Scan barcode
A review by theespressoedition
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
What an absolutely wild ride this book was!
It started out with one of the craziest prologues I've ever read in my life. A little gruesome and definitely gave me the ick right off the bat, but also completely hooked me. The drama! The mystery! The horror! I absolutely had to know what came next.
The cast of characters was all over the place, in the best way possible. If you're looking for a wonderfully diverse cast, you're certainly going to get it with Black Sun. I'm not only speaking of sexuality and race, however. The personalities of these characters were so wide-ranging and totally blew me away. One moment I was positive that I had a favorite character and a least favorite character, then suddenly, my mind was changed entirely! I will say, however, that by the end of the book, I think Xiala and Serapio still take the top spots for favorite characters - for no reason other than the fact that they just fascinated me so much.
This story is filled with such incredible storytelling. There are characters that are convinced they can turn themselves to gods, characters that are fantastical creatures, and characters that can communicate with animals. While the world-building is similar to most adult fantasy novels (a bit slower-paced towards the beginning and picking up during the second half of the book), the characters keep you glued to the pages, dying to know what's going to happen. I wouldn't necessarily say that any of these characters had major growth during this particular book, but the way they were written made you want to see how their story progresses.
I did get slightly confused by the number of POVs and timelines throughout the book, which is the primary reason why this one didn't get a full 5 stars from me. But, if you don't mind new POVs being added halfway through or the timelines switching every other chapter, you'll be just fine! That's 100% a personal thing for me.
Overall, I can't recommend this enough. There are a few pretty gory moments, but nothing that lasts so long as to really bother (and I'm an incredibly sensitive reader). It's certainly unlike any other fantasy I've ever read and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!
It started out with one of the craziest prologues I've ever read in my life. A little gruesome and definitely gave me the ick right off the bat, but also completely hooked me. The drama! The mystery! The horror! I absolutely had to know what came next.
The cast of characters was all over the place, in the best way possible. If you're looking for a wonderfully diverse cast, you're certainly going to get it with Black Sun. I'm not only speaking of sexuality and race, however. The personalities of these characters were so wide-ranging and totally blew me away. One moment I was positive that I had a favorite character and a least favorite character, then suddenly, my mind was changed entirely! I will say, however, that by the end of the book, I think Xiala and Serapio still take the top spots for favorite characters - for no reason other than the fact that they just fascinated me so much.
This story is filled with such incredible storytelling. There are characters that are convinced they can turn themselves to gods, characters that are fantastical creatures, and characters that can communicate with animals. While the world-building is similar to most adult fantasy novels (a bit slower-paced towards the beginning and picking up during the second half of the book), the characters keep you glued to the pages, dying to know what's going to happen. I wouldn't necessarily say that any of these characters had major growth during this particular book, but the way they were written made you want to see how their story progresses.
I did get slightly confused by the number of POVs and timelines throughout the book, which is the primary reason why this one didn't get a full 5 stars from me. But, if you don't mind new POVs being added halfway through or the timelines switching every other chapter, you'll be just fine! That's 100% a personal thing for me.
Overall, I can't recommend this enough. There are a few pretty gory moments, but nothing that lasts so long as to really bother (and I'm an incredibly sensitive reader). It's certainly unlike any other fantasy I've ever read and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Murder, Violence, Physical abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content