Rebecca Roanhorse

2019 LOCUS AWARD WINNER, BEST FIRST NOVEL 2019 HUGO AWARD FINALIST, BEST NOVEL Nebula Award Finalist for Best Novel One of Bustle’s Top 20 “landmark sci-fi and fantasy novels” of the decade “Someone please cancel Supernatural already and give us at least five seasons of this badass indigenous monster-hunter and her silver-tongued sidekick.” —The New York Times “An excitingly novel tale.” —Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse and Midnight Crossroads series “Fun, terrifying, hilarious, and brilliant.” —Daniel José Older, New York Times bestselling author of Shadowshaper and Star Wars: Last Shot “[C]rafts a powerful and fiercely personal journey through a compelling postapocalyptic landscape.” —Kate Elliott, New York Times bestselling author of Court of Fives and Black Wolves While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters. Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine. Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel the rez, unraveling clues from ancient legends, trading favors with tricksters, and battling dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology. As Maggie discovers the truth behind the killings, she will have to confront her past if she wants to survive. Welcome to the Sixth World.

Trail of Lightning

Gillian Rose

Another book featuring an angry, snarky woman trying to own her power! So here for it. Maggie was amazing. I loved Kai. The worldbuilding was fantastic. I loved this book so much.

Savannah Winchell

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
4 ⭐️
- one of the coolest worlds I’ve read in a long time
- loved the MC
- hated Kai the whole fucken time
 - HE WAS SO BORING AND SUCH A SMARMY ASS LIAR UGHHHH
- of course I liked the problematic immortal baby BC HE WAS INTERESTING FUCK U KAI
- solid action
- unique magic system
- pumped for the rest but pls kill Kai

Celeste Richardson

You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. 

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Representation is so important in fiction.. It’s much easier to sink into a character’s story when they resemble you in some way. For centuries there was very little healthy representation of anyone outside of heterosexual white males of European descent. Characters who fell outside of these restrictions tended to be only secondary characters, and were often portrayed as two-dimensional caricatures of the race or sex or religion they represented. There were exceptions, of course, but they were few and far between, and were often authored by women using male pseudonyms. That still left many groups utterly unrepresented, though. Thankfully, in the past few decades this lack has been addressed, and the variety of representation in literature has skyrocketed.

When I first heard about this book, I was incredibly excited. I’ve thought for years that there was a lack in urban fantasy. There are so many urban fantasy series that take place in the America, but few involve the culture that’s been here the longest: that of Native Americans. Yes, some of these involve Coyote in some side plot, but he is but one of the many spirits and deities spread across a multitude of tribes. 

Roanhorse’s tale takes place within a walled Navajo reservation after an apocalyptic flood has destroyed much of the world beyond their walls. The flood unleashed a wave of magic upon the Navajo nation, magic that is ancient, that has slumbered for centuries but has finally returned. Not only do spirits and deities once again rove among men and monsters walk the earth, but the people once again possess powers based on their clans. Medicine men are once again imbued with great power and insight into the spirit realm. I found the whole Navajo mythos incredibly fascinating. 

I have no Navajo blood in me, but my great-grandmother was full-blooded Cherokee, and my husband’s great-grandmother grew up on the Sioux Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. While our heritage might be generations removed, it’s something both of us deeply respect. When our band went on tour, one of our stops was actually the Rosebud Reservation. Chris was able to visit some of the deepest roots of his family’s history, and we were able to see what Rez life was like. It was both one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen and one of the saddest. History and culture and pride mingled with poverty and resignation. We both had incredible wells of conflicting emotions within us by the time we left. Roanhorse does a great job of capturing that duality of splendor and squalor in this first novel of her Sixth World trilogy.

