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flyingryndeer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Physical abuse, Animal death, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use
marleens's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
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
4.5
The world building and the characters in this awesome book took my breath away. The settings were amazing, especially Tova, and described in just the right amount of details. The POVs were all interesting and all very distinct people with different voices and motivations. I loved all the representation in it as well.
The only little negative was with the ‘romance’ part of the storyline, that didn’t really work for me and I would have much preferred just a friendship there. But other than that I loved it and am looking forward to picking up the sequel, because that ending…. Wow.
The only little negative was with the ‘romance’ part of the storyline, that didn’t really work for me and I would have much preferred just a friendship there. But other than that I loved it and am looking forward to picking up the sequel, because that ending…. Wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Suicide
theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
What an absolutely wild ride this book was!
It started out with one of the craziest prologues I've ever read in my life. A little gruesome and definitely gave me the ick right off the bat, but also completely hooked me. The drama! The mystery! The horror! I absolutely had to know what came next.
The cast of characters was all over the place, in the best way possible. If you're looking for a wonderfully diverse cast, you're certainly going to get it with Black Sun. I'm not only speaking of sexuality and race, however. The personalities of these characters were so wide-ranging and totally blew me away. One moment I was positive that I had a favorite character and a least favorite character, then suddenly, my mind was changed entirely! I will say, however, that by the end of the book, I think Xiala and Serapio still take the top spots for favorite characters - for no reason other than the fact that they just fascinated me so much.
This story is filled with such incredible storytelling. There are characters that are convinced they can turn themselves to gods, characters that are fantastical creatures, and characters that can communicate with animals. While the world-building is similar to most adult fantasy novels (a bit slower-paced towards the beginning and picking up during the second half of the book), the characters keep you glued to the pages, dying to know what's going to happen. I wouldn't necessarily say that any of these characters had major growth during this particular book, but the way they were written made you want to see how their story progresses.
I did get slightly confused by the number of POVs and timelines throughout the book, which is the primary reason why this one didn't get a full 5 stars from me. But, if you don't mind new POVs being added halfway through or the timelines switching every other chapter, you'll be just fine! That's 100% a personal thing for me.
Overall, I can't recommend this enough. There are a few pretty gory moments, but nothing that lasts so long as to really bother (and I'm an incredibly sensitive reader). It's certainly unlike any other fantasy I've ever read and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!
It started out with one of the craziest prologues I've ever read in my life. A little gruesome and definitely gave me the ick right off the bat, but also completely hooked me. The drama! The mystery! The horror! I absolutely had to know what came next.
The cast of characters was all over the place, in the best way possible. If you're looking for a wonderfully diverse cast, you're certainly going to get it with Black Sun. I'm not only speaking of sexuality and race, however. The personalities of these characters were so wide-ranging and totally blew me away. One moment I was positive that I had a favorite character and a least favorite character, then suddenly, my mind was changed entirely! I will say, however, that by the end of the book, I think Xiala and Serapio still take the top spots for favorite characters - for no reason other than the fact that they just fascinated me so much.
This story is filled with such incredible storytelling. There are characters that are convinced they can turn themselves to gods, characters that are fantastical creatures, and characters that can communicate with animals. While the world-building is similar to most adult fantasy novels (a bit slower-paced towards the beginning and picking up during the second half of the book), the characters keep you glued to the pages, dying to know what's going to happen. I wouldn't necessarily say that any of these characters had major growth during this particular book, but the way they were written made you want to see how their story progresses.
I did get slightly confused by the number of POVs and timelines throughout the book, which is the primary reason why this one didn't get a full 5 stars from me. But, if you don't mind new POVs being added halfway through or the timelines switching every other chapter, you'll be just fine! That's 100% a personal thing for me.
