Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky)

This was such a great book. I enjoyed it so much more than I expected. It is rich and lush and magical and surprising and even shocking at moments. I loved all of the representation that this book provided: trans characters, bisexual characters, nonbinary characters. It was fascinating and something I hadn't heard anyone mention. It could be argued that there are TOO many characters but I disagree. I thought you got to meet and see the side characters but we weren't stuck in their heads. Also, for some reason I thought this story was taking place on a spaceship, not a LITERAL ship. So imagine my surprise. I loved the relationship development between Xiala and Serapio. It was sweet and not all instalovey. You could feel how Xiala's thoughts and feelings about Serapio changed over the voyage without it seeming fake or rushed. Speaking of Serapio, his back story was something else! When I tell you I was shocked and horrified by his mother's actions. She had her reasons, sure, but still. I also really liked Naranpa, the Sun Priest, but Abah can go kick rocks. Ugh! I can't stand her. Iktan is a character I liked but I was VERY disappointed with their actions. The crows and the role they played were a very cool and interesting aspect of the story. I also found the magic system intriguing. It's not like a typical fantasy magic system and that makes it all the more interesting. Lastly, that ending?!?! Woah. I got to the end of the book and shouted: "THAT'S IT?!?!" I couldn't believe it ended like that. Talk about a cliffhanger. An excellent series debut and I highly recommend. Just read it and thank me later.

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse is a queer fantasy inspired by the civilizations of Pre-Columbian Americas and the first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy. I did a blended read for Black Sun and borrowed the audiobook from my local library. There are four main characters in the book, and each have their own narrator. I honestly love this kind of structure; having different narrators for different POVs really helps my brain parse high fantasy. Even so, each character is very distinct from the others just in their personality and how they are written, which was even better for my brain to follow along! Though the plot is established pretty early, this is really a character-driven story. There's also a ton of political stuff happening within a group of high priests. I really liked the world building and magic system here, too. I found the pacing to be pretty great; I inhaled this book within a day. When I'm reading longer books, this is really important to me, and I was really glad to not feel like it was dragging. There's also great representation here. Other than characters of color, there is a lot of casual queerness and one of the main characters we follow is blind. One of our main characters hails from a civilization of women sailors (sirens? mermaids?) and she's pretty rad and queer. As this is the first book in a trilogy, it's unsurprising that Black Sun ends on a pretty big cliffhanger. But now all the books are out, (Mirrored Heavens just came out last month) so I can read them at my own pace!

This book has one of the most intense openings I've read in awhile and I could only wonder if the rest of it would deliver on that rush. It does. The quality of writing is nearly flawless and does everything I think a good fantasy novel should: detailed yet restrained world-building; intriguing but uncertain characters; patiently crafted and cleverly layered plotting, which creates an ominous, wholly absorbing sense of momentum. Four protagonists could feel like a crowd, but this group is well-managed, made distinct by their humanity--flaws, motivations, desires. Additionally, the non-binary representations are notable for how they're used to enrich this world's social landscape; they never become a checklist. And the love story... Simple yet enticing and expertly threaded throughout the narrative so as to not overtake the story's scope but, rather, to strengthen it. Beautiful!

"So, what will you say at my funeral now that you've killed me, Rebecca Roanhorse?" -Beyoncé, I think Okay, so that quote isn't from Beyoncé, but it is how I'm feeling right now! Roanhorse said she wanted to take on an epic, and wow, did she?! This is the first book in the Between Earth and Sky series and I am so excited to read the next book. There were so many things I liked about this novel. The magic was really interesting! I can't wait to see it expanded even more in the next book. Mermaids are also very cool! Also, the setting. Roanhorse has a way of crafting three-dimensional landscapes. I felt like I understood where I was, what the different cities (and the sea) were like. But can I just express appreciation over the shifting POVs? I usually don't like books that change POVs because I get invested in one character over the others. This novel doesn't have that problem. I actually really enjoyed all of the people we followed in this book. All of the characters felt well-developed, or at the very least interesting. I particularly loved Xiala, our bisexual icon. And Serapio...oh, god. He made my heart ache. The casual queerness in this novel was so well done. I loved it. Roanhorse did a great job of including nonbinary, trans, and LGBTQ people in this novel without having to explain their queerness, or having it be a plot point. It was very satisfying to read.

