Black Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse

Black Sun

By Rebecca Roanhorse

  • Release Date: 2020-10-13
  • Genre: Epic Fantasy
Score: 4
4
From 338 Ratings

Description

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.

Reviews

  • Acclaimed First Novel in the Between Earth and Sky Series

    4
    By Prairie_Dog
    “Black Sun” is a decidedly different alternative world fantasy novel by Rebecca Roanhorse. It was nominated for most of the major awards, and won a couple of them. It’s a complex novel, and is the first in a series known as Between Earth and Sky. This novel is different in that it has a very different setting, it’s roughly based on pre-Columbian American civilizations. There is limited magic, and a few forms of giant sentient animals. The religious systems are also novel and different. This is pretty refreshing, as so many fantasy novels seem to be based on European history. There are four point of view characters: Serapio, Xiala, Okoa, and Naranpa. The history of the world is revealed in a series of flashbacks. Everything in this novel is focused on “Convergence” which is a solar eclipse in the Year 325 of the Sun, which has great import to the characters and indeed to their civilization. I was about 70% of the way through this book before I was really sure how I felt about it. For me, this was partly due to the unfamiliar setting, and partly due to the point of view characters, who I didn’t know how I felt about. However, it fell in place for me at that point, and I found it a memorable and interesting story. The recently released second book in the Between Earth and Sky Series is called “Fevered Star” and I had to add it to my want to read list.
  • Amazing setting and world creation

    5
    By Playin hard to get them coins
    This book was amazing! I loved the world and it’s backdrops!
  • Great World-Building, characters need some work

    3
    By Disk5566
    The world building in the book is great and the nuances feel fresh. The overall plot for this book is enjoyable and engaging. There are moments where some of the incidents feels a bit forced but not badly enough to ruin the immersion. My biggest problem is that there are 4 character POVs and only one of them really seems to have any initiative. That being said, the characters are interesting they just don’t seem to have any agency. Overall I am looking forward to the next book with high hopes.
  • A Great Book Set In A Great World

    5
    By Lazersmat
    This was a great read set in a fascinating world. A brilliant mix of modern and traditional influences in a riveting story of revenge. This book delivered page after page. Highly recommend.

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