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ivereads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I am impressed with this book as much as the first, I can't begin to imagine the difficulties of writing this, of writing anything during Covid. I commend Rebecca Roanhorse and her team for striving forward through it and creating an excellent sequel. So excited for the third, almost so excited I wish I waited until June, with its expected release date. I am insanely impressed with the character development in Naranpa particularly. I didn't find much out of her in the first book, other than being an intergal part of the story. But she was really cracked open this time around. I was in love with her magic turn around and Nara seeing herself in a new perspective really made her open up. This was just an observation based on my experience with being autistic, but she really feels neurodivergent. And it became even more evident in the end when she is faced with the grief of her brother and a fight with Serapio. Her empathy matches with mine and of course it's easy to fall in love witha character like you, but It's always refreshing to recognize an author might be thinking of a certain group when creating a character. I was also impressed with Iktan and xer part in this book. I loved being able to see how xe thought, and why xe made the actions xe did. I felt like we didn't get a very strong why as to xer actions in Black Sun, and Fevered Star expanded upon it excellently. I love this series and I'm excited for the last book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Self harm, and Murder
Moderate: Sexism and War
booksthatburn's review
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
FEVERED STAR picks up where BLACK SUN left off, handling multiple perspectives in an excellently crafted way that was easy to follow. Now that Serapio is the embodiment of the Crow God, separated from Xiala, Serapio is dealing with the sudden change from being an isolated person to a religious figurehead, having lost everything that grounded him even as he gains immense power. Xiala is trying to rejoin Serapio, but gets caught up with a charismatic ex-priest, who has xer own agenda. Naranpa is an avatar without a temple, trying to connect to the brother she left behind years ago and figure out whether there's a life where she can fit. The worldbuilding focuses on different areas than what was established in BLACK SUN. No longer insular, many factions have moved in order to take advantage of alliances, and set up for the conflict that seems inevitable.
FEVERED STAR is lull between storms, the midgame when all the players trade promises and pledge loyalties. The Sky Made has several factions, but most of the perspective characters are on the outside in some way, removed from the major factions by training, distance, or a estrangement. This is one of the best examples I’ve read in a while of intricate but understandable politics in fiction, with many factions who all have slightly different goals and motivations. It also does an excellent job of allowing people within the factions to disagree, each having their own motivations. I love political wrangling and intricacy in fantasy and so I enjoyed this middle book of a trilogy where everyone’s trying to reposition after the gods are returned to the world. It could be said that either every character has a new storyline, or no character has a new story of their own that wasn’t present to the previous book. Everyone in their own way of dealing with what happened on the day of Black Sun, it represents such a monumental shift that even ignoring it would have to be a deliberate choice (albeit it one that I cannot recall any characters making). Several people’s access to power has changed either in a political or magical sense, and some minor characters from BLACK SUN gain new importance as they hatch their own schemes, taking advantage of the shifts caused by the eclipse.
This would mostly makes sense to someone who read the first book a while ago, but if they tried to start here without having read BLACK SUN at all, it would likely be confusing for a while. It's a well-told story, but one which fundamentally is concerned with moving things in place for whatever is to come in the third book. Part of how it maintains that balance is that many of the characters have a sense of this as a lull between conflicts, whether literal or metaphorical. Almost everyone is making moves to position themselves better for what is to come, or to control what the next change might end up being.
This is an excellent continuation of the series, and I'm excited to read how it all turns out.
FEVERED STAR is lull between storms, the midgame when all the players trade promises and pledge loyalties. The Sky Made has several factions, but most of the perspective characters are on the outside in some way, removed from the major factions by training, distance, or a estrangement. This is one of the best examples I’ve read in a while of intricate but understandable politics in fiction, with many factions who all have slightly different goals and motivations. It also does an excellent job of allowing people within the factions to disagree, each having their own motivations. I love political wrangling and intricacy in fantasy and so I enjoyed this middle book of a trilogy where everyone’s trying to reposition after the gods are returned to the world. It could be said that either every character has a new storyline, or no character has a new story of their own that wasn’t present to the previous book. Everyone in their own way of dealing with what happened on the day of Black Sun, it represents such a monumental shift that even ignoring it would have to be a deliberate choice (albeit it one that I cannot recall any characters making). Several people’s access to power has changed either in a political or magical sense, and some minor characters from BLACK SUN gain new importance as they hatch their own schemes, taking advantage of the shifts caused by the eclipse.
