You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
nicnevin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I found the book very interesting but some bits more interesting than others. Xiala and Serapio were my favourites tbh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Confinement, Death, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Violence, and Xenophobia
midnightgremlin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Murder, Death, Blood, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, and Suicide
Minor: Slavery
jennamcclendon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.5
*** SPOILERS AHEAD ***
I can totally understand how this book won all of the awards that it did. The way this was crafted and the attention to detail and all of the little bits of representation were so amazing, and there was never a time when I found myself wondering why the hype was so high. I totally understood it. This was a PHENOMENAL read.
First, I want to mention the worldbuilding. I read something (it may have been in the acknowledgments of the book) where the author mentions how there are always books based on like old Victorian England and other European eras of history, but there aren’t a lot of things taking place in the Americas, and least of all the pre-Columbian Americas. There is so much rich history and innovation and culture between all of the ancient civilizations, and there were so many little details scattered throughout the book. The clothing was the biggest thing that I liked, especially since I visualize so much when I read, but I also loved all of the touches with the navigation on the boat and the importance of religion and the gods in society. I had never read a book quite like this, but I LOVED it.
In addition to the cultural influences, the general worldbuilding was also amazing. The Sky Made clans were each so unique, and I can safely say that Carrion Crow is my favorite. (Cue the Buzzfeed Unsolved audio: “I’m here for the cult stuff!” LOL). The priesthood was also so vivid, and even though I didn’t like the priests (except for Iktan, tbh), the people’s reliance on the star charts and divination like that is SO COOL to me. I also want to know so much more about Xiala’s Teek culture. I mean, come on. SIRENS? I NEED TO KNOW MORE. She was definitely one of the most interesting characters! I feel like all of the stuff with Serapio and his connection with the crow god and all of the other gods and their followings will be explained more in the second book, and I hope it is because I LOVE learning about the religious groups in books.
Now. I’m going to rant about my favorite character. Serapio. Serapio, Serapio, Serapio. I love him SO MUCH. He was BY FAR my favorite. Even from the first chapter with him going through his ritual to become the Odo Sedoh I was hooked on him. That chapter immediately established a connection in me to him because I kept waiting for his point of view to come back. All of the times where we got to hear about his past and his tutors were heartbreaking, except for Powageh who was actually pretty chill. He had such a terrible childhood, but I know that knowing his destiny and what he was meant to do with Odo Sedoh and his crow friends made it slightly better for him and gave him a reason to keep going. And then after he met Xiala, he had another reason: her. From the moment they first *met* they were drawn to each other, and their relationship developing on their journey together was so sweet to read even though it couldn’t have ended well. (Although their little scenes on the boat and in the bathhouse and with the honey… OMG. Anyway.) And I love how he was a strong, powerful, incredible warrior and person and how he was able to work with being blind and even using it to his advantage with the crows and stuff. And he was such an interesting character as well because of his relationship with good/evil and how he perceived himself and his destiny and how it affected other people, Xiala included. Long story short, I am so scared for Serapio now and he needs to be okay because I love him.
Not only was the insane research the author did on pre-Columbian culture extremely evident, but the representation was also SO WELL DONE (in my opinion). There was so much thought put into Serapio’s blindness and how it impacted his character and his abilities and seeing a character like him was so nice. I also admire how Xiala’s sexuality was done. She wasn’t ashamed of it at all, even though she knew others discriminated against her for it (since she was in jail for flirting with a woman in the beginning), but that also didn’t stop her from flirting with Aishe on the ship and making jokes with her crew (before they all betrayed her and tried to kill her and before Serapio murdered them lol). Not only that, but I also really love how gender was presented here. Iktan and Powageh (I think both of them, definitely Powageh) were both non-binary (a third gender in their culture) with xe/xir pronouns (WHICH YOU DON’T SEE MUCH OF IN LITERATURE AND I AM ALWAYS SO GLAD TO SEE NEOPRONOUNS), and Maaka’s wife from the cult was a trans woman! I believe this also ties into the culture of the pre-Columbian civilizations, and I am so glad to see it now. I’m always a sucker for good representation. :)
The only reason that this is only a 4.5- and not a 5-star book is because I didn’t really like Naranpa. As a character, I think her arc is very well done with her losing her position as Sun Priest and all and having to go through those assassination attempts and all of the drama with Abah and Ekhe trying to overthrow her, but I just found her POVs boring. I kept skimming through them because there wasn’t a lot of action (with exceptions, of course), unlike how there was always something happening with Xiala and Serapio. I kept wanting to go back to them and be done with her parts. I’m still impartial on Okoa for now, although after the ending with him finding Serapio after *that* whole thing happened, I think he’ll play a much bigger role in the second book, along with Naranpa as well hopefully after her little ritual too. I have hopes for them, but I don’t think the first book did them justice. :/
Overall, this was a fantastic book. The worldbuilding and representation were so vivid and the characters were so lovable and interesting and have a lot of potential for book two. That cliffhanger at the end was BRUTAL. I’M SO CONCERNED. I will definitely try to read book two when I can find the time, but in the meantime, I’ll just be thinking about Serapio and Xiala and how much I want to see more books with this culture as inspiration. I LOVED it.
I can totally understand how this book won all of the awards that it did. The way this was crafted and the attention to detail and all of the little bits of representation were so amazing, and there was never a time when I found myself wondering why the hype was so high. I totally understood it. This was a PHENOMENAL read.
