A review by cassanette
Black Sun Light My Way by Jo Spurrier

5.0

"He's had no part in this filth—"
"Are you mad? Of course he has!"
"But it wasn't his choice! He never wanted it."
"And we did?"

I had this brilliant plan of writing a review of this book as soon as I finish while it's still fresh in my mind.
I also had a plan of writing an articulate piece, to give justice to the author's craft.

Well, I've just finished, it's midnight,* and words fail me.

* It's actually almost 2am as I finish typing this. Good times.

Basically, for me this was the perfect second book. Brilliant character development, story that remained consistently gripping, twists and turns galore. Controversial opinion alert: I think middle books are superior, so there's that. I was destined to love this book. And yet Black Sun Light My Way not only met my sky-high expectations, but managed to surpass them, becoming my favourite read of 2020.

Quickly about twists: oh boy were there a lot of surprises in here, starting from surprising relationship developments and team-ups

like Cam and Delphine forced to bond as they flee the country together, Delphine and Rasten performing an operation together, or Rasten developing a deep respect and admiration for Isidro and ultimately fighting by his side against Kell

. Of course some developments felt inevitable, like

Sierra going back to Rasten, Delphine getting pregnant, Sierra accidentally hurting Isidro

.

But there were three events which actually shocked me.

Delphine and Isidro's storyline becoming compelling as their dynamic shifted, Sierra butchering duke Osebian and Isidro being tricked into becoming a Blood-Mage.

Now let's talk characters, because I love them all.

Sierra is such a solid, interesting protagonist. She's very dramatic (I wonder who might have inspired that in her...), I mean look at this absolute badass.

Sierra appeared, dripping wet and surrounded by writhing, twisting lightning. There was an axe in her hands, the head rippling with Black Sun's Fire.

But she's more than just her powerful abilities, she feels deeply human with her insecurities and faults. With her mistakes, and decisions so hard I wouldn't wish them on anyone. But she makes them. She perseveres, and I admire her so much.

Isidro's journey takes him so far from the man we met in the first book. He struggles so much, he always will struggle with his disability and emotional trauma after what was done to him, but keeps going. Keeps proving with his actions that he's not the "useless cripple" he believed himself to be, that he's not defined by his weakness but by his strengths. It's so amazing to read, truly, how he gains the respect and admiration of others with his accomplishments. How he's forced to face his absolute worst fears head-on, and fights the urge to end it all.

Rasten is such a fascinating character, and he shines in this book. His development is GOD TIER. It's an art to not only create a good villain, but to give them this kind of dimension. I wasn't a huge fan of his in the first book but the sequel completely changed my mind.

The little moments of vulnerability and tenderness he manages to find within himself by the end of the book are such a treasure because they are hard-won.

He's the one who asks the hard questions here, like how much one is responsible for atrocities they are forced to commit when everything is stripped from them, even the ability to die and be free.

I will put Cam and Mira together because while they are complex and interesting characters in their own right, they don't get the kind of attention the others do. For example, I was disappointed that at the beginning of the novel, we didn't get to deal with Mira's feelings about Issey's betrayal. She struggles with her feelings about her clan and tradition, but at the same time deems her personal sacrifice worth it to keep the support of her clan. Cam is a more static and reactive character, not that there's anything wrong with that imo. He still gets some really nice development when forced to adjust to new conditions and conflicts thrown at him.

And last but not least, the biggest surprise for me in this book - Delphine. I did not particularly like her going in, didn't like her storyline and didn't like where I thought it was going. About 100 pages in, I changed my mind about her character completely, a 180, and her development became very compelling. In this novel Delphine as a character is deconstructed when

instead of the master she was, she becomes a prisoner of her former slave

and doesn't like it one bit. Suddenly, her noble proclamations from before become the epitome of hypocrisy when she is forced to face the new reality. It's a marvel to witness her slow realisations, having the ugly, bitter truth about

slavery and her people and her own beliefs

thrown in her face. She becomes a completely new woman as a result of her experiences.

Aleksar - he had another name but she refused to acknowledge it - closed his eyes. 'Delphine, hold your wretched tongue.'
'You will address me as madame!' she thundered.
'No. You're my prisoner, and I'll call you what I like. You're lucky I'm willing to pay you the courtesy of using your own name instead of assigning you another.'

When she finally

starts using Isidro's real name and the real names of the other former slaves,

it feels like a breakthrough for her as a person. How much is one the product of their culture, with all the good and the bad parts? She is a complicated character with a problematic background who

- once she gets over her own hurt pride - recognizes her flawed worldview and begins to work towards becoming better and doing better

, and I appreciate her as a person.

Which brings me to the main star of this book for me... the changes and reversals of power dynamic in various relationships. OH MY GOD THEY WERE SO GOOD.

Isidro started out as Delphine's slave, and while she mostly treated him well she did have a mean streak and often used her power over him to intimidate. Then she became his prisoner and found herself at his mercy, suddenly experiencing firsthand what it's like to lose everything and very much enraged by it.

Sierra started out hounded by Rasten, deathly afraid of him. Then she became the torturer and saw how easy it was to derive a sort of pleasure from another's suffering.

In the last few weeks she'd loathed him, been disgusted by him, had dreamed longingly of ripping out his throat with her teeth. When she'd stood over him, bound, naked and helpless, relief and fear both warred within her against a sickening, buoyant glee, that there at last was the man who'd tormented and terrified her for so long, powerless and under her complete control.

Isidro started the series wounded, sick and at his brother's mercy. Here, Cam is the one who is kidnapped and tortured and needs rescuing by his brother. Finally he sees how helpless Isidro felt being told he's too weak to do anything but lie in bed and rest.

The worldbuilding continues to be of high quality (for example we learn more about Ricalani marriage customs, and see that socierty from the point of view of an outsider). The magic is developed more but still remains pretty vague, which doesn't bother me at all as I don't like too many rules in my magic.

Now the one problematic thing I can't overlook. The major villain of the series is Kell, who is homosexual. There is other queer representation here too, but it is very much of the background kind: mentioned in passing in a positive light, but nothing beyond that. In a series so otherwise diverse and sex-positive, it's troubling that the only acts of queer sex given attention within the narrative are the deviations of a rapist and pedophile.

tl;dr WOW. What a book. I don't think I'll ever forget that one of the biggest developments in it was caused by a four-way mental sex gone wrong.

CW:

frequent mentions of rape, graphic violence and torture, depression, self-harm, mentions of past suicide attempts, thoughts about suicide