Reviews with content warning for Biphobia - Black Sun

Reviews tagging 'Biphobia'

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

17 reviews

jamierose's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

Wow, I'm literally in awe of this author right now. It starts off slow but fascinating and then before you even realise it you're 50% in and everything is taking unexpected turns and the stakes are rising with every chapter. I loved how subtle the character and relationship development was, woven into everything, and I loved the writing style and the mix of politics and action. It gets pretty dark and gory at times, and almost all the characters are deliciously morally grey.

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waterlilyreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious slow-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

4.0

I really enjoyed reading this book! The worldbuilding was really impressive and immersive. It took me a while to get into this book, but as the pieces came together I had a better time getting through it. All of the POV characters are unique in their goals, backstories, motivations, and morals. There were many interesting political dynamics in this book that I hope are explored more in future books, which I believe are in the works. I also liked the integration of the magic system and hope to see more of that in the future.

The LGBTQ+ rep in this book was not the focus, but I really like how well-incorporated it was. Sexual attraction to the same gender was included casually throughout the book. There were multiple side characters who used the gender-neutral pronouns xe/xir/xirs, which I have never seen in a book before and found refreshing. Characters of unspecified genders were also referred to as they/them/theirs.

I look forward to reading more by Rebecca Roanhorse!

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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.

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