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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
"Trail of Lightning" is one of the six nominees for the 2018 Nebula Award, and is the debut novel by Rebecca Roanhorse. It's a fantasy novel that takes place in Navajo lands after a climate disaster, and I ended up enjoying it considerably. Mild spoilers ahead.... Given that this is a type of story that I don't typically enjoy, it is impressive that it won me over. 3.5 out of 5 stars for me, and this might well be a 5-star book for those who are the right audience.
Spoiler
I may well be the wrong audience for this story. While I often enjoy fantastical monsters in secondary worlds, I usually find them jarring in tales set in our own world, and the protagonist of "Trail of Lightning" is a monster hunter, so, unsurprisingly, the book has monsters aplenty. In addition, the level of gore was more than I care for, as was the youth of some of the victims. And indeed I didn't much care for the start of the book. Nonetheless, as the story progressed, I found the protagonist increasingly sympathetic, and I was also drawn to some of the secondary characters. By the end, I was thoroughly enjoying the story, and am now glad to see that the sequel is due out soon.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
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:
Yes
I feel incredibly average about this
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I devoured this book in two sittings. It's hard to discuss what I loved about this book without spoilers, but suffice it to say that the things I value highly in adventure series (worldbuilding, character development, complex and compelling villains, and general badassery) can be found here, carefully crafted and in abundance.
I can't wait for the second one.
I can't wait for the second one.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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:
Complicated
4.5 stars
I finally caved in and read this book after owning it for an year or so. I met the author, spoke to her, heard her talking in Worldcon last year. Her speech when she received Hugo award last year was amazing. I am happy to say that the book was equally great.
This is an own voices Native American myth based fantasy about a monsterslayer girl. I have seen people compare it to Percy Jackson and Mad Max. I only agree with the Mad Max comparison. The story is much more complex and intricate here and nothing like hunting one monster after another like in Percy Jackson (which I am not a fan of).
I loved the desert setting and it looked like the story was based in Arizona. At least I got that feeling and having stayed in that state for 2 years, I really loved the setting.
The author has created a post apocalyptic world and I love post apocalyptic stories. The world building was detailed and done very well. The characters were three-dimensional, very well developed. I loooove Kai. Maggie was a great character to root for in this story. I love how brave and strong she is. I had guessed the big reveal at the end though so didn’t find the end that surprising. Other than that, it was perfect in every manner.
I flew through this book. It’s fast paced, full of action, impossible to put down once you start reading.
I finally caved in and read this book after owning it for an year or so. I met the author, spoke to her, heard her talking in Worldcon last year. Her speech when she received Hugo award last year was amazing. I am happy to say that the book was equally great.
This is an own voices Native American myth based fantasy about a monsterslayer girl. I have seen people compare it to Percy Jackson and Mad Max. I only agree with the Mad Max comparison. The story is much more complex and intricate here and nothing like hunting one monster after another like in Percy Jackson (which I am not a fan of).
I loved the desert setting and it looked like the story was based in Arizona. At least I got that feeling and having stayed in that state for 2 years, I really loved the setting.
The author has created a post apocalyptic world and I love post apocalyptic stories. The world building was detailed and done very well. The characters were three-dimensional, very well developed. I loooove Kai. Maggie was a great character to root for in this story. I love how brave and strong she is. I had guessed the big reveal at the end though so didn’t find the end that surprising. Other than that, it was perfect in every manner.
I flew through this book. It’s fast paced, full of action, impossible to put down once you start reading.