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vaanjai's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.25
laplatts's review
5.0
A prophecy has been told. A god will return under the Black Sun.
I don't even know where to start with this one. This is gritty fantasy that sweeps you away from page one. There is magic, cruelty, destiny, duty, political intrigue, gender-fluidity, non-heteronormative relationships- Black Sun truly has it all.
Despite being a fantasy novel with non-human (or at least not fully human) characters, Roanhorse shows humanity in all its triumph and all its unflattering shades. Her characters are so deep, intriguing and vibrant that I know I will not forget ant of them anytime soon. Each of them is memorable in their own way, and completely apart from many of the fantasy tropes that authors rely on.
The writing itself is beautiful and precise, with echoes of Native American myth woven into the story. I was truly mesmerized. I mean, this would have been a one-sitting book if it hadn't been for the kitchen sink backing up mid-read!
Anyone that has enjoyed N.K. Jemisin, George R.R. Martin and Pamela Freeman is sure to enjoy Black Sun. I am very much looking forward to the second instalment of the series.
I don't even know where to start with this one. This is gritty fantasy that sweeps you away from page one. There is magic, cruelty, destiny, duty, political intrigue, gender-fluidity, non-heteronormative relationships- Black Sun truly has it all.
Despite being a fantasy novel with non-human (or at least not fully human) characters, Roanhorse shows humanity in all its triumph and all its unflattering shades. Her characters are so deep, intriguing and vibrant that I know I will not forget ant of them anytime soon. Each of them is memorable in their own way, and completely apart from many of the fantasy tropes that authors rely on.
The writing itself is beautiful and precise, with echoes of Native American myth woven into the story. I was truly mesmerized. I mean, this would have been a one-sitting book if it hadn't been for the kitchen sink backing up mid-read!
Anyone that has enjoyed N.K. Jemisin, George R.R. Martin and Pamela Freeman is sure to enjoy Black Sun. I am very much looking forward to the second instalment of the series.
tsunni's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I love the pre-Columbian setting. The world and the cultures are so interesting and different from usual fantasy tropes. I also love how queer the characters are, and all the pov characters are checklists of traits that I should, theoretically, really like and find easy to emotionally engage with. I should be totally swept up in each of the pov characters’ journeys and emotional arcs.
Unfortunately I absolutely struggled getting through this. I could not engage with the characters at all. I found their arcs uninteresting and their actions at odds with who I’m told they should be. What the story tells me they do and tells me they feel never lands emotionally; I felt like the story failed mightily to prove to me these were actually the people who earned their current position or actually lived their lists of character traits. Many of their moments that should land emotionally just don’t; the further I got into the story, the more of these didn’t land, the less interested I was in continuing.
It’s a shame; there’s so much I should like, but I think there’s a bit too much tell that never resolved with the show. The settings and the characters really should have worked for me, and I’m walking away from this disappointed that it didn’t.
Unfortunately I absolutely struggled getting through this. I could not engage with the characters at all. I found their arcs uninteresting and their actions at odds with who I’m told they should be. What the story tells me they do and tells me they feel never lands emotionally; I felt like the story failed mightily to prove to me these were actually the people who earned their current position or actually lived their lists of character traits. Many of their moments that should land emotionally just don’t; the further I got into the story, the more of these didn’t land, the less interested I was in continuing.
It’s a shame; there’s so much I should like, but I think there’s a bit too much tell that never resolved with the show. The settings and the characters really should have worked for me, and I’m walking away from this disappointed that it didn’t.
whimsykat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
- 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
4.0
missingbuttons's review
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
4.0
cbeaver40's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
intentions's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
cmreemts's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
iforgotilivedhere's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
4.5
I liked it, but I wanted to know more about the characters besides what was happening in the present. Xialah has to have some good backstory, but we know barely anything, same with Naranpa. I want to know what had happened to her before she became the Sun Priestess.
eusteph's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
5.0
I just LOVE IT when I go into a book with zero expectations and it blows my socks off.
Once again, thanks to P. Djeli Clark for recommending this book otherwise I would've just judged it by the cover and never read it.
For such a condensed fantasy novel, all things considered, the author managed to not only do a lot of really good world building but also covered a pretty extensive timeline of events. I love it when audiobooks have multiple narrators because I think it helps set the tone for the paragraph/passage being told. However, I would have benefitted from reading a physical/digital copy of this book just for the sake of learning how to spell the characters' names. Nonetheless this is clearly a "me" problem and judging the story based on this alone would go beyond nitpicking.
With this being said, Naranpa is definitely my favorite character overall. I loved how the female characters were portrayed and developed in this story as well as the LGBTQIA+ characters. I'm not surprised they were written so well given the fact that the author is a woman of color. The steamy scenes didn't cheapen the narrative at all and also didn't detract from the plot of the story as a whole.
I don't know if it's just me but I really got Moonknight vibes from this book. I am really really looking forward to reading the sequels as this book left me at the edge of my seat with its last couple of pages. Tempted to mark this as a favorite, but maybe I'll do this after I read the sequels (haha).
My mile-long TBR is not amused.
Once again, thanks to P. Djeli Clark for recommending this book otherwise I would've just judged it by the cover and never read it.
For such a condensed fantasy novel, all things considered, the author managed to not only do a lot of really good world building but also covered a pretty extensive timeline of events. I love it when audiobooks have multiple narrators because I think it helps set the tone for the paragraph/passage being told. However, I would have benefitted from reading a physical/digital copy of this book just for the sake of learning how to spell the characters' names. Nonetheless this is clearly a "me" problem and judging the story based on this alone would go beyond nitpicking.
With this being said, Naranpa is definitely my favorite character overall. I loved how the female characters were portrayed and developed in this story as well as the LGBTQIA+ characters. I'm not surprised they were written so well given the fact that the author is a woman of color. The steamy scenes didn't cheapen the narrative at all and also didn't detract from the plot of the story as a whole.
I don't know if it's just me but I really got Moonknight vibes from this book. I am really really looking forward to reading the sequels as this book left me at the edge of my seat with its last couple of pages. Tempted to mark this as a favorite, but maybe I'll do this after I read the sequels (haha).
My mile-long TBR is not amused.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content