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A review by tsunni
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
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.