Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

145 reviews

discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

This was utterly phenomenal, holy cow. Gripping from beginning to end, and I cared so deeply for each of the characters. Serapio and Xiala’s story arc especially just ripped at my heart. I cannot wait to find out what happens in the second book, even if I am moderately terrified it’s going to be painful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Drug use, Murder, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Gore, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Moderate: Classism and Racism

Minor: Trafficking, Sexual content, Suicide, Sexual violence, and Slavery

rlgreen91's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? N/A

5.0

This was an unexpected delight!  I had an inkling I would enjoy the book - that's how it ended up on my TBR, after all, but I didn't realize I would enjoy it quite that much.  

Like a lot of people, I enjoyed the worldbuilding quite a bit.  It was fascinating to see how the author blended elements of different Mesoamerican cultures, such as patol (a real game!), turquoise and jade jewelry and decor, and cacao as a drink and currency.  It's a nice breath of fresh air as the setting for a fantasy series without requiring us to go off-planet.

I also enjoyed the depiction of how each of our main characters felt estranged from their community and to a larger extent from the people around them.  Through them, I feel like we've laid the groundwork to explore how different scenarios can affect that sense of estrangement, from connecting to others that also feel alone to reconnecting with family members. I'm interested to see how this plays out in the next book given how we're leaving off in this book.

Overall I really enjoyed this!  I'm sure I'll pick up the next book before the end of the year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Body horror, Gore, and Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Alcohol, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicide

tinysierra's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

“Today he would become a god. His mother had told him so.” pg 1

An amazing epic fantasy with intriguing diverse characters. Wow. Also… mermaids! Giant crows!

There was a mix of character driven and plot driven moments. I felt like there was a lot of slow/medium paced moments where there was more focus on character development/interactions but it did pick up in some places with more plot related aspects. It kept my attention either way. 

The timeline hopped around a bit, jumping back into the past and then forward into the present. Slowly putting the pieces together. The chapters had the date along with experts from in world media (like journal entries), which really added to my immersion.

I liked Xiala and Serapio’s chapters the most. It was nice to see the story through a blind characters perspective. I hope to see more about Xiala’s powers in the next book.

In this book, queer characters are accepted in some of the societies but not others. There are characters that use neopronouns (xe/xir)! Xiala mentions that she takes pleasure with “men, women, and other genders” which I assume means that she’s bi or pan. 

The ending was fast and admittedly a little anticlimactic but I don’t find myself feeling disappointed. I’m curious about where the story is going.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Colonisation, Death, Physical abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Classism, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia, War, Biphobia, Drug use, Confinement, Suicide, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Abandonment, Sexual content, Animal death, Vomit, and Infidelity

catsy2022's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Animal death, Confinement, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Xenophobia

Minor: Suicide, Sexual content, and Death of parent

wellreadandhalfdead's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

I was absolutely floored by this book. It is a stunning work of fantasy, nuanced but still pulsing with action and intrigue. It is based on pre-colonial Mesoamerican culture, which was such a breath of fresh air. I was so captured by the characters and the intricacies that tied them all together. It built steadily to a climax that had me instantly craving the next book. If all of the books in the series are as good as this first one, then I've found my new favorite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Self harm

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Pedophilia

mmccombs's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

4.5

Wait, why isn’t this book already a movie??? This story really has it all and was just so fun to read. Really cool imagery, interesting characters, fully fleshed out culture and world building, just fantasy at its finest. I want to read all sorts of books in this world (especially about Teeks, I want to know everything!) and I can’t wait to get to the rest of the series. Whole heartedly recommend if you love fantasy or even just interesting political intrigue or you really love crows.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Animal death

sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is one of the first books that I've read that had multiple points of view and I had to read this a little slower than I normally read books. 

I want to like aspects of the blind representation but upon a closer look the blind main character kind of falls into the "magical disabled persons" trope and I don't like that very much. 

"Typically, the disabled characters are limited to four types: the “magical cripple,” the “evil cripple,” the “inspirational cripple” and the “redemptive cripple.” Magical cripples transcend the limitations of the human body and are almost divinelike. They make magical things happen for able-bodied characters."

- PBS.org

I really liked Xiala, I like how relatable Serapio was, the queerness, and the addition or introduction of a third gender. 

This was a really good read and I can't wait to dig into the next book in the series. 

I'm giving this 4.5 stars out of 5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, Confinement, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Violence

nerdysread's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

5.0

WoW. When I started this book I didn’t know I would love it so much. It’s slow paced but you still can’t put it down. The characters are great, the political intrigues too. 
Maybe the romance could not have been there. But it’s not a big deal, it’s still good 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Child abuse, Blood, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Suicide

Minor: Genocide and Grief

sealegs's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

nytephoenyx's review against another edition

emotional 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

5.0

This was an absolutely fabulous fantasy story. I love the interwoven Native American elements as well - they add a level to the tale that makes it feel somehow more unique and more genuine. It’s gory and intense at times, but gripping. Can’t wait to read the second book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Violence, Alcohol, Body horror, Child abuse, and Death

Author is Navajo, and all characters are coded-indigenous.