Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse – Review

Published: October 13, 2020

Publisher: Saga Press

Series: Between Earth and Sky #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 454 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

Synopsis:

The 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 event 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.

GUYS! How have I waited so long to read this?? How could I ignore all the amazing reviews? Nonetheless, I’ve now read this and it is quite frankly, one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Black Sun is inspired by the Pre-Columbian cultures of Central and South America – one of the few books I’ve found based in these amazing cultures and people. There’s some magic, though a decent chunk seems linked to the group of people someone descends from. Xiala, for instance, is of the Teek and she has inherited their incredible eyes, an excellent swimming ability, and the ability to calm the sea. Other magic is more of a “low magic” (soothsayers, magical trackers). Yes, some of the book focuses on magic, but it’s mostly an awesome political fantasy.

Our cast of characters are either in the city of Tova or traveling to the city in time for the solstice. Xiala is a ship’s captain who can’t stay off the drink or out of jail. She has been plucked from a cell so that she may sail a very important passenger to the holy city of Tova, but she must do it across a dangerous winter sea. The passenger is Serapio, a blind young man who seems to be able to communicate with crows. He’s been ritually scarred with the marks of the Carrion Crow tribe and has an important role to play during this year’s unique solstice. In the city of Tova we have the Sun Priest(ess), who just wants to bring the four major tribes together and improve the city she loves so much. Unfortunately, the other priests, and the heads of the four major families in the city have other ideas and undermine her and even try to assassinate her.

Following these three characters and learning their histories was a tremendous joy (and also a little sad at times). The storytelling was excellent and totally immerses you in this amazing world and you’ll find that you don’t want to leave. The journey towards an ultimate convergence of characters is one of my favorite things in any book, and Black Sun executed it so well. The tension and the knowing that something that is ultimately terrible for one person and possibly world shattering for another (and so forth) is about to happen kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

If you’re an audio listener, I would highly recommend that format because the narration is great and enhances the already awesome storytelling. I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel after one heck of a cliffhanger ending!!