So, why didn’t I rate this book higher? The reason is twofold. First, the book is almost unrelentingly dark. Even moments that were meant to be humorous always held a tinge of bitterness. I understand that it was a dark situation and that the main character had known little joy in her life, but that level of darkness with no relief is difficult to stomach. Which brings me to my second issue: our main character. Maggie is a Monsterhunter, and she’s an utter badass. However, she was incredibly difficult to relate to. Her unhappiness was so total, and she worked so hard to keep others out, that it was nearly impossible to feel much empathy for her because it was hard to get close to her. Since we were viewing other characters through her eyes, this affected the development of the supporting cast, as well. Maggie does loosen up some by the end of the book, and we are able to relate more to both her and the other characters more in the final few chapters than in the entire rest of the book. But by that point, the damage had been done; it’s hard to care about the outcome of the story if you aren’t allowed to care about the characters until too late.

While this was an interesting story with pretty fantastic world building, I’m still uncertain if I’ll continue reading the series when the next book is released. But I’m overly sensitive to darkness, and I have a feeling that there are many readers who will enjoy this story far more than I did. Even if I don’t continue, I have immense respect for Roanhorse and the representation she has provided for the Navajo people in particular and Native Americans in general.

Fraser Simons

Fantastic. Post-climate change setting the likes I’ve not read before. Characters and world rooted in Navajo mythology/culture, which added to the originality which divested the fiction from tropes. Great characterization for all the characters. Fast-paced, wicked action. Couldn’t ask for more, really. Will pick up the next book for sure.

Sheila

This was a fresh dystopian read that I'm not entirely sure why circumstances allowed me to sleep on it! 
Maggie is an abrasive anti-hero and she does take some getting used to, but it's important to remember the effects of abusive relationships on people who haven't come to terms with the fact that a relationship they were in was abusive. (Kai tries, bless him, but it's ultimately Maggie who finally begins to dig herself out of that hole by the end - as it should be). 
The setting of an independent Dinétah nation in a post-apocalyptic North America is wildly cool. The monsters, the magic, the people are all lovingly rendered. I need more stories from this world!

Christian Huss

2019 LOCUS AWARD WINNER, BEST FIRST NOVEL 2019 HUGO AWARD FINALIST, BEST NOVEL 2019 NEBULA AWARD FINALIST, BEST NOVEL 'Someone please cancel Supernatural already and give us at least five seasons of this badass indigenous monster-hunter and her silver-tongued sidekick' The New York Times While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters. Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine. Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel the rez, unravelling clues from ancient legends, trading favours with tricksters, and battling dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology. As Maggie discovers the truth behind the killings, she will have to confront her past if she wants to survive. Welcome to the Sixth World. 'An excitingly novel tale' Charlaine Harris 'Fun, terrifying, hilarious, and brilliant." Daniel José Older 'Crafts a powerful and fiercely personal journey through a compelling postapocalyptic landscape' Kate Elliott

This is a fun, fast story about recovering from toxic relationships and killing the monsters that hold you back from really changing. It's a book I'd recommend if love Patty Briggs or think badass magic contemporary fantasy needs more Native voices instead of white nerds writing a handsome version of who they wish they were. 

Lila Harrison

Maria

Мне очень сильно хотелось полюбить эту книгу – там действительно много вещей, по которым я обычно убиваюсь. Герои живут в бывшей резервации навахо в постапокалиптическом ближайшем будущем: глобальное потепление всё-таки изменило климат настолько, что цунами и торнадо смели половину Земли и два миллиарда человек. Даже в тех регионах, которые не затопило, жизнь изменилась – нет школ, электричества, нормальной еды. Зато есть боги и монстры – катаклизм впустил в мир магию, а раз есть монстры, то есть и те, кто их истребляет (*входит наша героиня Мэгги*).

Родители Мэгги погибли, бабушку убил колдун у нее на глазах, и в этот момент в Мэгги пробудились «клановые силы». В бою Мэгги становится нечеловечески быстрой, а также нечеловечески кровожадной, такой natural born killer. После смерти бабушки её подобрал легендарный бессмертный герой Нейзгани, который стал её учителем, а потом внезапно однажды бросил, и так она и живет с тех пор между стыдом, виной, страхом, ненавистью к себе и влюбленностью. 

