratings juggernaut!

Quick Review

Death Show Colossus is a brutal, action-packed story of survival and rebellion. It’s got a lot of heart, and it’s quippy, and while it doesn’t break new ground—it’s not trying to. It’s just a damn good time.

Full Review

Death Show Colossus takes the themes and feelings of 80s action films and does something new with them. The premise of the novel centers around an almost Hunger Games style event (the titular death show), and embedded within that there’s a story about downtrodden people rising up not unlike we see in Arcane. None of this is new, but it’s given a fun and fresh coat of paint with that action film tone.

The story begins with Quinne and Benn, whose perspectives we follow throughout the book. They’re both children of the lower city, the slums, scavenging and fighting to get by. Both have lost parents to the annual death show, a grotesque broadcast in which several climbers are tasked with reaching the top of a godly colossus—all the while being pursued by five highly lethal hunters. Few reach the top, and the deaths are sensationalized for entertainment. These live broadcasts are a major part of the story, with some entire chapters dedicated to showing how their host presents the event, as well as how her performance drops when the cameras aren’t on her.

As you can imagine, the story is a brutal one. Death is around every corner, even before the show truly begins, and while I wouldn’t say the writing ever becomes excessively gory it certainly doesn’t hold back either. Expect a lot of bloody fights in Death Show Colossus. Once the show begins, it seems like there’s a new battle about every other chapter.

What impressed me the most was how author Bill Adams manages to make each fight feel distinct. With so many in the book, they could have easily blended together and become repetitive—and while I don’t think Adams 100% avoids the latter, I never lost interest in each encounter. Each one seems to raise the stakes, or reveal something new, or Adams uses the fight to showcase something new about the magic system, or the setting has changed what is possible in the fight.

Some of the fights, especially those at the finale, do wind up feeling a bit rushed. However, I suspect Adams did this intentionally—even our POV Quinne comments on how uninspired fighting even more people is. That’s not to say the final fight isn’t interesting in its own way, just that it’s a victim of the many which came before. It’s a rough edge in an otherwise extremely well-polished story.

Some of the worldbuilding took me a minute to wrap my head around. There are a lot of in-world terms and while there is a glossary, it sometimes took a few times in the book seeing each thing to understand it. For example, the many types of magical abilities, each of which have witty names and creative uses attached to them. Or, the Diamond Dogs, who are a kind of soldier (not literal dogs, like I accidentally interpreted them as at first—though many of them do have hounds which is maybe where the confusion came from?).

This isn’t the only rough edge in Death Show Colossus. The story felt sometimes at odds with itself, the action preventing us from getting to know the people around Quinne and Benn. I enjoyed their sibling-like relationship, but they’re really the only two I felt I knew by the end. Others didn’t get the time they needed, or their secrecy made it difficult to connect with them, or they existed exclusively for those action scenes. I can’t say I’m disappointed, but I do think an extra couple pages with them would have been appreciated and made their parts of the story hit harder.

The ending wraps things up pretty well, but I suspect some readers will not vibe with Quinne’s final decision. I won’t spoil it for you, but I think people who want all the answers in a nice tidy bow might come away a bit disappointed. Even if I do think her decision made a lot of sense for Quinne, it leaves a lot unfinished for the fate of the city and its people.

However, when I think about my time with this book, those details aren’t what comes to mind. No, what comes to mind is how much fun it was to read, and how much heart was clearly put into this story.

I highly recommend Death Show Colossus. Perhaps more than any other book I’ve read recently, I was constantly reading more than I expected when I sat down to read a bit. Whether it was a new reveal or a crazy action scene, Adams constantly had me in the palm of his hand. This feels like an action movie. Its combat is creative and unique. It takes a few interesting risks and constantly offers something new to be excited about. If you’re looking for a brutal action novel, look no further than Death Show Colossus.