This would mostly makes sense to someone who read the first book a while ago, but if they tried to start here without having read BLACK SUN at all, it would likely be confusing for a while. It's a well-told story, but one which fundamentally is concerned with moving things in place for whatever is to come in the third book. Part of how it maintains that balance is that many of the characters have a sense of this as a lull between conflicts, whether literal or metaphorical. Almost everyone is making moves to position themselves better for what is to come, or to control what the next change might end up being.
This is an excellent continuation of the series, and I'm excited to read how it all turns out.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicide, Racism, Alcoholism, Violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Murder, Death, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Animal death, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Sexism, and Ableism
jht5791's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Blood, War, Animal death, Torture, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Physical abuse, Grief, Alcohol, Murder, Gore, and Fire/Fire injury
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, Death, Alcohol, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Confinement, War, Xenophobia, Animal death, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content, Sexism, and Religious bigotry
azrah786's review
4.5
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I was gifted a copy of the book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, gore, injury, self harm, body horror, suicide, murder, death, animal death, torture, alcohol, war, physical abuse, sexual assault, grief, confinement, misogyny/sexism
--
Now I know from having read Roanhorse’s Storm of Locusts that she can write a damn good sequel but this has gone and topped it for me, IT IS SO GOOD!
Fevered Star picks up immediately after the events from the end of Black Sun and again Roanhorse is masterful with pace, keeping the tensions post those events simmering and also slowly building on them as more of the story unfolds.
We have a new point of view from Balam introduced along with the original 4 to expand the story and world further and boy does it expand. One thing I personally love with sequel books of multi pov stories is when the various characters, both protagonist and supporting, start to cross paths and this book was full of a mix of satisfying, shocking and highly entertaining interactions.My favourite of course being the unlikely alliance that occurred between a certain sea captain and assassin.
Middle books in a trilogy a lot of the time have that feel of setting up the finale and while this one is definitely setting everything up for the final instalment the various storylines never feel like they are there to just fill up space. They each have the feel of individual pieces on a gameboard meticulously being moved around, keeping you captivated to see what alliance shift will occur next, what unanswered question from the first book will finally come to the surface.
Not only do the political machinations keep you hooked but as mentioned before each perspective brings with it a chance to discover more about the Meridian, its cultures and its history and honestly this Pre-Columbian America’s inspired world just gets more and more intriguing the more you see of it, learn of it.
The same goes for the protagonists, we get a deeper dive into their backstories and their emotions and truly the character developments across the board are just phenomenal.
I shall now impatiently wait to see what Roanhorse has planned next for these characters and the conclusion of this fantastic series.
Final Rating – 4.5/5 Stars
**I was gifted a copy of the book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, gore, injury, self harm, body horror, suicide, murder, death, animal death, torture, alcohol, war, physical abuse, sexual assault, grief, confinement, misogyny/sexism
--
Now I know from having read Roanhorse’s Storm of Locusts that she can write a damn good sequel but this has gone and topped it for me, IT IS SO GOOD!
Fevered Star picks up immediately after the events from the end of Black Sun and again Roanhorse is masterful with pace, keeping the tensions post those events simmering and also slowly building on them as more of the story unfolds.
We have a new point of view from Balam introduced along with the original 4 to expand the story and world further and boy does it expand. One thing I personally love with sequel books of multi pov stories is when the various characters, both protagonist and supporting, start to cross paths and this book was full of a mix of satisfying, shocking and highly entertaining interactions.
