Reviews

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

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honnari_hannya's review against another edition

5.0

More a 4-4.5 for me but we are bumping it up cause Serapio hot.

This was an INCREDIBLY fun time and broke me out of a reading slump, so kudos to Roanhorse for that. Will definitely be picking up the rest of this series when it comes out. For fans of THE POPPY WAR by R.F. Kuang, BONE SHARD DAUGHTER by Andrea Stewart, PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE by Samantha Shannon, and probably RAGE OF DRAGONS by Evan Winter—basically fantasy books that are very voicey and page-turning.

BLACK SUN is a fast, intense fantasy centered around three main characters: the first is Serapio, a young man with a large destiny resting on his shoulders, born for a purpose that slowly gets revealed through the course of the novel. Second is the Sky Priest Naranpa, a lowborn Dry Earther who rose, against expectations, to the highest position of the Sky Made priesthood and made plenty of enemies because of it. And third is Xiala, a sailor and a Teek, a mysterious magical culture that many consider more story than reality, who finds herself ferrying Serapio to Tova to meet his fate.

Loved the worldbuilding in this novel. I am always looking for more high fantasy that is not centered around European history/customs/culture, and this hit the mark on that. Roanhorse created a vivid world with a rich cultural history, and I loved learning more about the various different clans in Tova and how each of them jockeyed for power against one another. The Crows, of course, were my favorite and I loved all the chapters where we got to see more of their inner lives. Do wish we got more of the cultists but that will probably be explored in the next book, as BLACK SUN was primarily an introduction to the world and a way to get Serapio where he needed to be. Basically a road trip book, but I was never bored throughout.

Speaking of next books, Roanhorse set herself up for a really good series. The ending of this book was satisfying, but it also opened up a lot of questions about other aspects of the world, and left room for the map to open up for other intrigues and consequences of the Convergence.

Thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for a copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

emilyrw's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

melinda_and_her_books's review against another edition

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4.0

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review and I also received the audiobook from the Libro FM ALC program. Thank you Netgalley, Libro FM and the publisher for my gifted copy. I really enjoyed this book. I tend to enjoy the books that have pirates and are set on the sea. It seems like a good start to a new series and I can't wait to read the rest.

charlieesker's review against another edition

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Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

oakparkveggie's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition

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4.0

I believe in Xiala and Serapio supremacy, those two and their yearning carried this book. This book is so addictive and easy to read other two pov weren't interesting but ok. I can't stress this enough read this series and I need book two ASAP.