Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky)

When I picked this book up, I had some big expectations. I wanted to look into authors with America’s indigenous roots. As a fan of fantasy, I sought out worlds inspired by native cultures. The fantasy genre is steeped in European architecture, themes, and customs, so I knew I would be setting myself up for something completely different. There is so much history in the pre-Columbian Americas that we as a society need to celebrate, explore, and pass on to our loved ones to do the same. It was my privilege to read this book, and I plan on doing so again in the near future. I plan on continuing the series immediately, The starting pace of this book was quite slow, but in an enjoyable way. I expect there to be a substantial amount of world-building at the beginning of a new fantasy series, and this book is no different. The changes between 3 (and later 4) perspectives are a nice way to span greater distances and grasp the complexity of the world from place to place, which is exciting. I feel like the author did a really great job at giving me just the right amount of information. Enough to let me visualize the setting, but not too much at once to keep me engaged and turning pages. The characters in this book all had very different understandings of the world around them, and their characterization went hand in hand with world-building. Like I was seeing it through their eyes. It was nice to see trans and queer characters just existing in this world with little to no pushback. It was just a part of who these characters were, but not their whole being, and those in this book who didn’t quite understand were so willing to just listen and accept them for who they really were. There was plenty of social commentary that applies to today,y and it gave me lots to think about going forward. I like to switch between fiction and non-fiction, and this book has sparked a big interest in what more I can learn from more native authors going forward. Sometimes, the phrasing and cadence of the dialogue can pull me out of my immersion. Sounding like a term of phrase that I would hear today. Otherwise, the writing style is clear and easy to read. These instances were very few and far between. One other thing that didn’t fully work for me was where the story for this part of the story left us. The overall pace of the book was slow and steady, but as the climax drew near, it really threw us into the thick of it. Almost at a pace that was too fast to clock. I read this book through an audiobook from the library, and there were a couple of instances where things happened so quickly that I wasn’t able to really grasp the situation. It was kind of over before I realized, and it left me wanting more. The book wasn’t incredibly long, so I feel like the author could have given us maybe a hundred or so more pages to really lay out the ending.

The book is an epic, big actions, big people, big consequences. However, in between the moments of vengeance, scheming and bringing a god back to life, there are some moments of joy. Two lost and abandoned people finding a connection with each other, a woman mourning what she left behind as she grew up all written with a deft hand that never gets maudlin or wallowing. Ms Roanhorse's world building is excellent, even without much knowledge of the Ancestal Pueblo Peoples, the reader should be able to picture the world and it's people with no problem. Edit: Upon thinking about the book further, I find that the ending is a bit unsatisfying. For all the build up the final confrontation should have lasted longer than a few paragraphs. The whole moment of confrontation is anti-climatic in it's lack of explosiveness.

This book is very close to perfection. Listen, I love religious cults. Not the modern ones, they lack the drama and creepiness that I crave. I love the ritual of religious cults from Egypt! This book embraces that theme with prophecy and political intrigue (although because of Naranpa, I was less interested in those politics). It’s got really beautiful world building and shows without telling—it’s stunning. Also, the author does a great job not giving everything away. And despite not giving a crap about Naranpa, I’m interested to see if she will become a god and how she will handle being a vessel for what purpose. I loved Serapio in all his naive creepiness. I didn’t LOVE Xiala’s relationships in the end of this book but I loved her and cannot wait to see what comes of her in book 2 & 3. I listened to the audiobook and loved all the voices! Again, Naranpa is annoying as fuck in this book but I’m still interested in seeing what happens to her. I’ve already ordered book 2 and cannot wait to dive in. Read this book if you love creepiness; prophecy and world building.

Truly an epic. This novel introduces a world based on ancient cultures from the Americas. We meet Xiala - a captain with magical abilities and outsized appetites; Naranpa - a daughter sold to the priesthood who becomes high priest and retains a desire for unity; and Serapio - a young man who was blinded and scarred by his mother to become the vessel for a god. Many other characters are memorable, but these three are clearly the focal ones. Each has special skills and desires a new world order, consciously or not. Underlying themes of faith and greed, the corruption of power. I look forward to what happens next.

I had a lot of fun listening to this - but I think this is one that I need to physically read in order to LOVE it. I will be picked it up from the library soon for a reread. I love how different this story is - it was nothing like I have ever read - which is hard to do! The writing is beautiful.

I received an audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review - this does not affect my thoughts or content of review