Rebecca Roanhorse

From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Resistance Reborn comes the first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy, inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic. A god will return When the earth and sky converge Under the black sun In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain. Crafted with unforgettable characters, Rebecca Roanhorse has created an epic adventure exploring the decadence of power amidst the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts in the most original series debut of the decade.

Black Sun

Alli

“…You may study the stars, but I am made of the shadow between stars. Tell me what you see, and I will understand it."

"A god will return when the earth and sky converge under the black sun in the holy city of Tova... The winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man's mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain. Crafted with unforgettable characters, Rebecca Roanhorse has created an epic adventure exploring the decadence of power amidst the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts in the most original series debut of the decade"--

Madi Van Houten

“A man with a destiny is a man who fears nothing," he whispered to himself.

Okay, I’m pretty sure this is an unpopular rating but here goes. I liked this book, it was okay. I liked the queer representation, it was actually the first book I’d ever read with a character that uses xe/xir pronouns. The inclusion felt really smooth and natural, you know what I mean? The setting was great, I loved the world a lot. However, I was expecting wayyyy more I’m not going to lie to you. The world building was great, really intriguing and interesting and I appreciate that, however, I really didn’t care much for the characters, or the plot for that matter. Not that the characters were awful or anything, they just fell flat for me. I didn’t connect with any of them at all, and I didn’t really care what happened to them, I was sort of just glazing through. Aside from the really great setting, everything else was kind of meh. The plot was pretty standard, prophesied god, naive character who discovers her world is not as it seems, and so on and so forth.  I didn’t care for the bit of romance that was attempted, it bored me at best and made me cringe at worst.  I felt like this book kept telling me that the stakes were high and that important things were happening but i just… didn’t feel it. Things started to pick up a little at the end, but by then I’d been indifferent the whole book and couldn’t really muster up a fuck to give. 

bel 

this everything i love in a high fantasy. Gods, mythology, heavily inspired by culture and deep roots, diverse cast of characters, compelling characters, unique characters, multiple POV with the same undertones and messages. UGH fantastic writing. i need to read the rest of the trilogy. 

Chloé

this everything i love in a high fantasy. Gods, mythology, heavily inspired by culture and deep roots, diverse cast of characters, compelling characters, unique characters, multiple POV with the same undertones and messages. UGH fantastic writing. i need to read the rest of the trilogy. 

Cannot recommend enough.

Kiran Aftab

4.5/5 ok the beginning was slow but SO MUCH HAPPENED AT THE END. it was really well-written and i’m excited for the other books

have you seen this beautiful cover though?!
As a whole, this was a solid, fantasy book with diverse and intriguing characters. The first chapter was **chefs kiss** the perfect amount of forebodement, which was enough to draw me in and invest myself into the book.
Howeevverrr, after that first chapter, icl the next 50 or so pages were a bit of a drag for me; (perhaps it's because they weren't all about Serapio) it takes time to get into the whole high fantasy thing and if your not into that sort of genre, I can see why some find it very confusing. I can definitely understand why we needed to see the pov of Naranpa, but every time I finished a Serapio /Xiala chapter **fulfilled sigh** seeing "Tova City" as the subheading of the next chapter made me want to close the book.
For some reason, I couldn't truly connect with Naranpa as a character and therefore I couldn't care less about her aims and if she "survived" or not.
Serapio and Xiala.... can take my heart.Personally, I found these 2 characters to be the "main characters," due to their unique and intricate character development and backgrounds, thus in comparison some of the other characters faded out for me.
This book had so much potential and I can't wait to read the next book.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Resistance Reborn comes the “engrossing and vibrant” (Tochi Onyebuchi, author of Riot Baby) first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic. A god will return When the earth and sky converge Under the black sun In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial even proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain. Crafted with unforgettable characters, Rebecca Roanhorse has created a “brilliant world that shows the full panoply of human grace and depravity” (Ken Liu, award-winning author of The Grace of Kings). This epic adventure explores the decadence of power amidst the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts in this “absolutely tremendous” (S.A. Chakraborty, nationally bestselling author of The City of Brass) and most original series debut of the decade.

I am not a fantasy person and somehow years ago I got the impression that this was a sci-fi book so that made the first set of chapters hard for me as I adjusted. I’d been meaning to read this book for years(under the impression it was a sci-fi) and finally got around to it because a sci-fi fantasy bookclub near me was reading it (another reason i continued to think this was sci fi) as someone who doesn’t do epic fantasy learning all the names, places and things was a big learning curve for me. However it was a smooth well written ride and I was halfway through before I knew it even as a I struggled. Even as a non fantasy reader this book was pretty enjoyable you might love it if you like fantasy! Ofc the diverse representation (in all kinds of ways) was wonderful. 

