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alexalily's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Self harm, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
haylzno's review against another edition
- 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
Other than that, WOWOWOWWOWOW
As I am writing this, I have already finished reading the sequel, Fevered Star, and I can tell you the story only gets better.
High/adult fantasy has always intimidated me a bit, but I found this to be very easy to read. The world, magic system, and characters are all amazing.
I can't wait for the third book!
Graphic: Child abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder and War
alyssasaurus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, and War
esudeathh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Self harm and Murder
drinaiscold's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Biphobia, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Misogyny, and Murder
itendswithe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
A dark fantasy set in a pre-Columbus America that hooked me within the first few pages.
Four character perspectives (and in the audiobook, by 4 narrators) converging together in a battle between the old crow god and the new sun god. This book has magic, adventure, and a dose of blood - it's one of the best books I've read so far this year.
Covers some heavy topics, so check out the content warnings.
I would recommend if you like: diverse fantasy stories, characters with some edges, queer rep, and old magic.
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence and Alcohol
Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, and Death of parent
hamstringy's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Self harm, Violence, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual violence
juliafrat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
eininthebird's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Body horror, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Death of parent, and Murder
hanarama's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
- The plot gradually picks up the pace towards the end, building tension.
- Great LGBT rep, including wlw and nonbinary identities.
- The writing is very melodic.
- Cliffhanger at the end can make the story feel unsatisfying. (A second book is slated, so if you hate cliffhangers, maybe wait for that to come out).
- Little character development through most of the book.
- Bi Pirates
- Pre-Colombian settings
- Multiple, opposing POVs
I read this for a buddy read and went into this book with very little idea of what I was going to get. What I got was a journey through a richly developed world in a Pre-Colombian fantasy setting.
Serapio is a mysterious blind man with a purpose designed to bring about a reckoning. Xiala is a pirate captain with a strong affinity for the sea. Naranpa is the Sun Priest, the first not to come from the Sky Made clans, and a polarizing progressive. Okoa is the son of the Carrion Crow Matron, and the rider of a giant crow. As the solar eclipse and the winter solstice approach, their stories rapidly come together and their opposing needs collide.
Roanhorse has a very smooth writing style that allowed me to breeze through the book quickly. Though the multiple POVs made it at times hard to develop strong connections to the characters, there were some standouts. Xiala, the pirate captain is immensely enjoyable and out of all the characters feels the closest to an audience surrogate.
Additionally, Roanhorse provides a lot of lgbt+ representation, allowing it to exist casually in her setting. There are multiple characters that use xe/xir pronouns, which I found really cool to see.
The world feels really rich, with a lot more open for exploration. Throughout the majority of this book the characters are being driven by the forces put in place long ago, so it feels like a convergence of forces, but because the story is so plot-driven, there's little room for the characters to stretch their legs. I hope that with the sequel the cast will get more character development.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Racism and Religious bigotry