Overall, I can't recommend this enough. There are a few pretty gory moments, but nothing that lasts so long as to really bother (and I'm an incredibly sensitive reader). It's certainly unlike any other fantasy I've ever read and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Murder, Violence, Physical abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content
geminicorner's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
4.25
I really enjoyed this pre-Colombian take on fantasy which readers so rarely get to see. Instead of European castles we encounter indigenous architecture and ways of living. The writing is excellent, the plot digestible, meaning the story world not too complicated to confuse the readers. The best part about this book is the amount of representation queer people get. From bisexual, queer, and non-binary characters, we are provided with quite a few queer main characters. However, (somewhat of a) I did not expect the Sun Priest to be so naive. Naranpa has supposedly been in the position for 2 decades, however sometimes she exhibits the experience of a freshman in college and it kind of ruins the character for me, even though I was rooting for her the whole time.
That being said, I enjoyed this book tremendously and can only recommend it to any fantasy lover or anyone who wants to try out fantasy.
That being said, I enjoyed this book tremendously and can only recommend it to any fantasy lover or anyone who wants to try out fantasy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Physical abuse
lolajh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
Such a beautiful and interesting book that had each chapter being in a different place of the world in the book and a different point of view for each character, with the point of views being shown being Xiala (a queer woman), Serapio (a blind man) Naranpa (another queer woman) and a few minor chapters from Okoa’s point of view.
Xiala was an amazing character to learn about throughout this book. A pirate captain who had to work hard to gain the respect of her peers due to her being a female captain as well as a Teek, which is a female-only race in this world. She is targeted by racism, sexism and homophobia and is very confident and accepting of all her identities. There are minor flings and attraction between her and women throughout the book, and the highlighted romance being between her and a man. Seeing a heterosexual relationship with queer characters was really interesting because of how different love is experienced compared to typical heterosexual relationships. Xiala is also so strong independent from her love interest with her own goals and ideals. Her character arc was wonderful and relatable. Loved it
Serapio’s chapters were of great interest because of how the author describes his perception of the world being blind. This is done so well that when the chapter ends and switches to a different character I am still experiencing Serapio’s blindness and get confused on why appearances of things are being described because of how immersed and realistic his blindness is conveyed. Serapio’s disability also does not in any way weaken him; he is a strong physical fighter often underestimated by his opponents and him being able to see again is never a goal of his - it’s just accepted which was lovely to see.
Then Naranpa, my beautiful underrated queer ball of sunshine. In many reviews she is described as naive, which she can come across as at some points, but I just think she is a person trying to see the best in everyone and just has a lot of bad things happen to her. I love her very much. Naranpa’s chapters were also interesting because of her assassin ex-lover Iktan who is nonbinary and goes by xe/xir pronouns that are never disrespected by the characters except forat the end where Okoa describes xir as a woman which I personally think took away a lot of xir character and I can’t really understand why the author decided to put that in Iktan is my absolute favourite character of this book. Xir character was so interesting because of how badass and talented and feared xe is and if ONLY we got an Iktan pov so I could know how xe thinks and seeing xir having a character arc with different ideals that aren’t just what Naranpa thinks xe is thinking. There were also several more nonbinary and trans characters in this book going by they/them or xe/xir. One of these characters, Powageh, explained xir identity as being a “third gender” which wasn’t my favourite wording of it as it puts a binary onto something that is literally not binary. Something like “neither man nor woman” would have been better phrasing, but gender can feel different for everyone and if “third gender” feels like the right wording for xir then to each their own. Anyway, still loved this book and the diversity of the poc and queer characters all in a fantasy and science fiction world.
Xiala was an amazing character to learn about throughout this book. A pirate captain who had to work hard to gain the respect of her peers due to her being a female captain as well as a Teek, which is a female-only race in this world. She is targeted by racism, sexism and homophobia and is very confident and accepting of all her identities. There are minor flings and attraction between her and women throughout the book, and the highlighted romance being between her and a man. Seeing a heterosexual relationship with queer characters was really interesting because of how different love is experienced compared to typical heterosexual relationships. Xiala is also so strong independent from her love interest with her own goals and ideals. Her character arc was wonderful and relatable. Loved it
Serapio’s chapters were of great interest because of how the author describes his perception of the world being blind. This is done so well that when the chapter ends and switches to a different character I am still experiencing Serapio’s blindness and get confused on why appearances of things are being described because of how immersed and realistic his blindness is conveyed. Serapio’s disability also does not in any way weaken him; he is a strong physical fighter often underestimated by his opponents and him being able to see again is never a goal of his - it’s just accepted which was lovely to see.