Удивительное дело: именно на этой книжке я поняла, как непростительно мало в героическом фэнтэзи используют мотив «героиня страдает по мудаку бывшему». А это ж страшное дело, любой, кто страдал по мудаку бывшему подтвердит! Там же бездна возможностей для внутренних конфликтов разных мастей – даже побольше, чем в классической истории «любимый трагически погиб и теперь я мщу». В общем, дорогие писатели, обратите, так сказать, внимание.

Энивей, несмотря на кучу элементов, которые я люблю, магию, богов, индейцев и вот это вот всё, в книге не хватает главного – логики повествования. Я прямо фантазирую, как прихожу я к Ребекке Роанхорс и говорю: А есть у тебя сториборд? А давай посмотрим его – вот этот эпизод к чему? Куда он нас ведет? Почему ты вот эту линию бросила и больше к ней не возвращаешься? А вот этот персонаж зачем здесь, какая у него роль в истории?

Короче, обидно как-то вышло – такая многообещающая тема, а история рассыпается в руках, хоть тресни. Не знаю, буду ли читать вторую – ну может если только в какой-то момент душевного подъема (который не сейчас).

Imane

I read a lot of urban fantasy in my lifetime (for better or for worse), some of it good, some of it bad, but I don't know where to place this one. It has a lot of things going on for it, but also a lot of elements that I think were executed rather clumsily. On the positive side, we have really good worldbuilding, the kind of post-apocalyptical setting that I enjoy for an urban fantasy, a lot of potential in general, and some very interesting lore. 

On the "I'm on the fence but I think I didn't dislike it" side, the character development for the main character, Maggie, and a couple of plot twists. Coyote was the kind of ambivalent character that steals the spotlight whenever they are present, although sometimes I found his meddling way kind of cringey and lacking subtlety. 

On the not so good side, the pacing was off, the interpersonal relations were off, the characterisation was off, the plot itself didn't strike me as particularly clear to follow, and I was rather detached from the plot and the stakes by the end of the story, so all in all a lot of fundamental things that I thought were not quite up to par with my expectations. Maggie and her partner/sidekick Kai felt more like they were pottering around investigating clues that came out of literally nowhere, with almost nothing to show for it, instead of actually following leads and coming to logical conclusions. The makeover scene was such a cliché that I rolled my eyes, even though there was a tiny attempt at subverting that trope (not that it was successful by any means). This whole sequence felt cliché and juvenile. To be honest, and I guess this is partly due to my ungodly consumption of UF during my college year, but this book almost felt like it was trying its hardest to tick off a checklist of all the UF tropes under the sun in less than 300 pages (such as badass heroine who's not feminine but gets a makeover to make sure the reader understands she's hot although she'd rather brood in her whiskey while cradling her shotgun/sword). Thankfully I'm not trope-averse, and the very end of the book itself was enough to make me reconsider some of my impressions, but at the same time... I can't say I was impressed by the twists and turns the story kept taking, mostly aimlessly (or at least the aim totally flew above my head until the climax).

This whole book felt like it missed the mark, but only by a little, which means that I'll still continue reading and will chalk this up to "shaky beginnings", so to speak. All in all, I think it showed a lot of promise, and even though the "mystery of the day" felt clumsy and clunky in its execution, and the character dynamics/dialogues felt sometimes quite off the mark, I appreciated that Maggie's PTSD felt quite realistic and that she had a decent character development arc, which promises to further develop in future installments. However, I do think that the tone of the book was too bleak, and it lacked the touch of sarcasm to alleviate the edge. I'm hoping that all these points will be rectified in the next book because, as per my usual boo-boo the fool tendencies, I already got myself a copy. That's what I get from listening to people calling this the perfect book for Kate Daniels fan lmao (which is a statement I completely disagree with, see: lack of humour in this book). I'm really looking forward to finding out more about the Sixth World as imagined by Roanhorse and I'm hoping that Storm of Locust (book 2) will bring about some improvements in terms of authorial voice, execution, pacing and characterisation to make this series go from just OK to captivating. I know the author has it in her!