I love that this series is set in the Pre-Columbian Americas. I have always been fascinated by the Mayans, Aztecs, Incas and so many I don’t know about. I absolutely love it. With the story set in this time period, there is so much wonderful world building. There is the priests that study the stars, the clans that worship their own Gods, and a fight between the two. There is witchcraft, mermaids (we’ll find out more about this hopefully in book two?), a doomed slow burn romance, and political intrigue. There is even large crows, and other large creatures in the story. Just everything about this book made me feel like I could see this as a tv series or movie. There are three main characters: Serapio who is blind, mysterious, mystical and dangerous. He was quite a past and upbringing and he has a destiny to fulfill. There is Xiala, a ship captain and Teek, which makes her mysterious as well, she’s like a Siren and has some powers with use of her Song. Then there is Naranpa, the current Sun Priest but a woman who grew up in poverty and rose up the ranks. I feel like we got to know all three of them pretty good in this first book. There is a lot of diversity in Black Sun. Xiala is bi, Naranpa used to be involved with someone who is transgendered, and so many more characters in this story are just open with their sexuality and that was nice. Random Notes: Triggers: mutilation, self-mutilation, abuse, death, suicide The mutilation in chapter one almost took me out! I was horrified but of course later on we learn why it happened. A lot of this book is about setting the stage for what’s to come, so the mutilation parts come at the beginning and end of the book (thank goodness). There are a few others scenes that are just as gory. I feel like it’s comes as such a surprise because the first half of the book seems so “quiet”…or Serapio is, at least. I felt like the beginning was slow after that eye opening first chapter, but because it’s a world so intricate, I didn’t mind the slowness and it really builds until the ending climax. I took a few days to read this one, not because I wasn’t enjoying it though. This is adult fantasy as opposed to all the young adult fantasy I usually read but I found this very enjoyable despite it not something I tend to read. Final Thoughts: I look forward to reading book two whenever it comes out, after that cliffhanger of an ending. Has Serapio’s destiny changed? What’s going to happen to Naranpa? I have questions and I also want to know about Xiala and the Teek. There is so much more to uncover in this world of Black Sun. If you like fantasy, you might enjoy this one.

A fantasy set in the years 315 - 325 of the Sun Mesoamerica (pre-interruption Americas), we find a complex political system ruled by the Sky Maidens from their capital Tova. The current Sun priestess is not high born and as expected with humans, there appears to be a movement to remove her from her seat because of this. The catch is, you can only leave the seat one way, and that is upon your death. Across the oceans, a man sails towards Tova set to make a prophecy come true and to enact vengeance against the Sky Maidens for their role in decimating the Crow Kingdom and forcing them to conform to this new religion. I really enjoyed this story, as I really didn’t know what to expect; whilst some storylines were easy to decipher, there were so many plots that weren’t. It was a quick read, that I need to re-explore it, as this was my first time experiencing a fantasy with Polynesian, Incan / Mayan, Indigenous American culture and I was enjoying the experience. I listened to this on Scribd, which I would recommend, as the narrators added an additional layer to the experience with their accents. When I re-read this later this year, it will be close gaps I missed by listening to it, but also to explore how the names are written, which is something I find enjoyable for a linguistic-challenged person like myself. What I found so fascinating about this story, was how humans really haven’t changed in literally thousands of years. I really liked the 4 main characters, and I know this will only lead to heartache later in the series, given their chosen pathways. If you’re looking for a new, enjoyable fantasy series, this is one to get into.

I discovered Rebecca Roanhorse through her middle grades novel Race to the Sun, which I loved. So, when I spotted this book which also highlights Indigenous Pre-Columbian peoples, I snagged a copy. Having finished listening to it, I have now decided that if Rebecca Roanhorse writes a book, I will read said book. I think you should join me in that, but since you probably won't just take my word for it, let me tell you why. The book follows four main characters, though two of them definitely outshine the other two. I think the lesser two will get more time in the next book, though, which should help balance out the characters. As the book starts, we learn about a prophecy that is poised to come to fruition as there is going to be a solar eclipse on the same day as the winter solstice. According to the Sun Priest, this event will cause an imbalance in the world. The four characters who all play major roles in this prophecy are Serapio, a blind man who describes himself as a vessel, Xiala, the captain of the ship charged with transporting Serapio to Tova for the festival to be held on the solstice who also happens to be a mermaid, Naranpa, a sun priestess who is struggling to stay alive while others attempt to see her dead, and Okoa, who recently lost his mother and is accused of killing the Sun Priest. Throughout the book, there is a steady increase in the tension brought about by the events, which was really nice. Still, even with the tension steadily increasing, I was not ready for that ending. I don't know how anyone could be ready for that ending. It was just *chef's kiss*. I loved the complexity of this story and this world. There was so much intrigue, with plotting, back-stabbing - sometimes it was front-stabbing with no subterfuge - and danger that added to the story, I frequently found myself listening to various parts again - either because I couldn't believe I'd heard it right and wanted to hear it again to make sure or because it was so good that it deserved to be listened to more than once. I have already added the sequel to my TBR, again because I will now read anything written by Rebecca Roanhorse, but also because I HAVE to know what happens next. For those of you who also listen to audiobooks, this book was narrated by Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, Kaipo Schwab, and Shaun Taylor-Corbett. Though I don't often listen to books with more than two narrators because I think too many narrators can lead to the book getting lost in the mess of all the narrators, I thought this book was very well done. Though there were four narrators, at no point did those narrators get in the way of the story. As such, given the opportunity, I will listen to Fevered Star as well.

The way the author jumps around in time with each chapter and is written from different pov without acknowledging it makes this book hard to read. I almost DNF, but I finally found some rhythm the last third or so. I actually enjoyed the story when I could figure out what was happening, but don’t know if 8 want to make that effort again to continue the series.