Liyah 🤎

Black sun is set in and inspired by the Pre-Colombian Americas with a dash of fantasy, culture and indigenous society. Rebecca Roanhorse does amazing work of combining these elements into a captivating fantasy read

This book starts years before the Convergence—the eclipse that is happening on the Solstice—and as the story progresses we slowly see how each puzzle piece fits into place. Each character was intriguing and well defined, and while I didn't particularly care for Nara, I absolutely adored Xiala and Serapio. There were so many things that I loved about Xiala, especially her snarky personality and her strength. Serapio was so compelling, I found myself enjoying his part of the story more than the others

This book has such uniqueness about it, Black sun was so refreshing from what I usually read and I honestly can't wait to start Fevered star

June

Black sun is set in and inspired by the Pre-Colombian Americas with a dash of fantasy, culture and indigenous society. Rebecca Roanhorse does amazing work of combining these elements into a captivating fantasy read

This book starts years before the Convergence—the eclipse that is happening on the Solstice—and as the story progresses we slowly see how each puzzle piece fits into place. Each character was intriguing and well defined, and while I didn't particularly care for Nara, I absolutely adored Xiala and Serapio. There were so many things that I loved about Xiala, especially her snarky personality and her strength. Serapio was so compelling, I found myself enjoying his part of the story more than the others

This book has such uniqueness about it, Black sun was so refreshing from what I usually read and I honestly can't wait to start Fevered star

arwen

Sarah Sammis

The book spends the next three hundred pages jumping back and forth through time and to various points of view to show all the major players in the upcoming convergence. It's an ambitious attempt at storytelling but I never spent enough time with any particular character to get to know any of them. For me it was a confusing slog through a fascinating world.

The world building is the best part of Black Sun. It takes the pre-Columbian societies of Mexico and blends them with the peoples of the Four Corners area: Diné, Zuni, Hopi, etc. I kept reading for the world building.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2021/comm...

WOWOWOWOWOWOW. This was fantastic & refreshing. Every character and perspective was interesting. The whole book is oozing with blood, myth, prophecy and vengeful gods. 

Roanhorse took the genre to the next level. 

WOWOWOWOWOWOW. This was fantastic & refreshing. Every character and perspective was interesting. The whole book is oozing with blood, myth, prophecy and vengeful gods. 

Roanhorse took the genre to the next level. 

Tatiana

Black Sun: 3.5/5

Kind of disappointed because this was one of my five-star predictions and I was kind of let down. This book overwhelmingly feels like a prequel to a story we do not know yet. The entire book really felt like a huge setup for a sequel. Black Sun is extremely character-driven and has a complex world. The book follows four main characters.

Serapio: A young boy who is destined to turn into the Crow God. It is difficult to tell if he is a villain or not. A large portion of this book is following his journey to fulfill his destiny of becoming a Crow God and it is by far the best point of view in this book. I was so hooked on his chapters, and I am kinda in love with him. Serapio hooks you straight from the beginning chapter, when he is blinded by his mother as a sacrifice, and crows become his ally while acting as eyes. His whole backstory and character plot is so unique and interesting, part of me wishes this whole book was only about Serapio.

Xiala: A sailor captain who has the power to rule the seas with a song. She is a fantastic character with a lot of depth. She is unapologetically herself. We first find her in a prison where she is bailed out of jail by a mysterious man who has a job for her. To sail to Tova with Serapio as "cargo", as he needs to arrive in Tova before this special eclipse. On this eclipse, he will complete his journey/goal to become the Crow God.

Nara: The sun priest. A highly anticipated interaction is between Nara and Serapio. This was one of the main reasons driving me to finish this book

Oaka: An oracle who is accused of murdering the sun priest. We don't get to see too much of him in this book and I believe he will be much more prevalent in coming books within this series. 

This book is extremely slow. It jumps perspectives, settings, and time, all leading up to the long-anticipated eclipse. In the meantime, you get to explore who these characters are and their motivations. 

Part of me really liked this layout when it came to Xiala and Serapio's chapters. They really gripped me and were so interesting that I found myself skimming over chapters with Nara and Oaka, just to get to more Serapio and Xiala content. 

This world is also very complex with a lot of moving parts and a lot of different characters. I was so grateful for a list of characters at the beginning of the book because I found myself needing to reference it multiple times throughout this book. Unfortunately, since everything is so complex, I was confused for the majority of this book. This is to be expected with any new fantasy series I feel, but with the sheer amount of characters, I felt like I could not keep track. It finally started coming together in the second half but was still extremely slow leading up to the eclipse. This led to a lot of anticipation which makes me feel like this book had major prequel vibes. 