2019 LOCUS AWARD WINNER, BEST FIRST NOVEL 2019 HUGO AWARD FINALIST, BEST NOVEL 2019 NEBULA AWARD FINALIST, BEST NOVEL 'Someone please cancel Supernatural already and give us at least five seasons of this badass indigenous monster-hunter and her silver-tongued sidekick." The New York Times 'An excitingly novel tale." Charlaine Harris 'Fun, terrifying, hilarious, and brilliant." Daniel José Older 'Crafts a powerful and fiercely personal journey through a compelling postapocalyptic landscape' Kate Elliott While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters. Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine. Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel the rez, unravelling clues from ancient legends, trading favours with tricksters, and battling dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology. As Maggie discovers the truth behind the killings, she will have to confront her past if she wants to survive. Welcome to the Sixth World.

Becky

Katie

Rebecca Roanhorse has done it again!

After reading her middle grade that was release earlier this year, Race to the Sun, I fell in love with her writing style. Trail of Lightning was actually the first book of hers I heard of a few years ago, and I'm upset with myself it took me until this year to pick up her work.

She does a phenomenal job of incorporating Navajo folklore into her books; it is not just part of the story, it is the story. This book is not meant to be educational or the end-all-be-all of Navajo life, but learning a little bit more about this culture was a nice side bonus for me. I loved the characterizations as well. All the characters jumped off the page and felt real, even larger-than-life gods and monsters.

The only thing that impeded my enjoyment was that a lot of this book felt like it was a series of side quests rather than Maggie & Co. actively working towards their actual goal. At times, I forgot what that goal was because I got so lost in the weeds with the other random stuff they had to do for seemingly no real reason other than padding the page count. Their little side adventures were fun, but I would have preferred the book to be more focused.

As I said, I am kicking myself for not reading Rebecca Roanhorse until this year, and I will definitely be picking up the sequel to this and other books of hers very soon.

Christina M Masters

celeste

loved the navajo folklore in this but unfortunately, i couldn't care for the characters nor for the plotline, which was quite boring.

Anastaciya

Ok. At least this book was short. I didn't like it. The idea is cool, execution is messy. I don't believe that a book automatically becomes great only for having representation in it... let's hope the next installments are going to be better.

Tara King

Rebecca Roanhorse is a local New Mexican author, and I was excited to pick up her book. 

Maggie, a Diné monsterslayer, was a ton of fun to hang out with, and the book inverted all the tropes in a way that I found fun, delightful...I don't know how else to say it. The tenderhearted, pretty-faced healer sidekick.  Maggie's gruff, murder-first-questions-later attitude.  And yet, it wasn't just flipped--Maggie's relationship with her (a-hole) mentor was complex and heartbreaking.  

If you combined Mad Max: Fury Road and American Gods, you'd be headed the right direction.

Sally Salinas

Monsters, Female monster slayer & Native Americans! Great read.

Ann-Loy

Better than I thought it would be. The ending was kinda...meh but I suppose that's to get you to read the rest of the series.

Ben Nathan

This was.... Not good. Her writing is trite and birt boring. She basically takes a mixture of what good and bad writers do then rewrites the story with a native American skin. Is she doing anything unique? No. Is she putting it in a unique setting? Yes. But the second part doesn't save her from how bad she is at putting words in a page.

Anyaconda

I stopped caring at 25% DNF
Just because this book has great representation doesn't mean it gets a higher star rating. Wasn't a fan of any of the characters or the world building in general. It was meh at best for me and I felt quite underwhelmed. I was expecting something a la Sookie Stackhouse/Patricia Briggs.

Liz Griffin

Okay, Roanhorse is now on my auto buy author list. I loved the “voice” we see from Maggie and the worldbuilding is epic.

Trail of Lightning

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