Reviews with content warning for Religious bigotry - Black Sun

Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

35 reviews

podanotherjessi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-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

5.0

Uhm, wow. That's it. That's the only thought in my head.

Okay, let's try to be a professional reviewer. Honestly, my only complaint for my personal taste is that the ending doesn't really resolve anything and leave open, in my opinion, far too much. This would be less of an issue if I could go straight onto the next book, obviously, but since I'll be waiting, it's more frustrating than enticing.
Beyond that, this is definitely dark, and that won't work for everyone. It never felt excessive or voyaristic; on the contrary, every harsh detail felt incredibly intentional. Even so, this means this won't be a book for everyone. Definitely look at the trigger warnings.
The characters in this were fantastic. I would die for Serapio in a heart beat, and the rest wouldn't take much more time to decide. They are complex and complicated and lovable yet hard to like. I was rooting for each of them to succeed all the while knowing it was impossible.

And... I think that's the most I can say about it coherently. This is a fantastic book, and I recommend it for anyone that can handle the darker parts.

Characters: 10
Plot: 10
Setting: 10
General appeal: 10
Writing style: 9
Originality: 10
Ending: 6

Content Warnings

ehmannky's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

I found the first half of the book to be kind of a slow start as all of the world building is put into place and you get acquainted to the many different point of view characters and their situations (this is not a criticism of either, it just takes time to do this), but once you hit that halfway mark it just zooms right along. I couldn't put it down. The political intrigue, the wild religious stuff and the cult magic, the wonderful relationship between Serapio and Xiala, and everything that Naranpa was up to was just so much fun to read. I feel like the tragedy of being the subject of prophecy and the person everyone puts their hopes on to save (or break) the world was just so up front and center, and I can't wait to read the next installment.

Among the many things that I appreciated about this book, beyond it just being a really good epic fantasy, is that the world is so effortlessly queer.

It was just as good the second time around! I still didn't care about the Okoa chapters that much, but overall this is such a good series.

Content Warnings