Overall I am grateful I read this book because I think the next books in this series will be phenomenal now that everything has been set up. I also definitely feel like Serapio and Xiala took the cake on this one, and extremely overshadowed the other characters. Their plot was so strong and so compelling I didn't want anything else.

I believe if I re-read this book, understanding what I know now I would enjoy it 100 times more. This first read-through was just so confusing. I will definitely be picking up the next books in this series when they come out, because what a GREAT cliffhanger!

Cody Degen

altlovesbooks

"There was magic in the world, pure and simple. Things she didn't understand. Best get used to it."

I'm waffling hard on whether to give this the 5 stars that I feel like it deserves, and the 4 stars I want to give it out of consistency with my other books I really loved but didn't stick the landing. I'm definitely sure this was a favorite book of this year for me so far, though. 

The story this book tells is from the point of view of four different characters. Xiala, a Teek captain tasked with ferrying a blind man to a distant city within a very short time for an urgent date with a Sun Priest before the Convergence (an eclipse on the solstice). Serapio is the blind man, blinded by his mother at a young age to be the vessel for a crow god bent on vengeance against the priests for a wrong done to its people, clan Carrion Crow. Naranpa, the Sun Priest, a low-born priest given the highest rank amonst the priests by the previous Sun Priest and having to navigate office priesthood politics as a result, and Okoa, reluctant leader of clan Carrion Crow, having to deal with the potential fallout a vengeful crow god on the loose will bring his people. 

We get a lot of character development between Xiala and Serapio on their voyage to Serapio's appointment which I loved, and we learn a bit about Xiala's people, the Teek, and the strange powers she inherited. I loved Okoa's viewpoint as well, as he feels his way through leading clan Carrion Crow through potentially turbulent times. I thought Neranpa's viewpoint was the weakest of the four, but also necessary to show how fractured the priesthood is. She's a bit naiive, a bit annoying, and a bit gullible, and I found her chapters a bit boring but necessary to tell the larger story.

I feel like the ending of this book was super weak though, and while the second book is out for me to dive into at the time I'm writing this, I think I'd be a bit harsher with docking the book a star if it wasn't. After the buildup, the ending is a bit of a slap in the face. 

All that said though, this was a really great read, and I look forward to reading the second book.

nienke

Black Sun
Rebecca Roanhorse
4.75 / 5 stars

"But often greatness comes from unexpected plans."

This book had no reason to be this good! I kind of dived blindly into this book and ended up loving it! From the secrets inside the Celestial Tower to Serapio's mission. The characters all have a backstory that reflects on the person they are today. Xiala, the Teek, banished from her home island, Serapio whose mom told him about his future, Naranpa who had to sacrifice everything to become the Sun Priest. 

The story had me hooked and held me until I had finished it. It was built slowly until it reached a certain moment and loads of secrets started to make sense.

Where is part two and why isn't it on my shelf??

Adeline

Such a gorgeous book this was ! 

All the characters were engaging and I loved the Native (south) American and Polynesian inspired world ! 

I can’t wait to read the future books in this series !

Abdullah

One of the most unique and original books I've read. It's set in pre-Columbian America. It has world-building that's rich and easy to grasp. It involves gods, religious warring factions, mermaids, a quest. It has multiple pov's and I found all of them interesting most of the time. Different pov's lead to a specific event and all of them add depth to the story and we go through different settings and it's all wonderful. It was great following Xiala, Serapio, Okoa, and Naranpa. Some choices made by Naranpa were eh but I still like the character and I enjoyed the priesthood dynamic. The side characters are also really interesting. I can't wait to read more about everybody in the sequel. The audiobook narration is fantastic with a different narrator for each character and I highly recommend listening to it. The book is rich, intense, and tender in parts. The first chapter is one of the best first chapters I've read and it's Intense and so much happens. Hooks you right from the start (at least for me).

trigger warnings: child abuse, mutilation, suicide, graphic violence, drug usage.