First, I want to mention the worldbuilding. I read something (it may have been in the acknowledgments of the book) where the author mentions how there are always books based on like old Victorian England and other European eras of history, but there aren’t a lot of things taking place in the Americas, and least of all the pre-Columbian Americas. There is so much rich history and innovation and culture between all of the ancient civilizations, and there were so many little details scattered throughout the book. The clothing was the biggest thing that I liked, especially since I visualize so much when I read, but I also loved all of the touches with the navigation on the boat and the importance of religion and the gods in society. I had never read a book quite like this, but I LOVED it.
In addition to the cultural influences, the general worldbuilding was also amazing. The Sky Made clans were each so unique, and I can safely say that Carrion Crow is my favorite. (Cue the Buzzfeed Unsolved audio: “I’m here for the cult stuff!” LOL). The priesthood was also so vivid, and even though I didn’t like the priests (except for Iktan, tbh), the people’s reliance on the star charts and divination like that is SO COOL to me. I also want to know so much more about Xiala’s Teek culture. I mean, come on. SIRENS? I NEED TO KNOW MORE. She was definitely one of the most interesting characters! I feel like all of the stuff with Serapio and his connection with the crow god and all of the other gods and their followings will be explained more in the second book, and I hope it is because I LOVE learning about the religious groups in books.
Now. I’m going to rant about my favorite character. Serapio. Serapio, Serapio, Serapio. I love him SO MUCH. He was BY FAR my favorite. Even from the first chapter with him going through his ritual to become the Odo Sedoh I was hooked on him. That chapter immediately established a connection in me to him because I kept waiting for his point of view to come back. All of the times where we got to hear about his past and his tutors were heartbreaking, except for Powageh who was actually pretty chill. He had such a terrible childhood, but I know that knowing his destiny and what he was meant to do with Odo Sedoh and his crow friends made it slightly better for him and gave him a reason to keep going. And then after he met Xiala, he had another reason: her. From the moment they first *met* they were drawn to each other, and their relationship developing on their journey together was so sweet to read even though it couldn’t have ended well. (Although their little scenes on the boat and in the bathhouse and with the honey… OMG. Anyway.) And I love how he was a strong, powerful, incredible warrior and person and how he was able to work with being blind and even using it to his advantage with the crows and stuff. And he was such an interesting character as well because of his relationship with good/evil and how he perceived himself and his destiny and how it affected other people, Xiala included. Long story short, I am so scared for Serapio now and he needs to be okay because I love him.
Not only was the insane research the author did on pre-Columbian culture extremely evident, but the representation was also SO WELL DONE (in my opinion). There was so much thought put into Serapio’s blindness and how it impacted his character and his abilities and seeing a character like him was so nice. I also admire how Xiala’s sexuality was done. She wasn’t ashamed of it at all, even though she knew others discriminated against her for it (since she was in jail for flirting with a woman in the beginning), but that also didn’t stop her from flirting with Aishe on the ship and making jokes with her crew (before they all betrayed her and tried to kill her and before Serapio murdered them lol). Not only that, but I also really love how gender was presented here. Iktan and Powageh (I think both of them, definitely Powageh) were both non-binary (a third gender in their culture) with xe/xir pronouns (WHICH YOU DON’T SEE MUCH OF IN LITERATURE AND I AM ALWAYS SO GLAD TO SEE NEOPRONOUNS), and Maaka’s wife from the cult was a trans woman! I believe this also ties into the culture of the pre-Columbian civilizations, and I am so glad to see it now. I’m always a sucker for good representation. :)
The only reason that this is only a 4.5- and not a 5-star book is because I didn’t really like Naranpa. As a character, I think her arc is very well done with her losing her position as Sun Priest and all and having to go through those assassination attempts and all of the drama with Abah and Ekhe trying to overthrow her, but I just found her POVs boring. I kept skimming through them because there wasn’t a lot of action (with exceptions, of course), unlike how there was always something happening with Xiala and Serapio. I kept wanting to go back to them and be done with her parts. I’m still impartial on Okoa for now, although after the ending with him finding Serapio after *that* whole thing happened, I think he’ll play a much bigger role in the second book, along with Naranpa as well hopefully after her little ritual too. I have hopes for them, but I don’t think the first book did them justice. :/
Overall, this was a fantastic book. The worldbuilding and representation were so vivid and the characters were so lovable and interesting and have a lot of potential for book two. That cliffhanger at the end was BRUTAL. I’M SO CONCERNED. I will definitely try to read book two when I can find the time, but in the meantime, I’ll just be thinking about Serapio and Xiala and how much I want to see more books with this culture as inspiration. I LOVED it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Gore
Minor: Homophobia and Suicide
lemongraves's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Violence
sarahheartsbooks's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Injury/Injury detail
llyfrauginger's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Murder, Sexual content, Grief, Alcohol, Cursing, Genocide, and Suicide
percyu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Cursing and Child abuse
Minor: Suicide
wrackcity's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Torture, and Child abuse
rae_bookmarkchronicles's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I was not sure what to expect even though I had heard great things. This was great. A little slow to start but once the story gets going you will be hooked! Looking forward to reading the sequel even though I've heard mixed things.
I liked all of the characters that we follow except Narampa
I appreciated the LGBTQIA+ rep and I think this may be the only book I've read with the use of xe/xir pronouns
I liked all of the characters that we follow except Narampa
I appreciated the LGBTQIA+ rep and I think this may be the only book I've read with the use of xe/xir pronouns
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, and Child abuse
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