Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky)
From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Resistance Reborn comes the "engrossing and vibrant" (Tochi Onyebuchi, author of Riot Baby) first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic. A god will return
When the earth and sky converge
Under the black sun In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial even proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man's mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain. Crafted with unforgettable characters, Rebecca Roanhorse has created a "brilliant world that shows the full panoply of human grace and depravity" (Ken Liu, award-winning author of The Grace of Kings). This epic adventure explores the decadence of power amidst the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts in this "absolutely tremendous" (S.A. Chakraborty, nationally bestselling author of The City of Brass) and most original series debut of the decade.
When the earth and sky converge
Under the black sun In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial even proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man's mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain. Crafted with unforgettable characters, Rebecca Roanhorse has created a "brilliant world that shows the full panoply of human grace and depravity" (Ken Liu, award-winning author of The Grace of Kings). This epic adventure explores the decadence of power amidst the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts in this "absolutely tremendous" (S.A. Chakraborty, nationally bestselling author of The City of Brass) and most original series debut of the decade.
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Community Reviews
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
I received an audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review - this does not affect my thoughts or content of review
I love that Black Sun brings fantasy to indigenous cultures and also represents different voices, but I struggled to care about most of the characters. I wasn't particularly concerned when they were in danger and felt like the book, as a whole, was too long. However, the characters all seemed to be unique and while this wasn't necessarily a good fit for me, it was well-written and fresh. I see why it has the loyal following it has.
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