Aishling

While this is a well written story, I didn’t fall in love with any of the characters and I’m an extremely character driven reader so I was kind of bored by a lot of this. Nothing really happens till the very end, and I feel like everything up until then is very character based so it didn’t appeal to me. I’m sad cause I had high expectations for this book based on other reviews 😭

Jules

Another fav of the year.
Even if I didn't like some characters everything it's so well written, explained and well structured.
This is my first book of this author, I'm looking forward to read more of her books

Midori Kobayashi

while the worldbuilding was amazing and characters diverse, this books somehow still seemed only okayish. the fantasy elements no doubt were well explained and nicely put but the plot (by the end atleast) fell short. not that i won't read the next book (i thought this was a standalone but apparently not?) but i would take my sweet time to reach out for it (not that there is much of a cliffhanger to find out about)

A god will return When the earth and sky converge Under the black sun From New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse comes the first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue and forbidden magic. In the holy city of Tova the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man's mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as "harmless" the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain. Crafted with unforgettable characters, Rebecca Roanhorse has created an epic adventure exploring the decadence of power amidst the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts in the most original series debut of the decade. "The pages turn themselves. A beautifully crafted setting with complex character dynamics and layers of political intrigue? Perfection. Mark your calendars, this is the next big thing." -- Kirkus, (starred review) "Roanhorse introduces an epic fantasy with vivid worldbuilding and exciting prose. Readers will be attracted to the story, in which there is no real right vs. wrong. Only inevitable change will draw out the heroes of this imaginative tale." -- Library Journal, (starred review) "I emerged from Black Sun bleary-eyed, tongue-tied, heart-swollen. This is a brilliant world that shows the full panoply of human grace and depravity. Rebecca Roanhorse is the epic voice of our continent and time."-- Ken Liu, award-winning author of The Grace of Kings, and The Hidden Girl and Other Stories. "This is the novel I've been waiting for. This is the novel we've all been waiting for. Everything's different now, with Black Sun. Different and better. Stands shoulder to shoulder with the very best fantasy out there. There's Martin, there's Jemisin, and now there's Roanhorse."-- Stephen Graham Jones, award-winning author of The Only Good Indians . "Engrossing and vibrant. Black Sun left me with my jaw on the floor."-- Tochi Oneybuchi, author of Riot Baby "Sweeping yet intimate, Black Sun is a masterpiece. Roanhorse has crafted an urgently important and utterly engrossing tale of power, oppression, revolution--and the deeply personal cost of each. This is the fantasy epic the world needs right now."-- Peng Shepherd, author of The Book of M "The world sucks you in from the start, and the pacing yanks you along by the collar. Black Sun is instantly riveting from the beginning--Roanhorse is at the top of her game here." -- R.F. Kuang, bestselling author of The Poppy War

Sade A

💖

  "...Besides, prophecies always have a way of going wrong, don't they? They promise you a savior, but that savior ends up eating babies or kicking puppies or something, and the poor gull who's the prophesied one always ends up dead...Prophecies are a breeding ground for opportunist. An excuse for bad behavior. Can't trust them."


💖💖
As the start of a series, Black Sun, certainly offers up an engrossing enough plot to keep you invested in the story.
There's Serapio who has been raised for maybe selfish revenge? maybe the fulfilment of a great prophesy....?
There's Naranpa who grapples with what all good people in leadership struggle with being too nice.
There's Xiala who... to be honest I'm not entirely certain of her place in the grand scheme of things in this.

A really good cast with gratifying stories on the whole, I really enjoyed the politics of the Watchers and Sky made, and simply love how the author did not try to paint one side good and one side bad, simply people with various objectives. 
I will say I wasn't too fond of how the author structured the time periods simply because I could not really keep it straight in my head but that's just a minor peeve. Also did not enjoy (view spoiler)[Xiala catching feelings for Serapio but I'm resolved to filling those kind of weird romances (hide spoiler)] under minor peeves now.

A bit apprehensive that some parts of the plot will just be forgotten or tidied up messily but haven't read book 2 so fingers crossed it ticks all the boxes for me.

💖💖💖

  All in all, a somewhat slow start but a good book in the end for me. I definitely will be reading book 2.
★★★½

Sally Salinas

I really enjoyed this read. The characters felt real and diverse, I especially loved Xiala. I also loved getting a look into the pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas that were weaved throughout the story (even if the world is high fantasy), it was refreshing (especially for someone who reads a lot of fantasy). I'm really looking forward to the next novel!

Kiersten

Herman Steuernagel

This is incredibly well written, the prose was exceptional, but the story and characters didn't capture me. It's likely just comes down to personal preference. I'm still giving it a 4 rating though because it is worth giving it a go, but I just wasn't able to get into it.

Didi Chanoch

The ascent of Rebecca Roanhorse continues with her first truly epic fantasy. Immaculate worldbuilding mixed with memorable characters to create the start of what promises to be a true epic. 

If I have one complaint, it is that this is very much a first volume of a trilogy. This is not a complete story with an opening to future stories. This is a third of a story.

Black Sun

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