Middle books in a trilogy a lot of the time have that feel of setting up the finale and while this one is definitely setting everything up for the final instalment the various storylines never feel like they are there to just fill up space. They each have the feel of individual pieces on a gameboard meticulously being moved around, keeping you captivated to see what alliance shift will occur next, what unanswered question from the first book will finally come to the surface.
Not only do the political machinations keep you hooked but as mentioned before each perspective brings with it a chance to discover more about the Meridian, its cultures and its history and honestly this Pre-Columbian America’s inspired world just gets more and more intriguing the more you see of it, learn of it.
The same goes for the protagonists, we get a deeper dive into their backstories and their emotions and truly the character developments across the board are just phenomenal.
I shall now impatiently wait to see what Roanhorse has planned next for these characters and the conclusion of this fantastic series.
Final Rating – 4.5/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
purplepenning's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Self harm
Moderate: Sexism, Classism, Grief, Animal death, Torture, Alcohol, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
aardwyrm's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The worldbuilding and magic really make this series. Everything is just unabashedly cool. Giant birds, scary people who can turn into murders of crows, spooky dream powers. Some of the characters are more engaging than others (Naranpa is somehow more of a drip than ever) and there's a touch of second book slump, but the good is worth coming back for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, Sexism, Abandonment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Animal death, Murder, Addiction, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and War
thereadingskeleton's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to B2Weird Book Club and Saga Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.
Rep: Indigenous/Native-coded cast, blind MC, bi MC, queer MC, nonbinary SC (non-POV but important character), other queer characters
When I read Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse last year, it was an instant favorite. So many great characters. So much rich, vibrant description. So many twists and turns. Not to mention queer as hell. It was simply phenomenal.
I’m happy to report that the sequel, Fevered Star, is also phenomenal! I know that many people disliked Naranpa in the first book, and although I didn’t, I understand their reasoning. That being said, this is Nara’s book. She is the star, and she absolutely shines. In this book, Nara gets the chance to grow in a way she didn’t in Black Sun. Her chapters were my favorites, and I’m extremely interested to see where she goes from here.
On the flipside, I feel like Xiala—who was my favorite character in Black Sun—really let me down in this sequel. Her growth completely stagnates, and all she does is mope about not being with Serapio. Yes, she’s dealing with grief and trauma over the ending events of Black Sun, but her behavior was so frustrating to me.
I think part of the issue with Xiala’s arc is that this is, for better or worse, a middle book, and it has the hallmarks of one. There’s a lot of setting up for the final book in the trilogy, and that occurs to the detriment of some of the characters.
Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel and will be snatching up the next one as soon as it’s released. I especially recommend the audiobook (narrated by Christian Barillas, Darrell Dennis, Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, and Shaun Taylor-Corbett)!
Rep: Indigenous/Native-coded cast, blind MC, bi MC, queer MC, nonbinary SC (non-POV but important character), other queer characters
When I read Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse last year, it was an instant favorite. So many great characters. So much rich, vibrant description. So many twists and turns. Not to mention queer as hell. It was simply phenomenal.
I’m happy to report that the sequel, Fevered Star, is also phenomenal! I know that many people disliked Naranpa in the first book, and although I didn’t, I understand their reasoning. That being said, this is Nara’s book. She is the star, and she absolutely shines. In this book, Nara gets the chance to grow in a way she didn’t in Black Sun. Her chapters were my favorites, and I’m extremely interested to see where she goes from here.
On the flipside, I feel like Xiala—who was my favorite character in Black Sun—really let me down in this sequel. Her growth completely stagnates, and all she does is mope about not being with Serapio. Yes, she’s dealing with grief and trauma over the ending events of Black Sun, but her behavior was so frustrating to me.
I think part of the issue with Xiala’s arc is that this is, for better or worse, a middle book, and it has the hallmarks of one. There’s a lot of setting up for the final book in the trilogy, and that occurs to the detriment of some of the characters.
Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel and will be snatching up the next one as soon as it’s released. I especially recommend the audiobook (narrated by Christian Barillas, Darrell Dennis, Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, and Shaun Taylor-Corbett)!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, Torture, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Animal death and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
ofbooksandechos's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Gore and Sexism
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