Then Naranpa, my beautiful underrated queer ball of sunshine. In many reviews she is described as naive, which she can come across as at some points, but I just think she is a person trying to see the best in everyone and just has a lot of bad things happen to her. I love her very much. Naranpa’s chapters were also interesting because of her assassin ex-lover Iktan who is nonbinary and goes by xe/xir pronouns that are never disrespected by the characters except for
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Violence, and War
Moderate: Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Transphobia
micklesreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Excellent fantasy inspired by the indigenous Columbian cultures of the Americas. It took me little while to get into, mainly due to the brutality of the opening scene, which I'll describe
below as a spoiler. I'm glad I pushed through though; this was great fantasy with wonderful character development and world-building, and it's queer to boot.
Bird nerds will love the depiction of crows, and the author was faithful to science regarding their grieving and memories.
The first scene begins with Serapio, a twelve year old boy, being ritually tortured and mutilated by his mother, who then completes suicide. It's detailed and graphic.
below as a spoiler. I'm glad I pushed through though; this was great fantasy with wonderful character development and world-building, and it's queer to boot.
Bird nerds will love the depiction of crows, and the author was faithful to science regarding their grieving and memories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Suicide, Torture, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Death
readinggem's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, Violence, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Physical abuse
ginny_lind's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Violence, and Death
readundancies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.25
I am slowly coming around to the idea that some books just take more time to finish than initially anticipated, and a lot of those books are epic fantasy novels.
Who’d a thunk it?
The characters are the real treat of this story. I enjoyed Serapio’s storyline and learning how he grows from boy to vessel, and am more intrigued to see where his story goes in the sequel. But I lived and died by Xiala. Rebecca Roanhorse has this incredible ability to write fierce and resolute female characters and Xiala is no exception. She’s incredibly strong-willed and readily adaptable to change and I love her Teek magic. It’s very mermaid-siren vibes and despite the fishtails I was down for that. (It’s here where I should note that outside of The Little Mermaid nostalgia I carry with me, mermaids are not really my thing. I love sea-faring adventures and nautical tales, but mermaids, not so much.) And while Okoa didn’t really have a major role other than to help set up the political climate of Tova and the history and worldbuilding, it’s clear that he is going to have a larger role in the sequels which I’m eager for because his contentious relationship with his sister brews drama that I am here for.
And even Naranpa, who started off as my least favourite character, ended up turning things around by the end and growing on me. At first I just could not get behind her attitude at the beginning. The entitlement that comes with her role as Sun Priest just dripped off of her and it was not a good look. It had gotten to the point where I was actively disappointed when two successive chapters were from her POV because her internal monologue was so grating. It wasn’t just that she was unlikeable, it was that her naïveté led to frequent bouts of general floundering and her far too easy to rile up personality was making me really apathetic towards her whole situation. But once she fell back onto her roots and away from the political games that she was frankly not great at keeping levelheaded towards, she became not only tolerable but worth rooting for. I can’t wait to see where her story leads in the sequel.
When it comes to world building, I didn’t think it was as stellar as the characterization, but it’s something that can easily be addressed and improved upon in the sequels. Because I want to know everything about the Teek. Everything. There was not nearly enough information and backstory provided to readers about them and I desperately need more. Even the Obregi and the House of Seven and merchant lords - Balam specifically has a backstory that I am itching to sink my brain into - the culture is there and I feel it in the pages of the book but I haven’t gotten to explore it yet and I need. I crave. I desire muchly.
