A review by bookish_boy_mom
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious 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 read this as a buddy read (shocking 😂) and this is another one I may not have ever picked up otherwise. This is the first in a trilogy and the third installment, Mirrored Heavens, is out 6/4/24.

First let me say, Rebecca Roanhorse writes one heck of a story. Chapter one had me wide eyed, shocked, and wanting to know more about this world and its characters. I was invested the whole way through. And the end! The end left us on the steepest of cliffs, setting us up for book two which I now need to read immediately.

We have main characters Naranpa the Sun Priestess, Xiala the sea captain, and Serapio the alleged villain of this tale. Each of their stories is fraught with sadness and generational trauma. With destinies seemingly predetermined, you can’t help but root for each one of them in their own ways.

The magical aspects of the story were so interesting and well crafted. The political intrigue provides tension and conflict. The world building was so well developed. And the character development was thorough and so well done. Though there are three main characters, there are a plethora of side characters who each served a purpose and added to the story.

I did this one on audio and I’m so glad I did because being able to hear the words out loud was so beautiful. The gender neutral verbiage was STUNNING. And with a cast of four narrators the whole experience was beautiful.