The plot was also a highlight. It was a little jarring at first navigating the time changes between the character perspectives, but it functioned really well to connect everyone and reveal important plot points and backstory in a smooth manner. The build up of suspense towards The Convergence kept the pace chugging along at a nice speed and I never felt things were happening too slowly or too quickly. There was a seafaring adventure, political machinations (where the fall of Abah was swift but vindicating) and a soft magic system that has a lot of potential and I ate it all up like it was my favourite food and I was starving.
Special shout out to Michelle Marchese for the interior design of the hardcover because maps. I adore them.
And the dust jacket? Stunning. Simply stunning.
One more amazing read from Rebecca Roanhorse and I’ll become a fully-fledged believer, anointing her to Favourite Author status. I eagerly anticipate this happening in the sequel and the second novel in her Sixth World series which I need to crack open since it’s been sitting all neglected on my shelves for a while.
Who’d a thunk it?
The characters are the real treat of this story. I enjoyed Serapio’s storyline and learning how he grows from boy to vessel, and am more intrigued to see where his story goes in the sequel. But I lived and died by Xiala. Rebecca Roanhorse has this incredible ability to write fierce and resolute female characters and Xiala is no exception. She’s incredibly strong-willed and readily adaptable to change and I love her Teek magic. It’s very mermaid-siren vibes and despite the fishtails I was down for that. (It’s here where I should note that outside of The Little Mermaid nostalgia I carry with me, mermaids are not really my thing. I love sea-faring adventures and nautical tales, but mermaids, not so much.) And while Okoa didn’t really have a major role other than to help set up the political climate of Tova and the history and worldbuilding, it’s clear that he is going to have a larger role in the sequels which I’m eager for because his contentious relationship with his sister brews drama that I am here for.
And even Naranpa, who started off as my least favourite character, ended up turning things around by the end and growing on me. At first I just could not get behind her attitude at the beginning. The entitlement that comes with her role as Sun Priest just dripped off of her and it was not a good look. It had gotten to the point where I was actively disappointed when two successive chapters were from her POV because her internal monologue was so grating. It wasn’t just that she was unlikeable, it was that her naïveté led to frequent bouts of general floundering and her far too easy to rile up personality was making me really apathetic towards her whole situation. But once she fell back onto her roots and away from the political games that she was frankly not great at keeping levelheaded towards, she became not only tolerable but worth rooting for. I can’t wait to see where her story leads in the sequel.
When it comes to world building, I didn’t think it was as stellar as the characterization, but it’s something that can easily be addressed and improved upon in the sequels. Because I want to know everything about the Teek. Everything. There was not nearly enough information and backstory provided to readers about them and I desperately need more. Even the Obregi and the House of Seven and merchant lords - Balam specifically has a backstory that I am itching to sink my brain into - the culture is there and I feel it in the pages of the book but I haven’t gotten to explore it yet and I need. I crave. I desire muchly.
The plot was also a highlight. It was a little jarring at first navigating the time changes between the character perspectives, but it functioned really well to connect everyone and reveal important plot points and backstory in a smooth manner. The build up of suspense towards The Convergence kept the pace chugging along at a nice speed and I never felt things were happening too slowly or too quickly. There was a seafaring adventure, political machinations (where the fall of Abah was swift but vindicating) and a soft magic system that has a lot of potential and I ate it all up like it was my favourite food and I was starving.
Special shout out to Michelle Marchese for the interior design of the hardcover because maps. I adore them.
And the dust jacket? Stunning. Simply stunning.
One more amazing read from Rebecca Roanhorse and I’ll become a fully-fledged believer, anointing her to Favourite Author status. I eagerly anticipate this happening in the sequel and the second novel in her Sixth World series which I need to crack open since it’s been sitting all neglected on my shelves for a while.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Child abuse, Blood, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Suicide
heidipolkissa82's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Blood, Gore, Physical abuse, and War