It took me less than a day to read this...and I want to start it over again immediately!

I have enjoyed the two Maggie Hoskie books that I've read, and I've recommended them and gifted them to so many people....but Black Sun is a step up in scale, in magic and in depth. I will still read any and all new Sixth World books, eagerly, but I desperately hope to spend more time in the Black Sun universe before returning there.

The mixture of pre-european history and religion with magic and fantasy is compelling and new. I love that she draws across many of the different histories and time periods, from Polynesian sailing techniques through Ancestral Puebloans, with allusions to the Cahokian mounds, plus Incan and Mayan traditions as well. Plus mermaids and giant crows the size of dragons! Add in a mystical quest, a winter solstice eclipse and characters that are compelling, flawed and fascinating and you have a the beginning of a truly epic and original series. I cannot recommend this enough!

This book really cements Rebecca Roanhorse's already solid place as a new and exciting voice in the SF&F space. I can't wait to read whatever she does next!

This book was fantastic and it's definitely a new favourite. Rebecca Roanhorse did a spectacular job and I will personally bake her cookies if she let's me beta read the sequel.

I adored the characters and the fact that loving them all meant that my heart was going to be broken at some point, since there are two sides of the main conflict and you're rooting for both of them. Txiala was fascinating, both because of her powers and the lore of her people, but also as bi/pan representation. Serapio is the first blind character I have ever read about and I loved him. And I really appreciated that there were two named non-binary characters and the gender of others was sometimes not assumed either.

The setting was spectacular. It was beautifully vivid and filled with life: different locations had their own societal rules and expectations, traditions and religion, vocabulary, fashion and food. I felt transported into this world and I simultaneously never wanted to finish this book, but I also wanted to know how it ended. The best kind of heartbreak. I can't wait for the sequel!

I am angry at how phenomenal this book is. Like, what gave you the right to be so good, BLACK SUN? Go preorder this, everyone. You’ll thank me for it.

***

But he did have something that others lacked, something he would have willingly traded for love had the bargain ever been offered. He had purpose.

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

***

I feel inadequate in writing any sort of review because it would pale in comparison to the book. Y’all, it’s so fucking good. I don’t say that lightly because I don’t five star very often. Any attempts at describing the worldbuilding would just result in a series of exclamation points while words burst in an incoherent stream of consciousness. If you read epic fantasy, read BLACK SUN because it is a masterclass in stakes and driving the reader into tears (awe and shock!).

For those who care about romantic arcs: there are hints of two romantic pairings (bi f/m & f/nb) but nothing gets resolved in this book. There is a cliffhanger because this is epic fantasy trilogy.

We’re living in the golden renaissance of fantasy. It awes me when authors like Rebecca Roanhorse, N.K. Jemisin, Tasha Suri, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia outdo themselves with every new book. It’s an embarrassment of riches, and we are so lucky to be witnessing their greatness.

Love to see fantasy in a setting inspired by early American cultures! Interesting characters, interesting worldbuilding. I wasn't a big fan of Roanhorse's other series, but I've always favored stuff that isn't set in the real world, so Black Sun was much more to my taste! My only real complaint was the ending is very much "oh, this is the first book in a series". Don't expect things to be particularly well resolved. Nonetheless, definitely looking forward to seeing how this series develops.

When Rebecca Roanhorse sets out to write an epic fantasy with the "scope, scale, magic, and intrigue" inspired by the pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas set in a fictional secondary world, she does not miss the mark!! Black Sun is the fantastically intense and mystical beginning of her new series.

In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is a time of celebration, and this year it coincides with a solar eclipse.

Xalia, is a disgraced Teek and ship captain, whose Song can calm waters and warp a man's mind, sets sale for Tova. On board is a singular passenger, one shrouded in mystery and shadow. Serapio is a scarred, blind young man, and he is the sole purpose of the voyage to Tova.

Roanhorse created a world rich with culture, hierarchy, intrigue, magic, dynamic characters, and so much more. Firstly, the entire geographical setting, albeit fictional, is breathtaking and mystical! The civilizations and their belief systems created in this story are incredibly inventive and beautiful. It is those very things that lend to the dynamics of the characters.

There are several characters and clans in this book, all equally worth discussion, and each of them are so well written. The main characters: Xalia, Serapio, the Priests, and the different clans. There are some other secondary main characters as well, but they come in a little later. All the characters arcs are well developed and believable. Xalia is hilarious and bawdy, but she's still a woman with feelings. Serapio... hero? Villian? Anti-hero? We shall see. There are four different priests of note. Naranpa, the Sun Priest, predicts the world will descend into chaos at the solstice, but naturally that is what the Priesthood is for; to prevent such things. The Sun Priest also seems to have slightly different, more progressive views of those that she leads. Her own character arc lends to a major sophisticated plot development. Roanhorse wrote about four different clans, basically living harmoniously among each other in their own areas but under the same Priesthood. The scope in which she created all the clans in relation to the rest of the characters and setting is artful and amazing.

Her writing style kept things interesting and moving. I loved the poetic, proverbic intros to every chapter. They were hauntingly beautiful and insightful to Clan ideology. Some of the characters' POVs and self-inflections are intimate and romanticized lending even more credence to their development and intrigue.

Black Sun is truly an epic fantasy. It gripped me from the beginning and I couldn't put it down! I finished it in one reading. There's magic, mystical, beasts, gods, prophecy, social inclusion/exclusion, deception, nostalgia, and dark intrigue. I cannot wait for book two!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse in exchange for a fair and honest review.

“A Convergence is a celestial alignment. A day when the sun, moon, and earth align, and the moon’s shadow devours the sun.”
“A black sun,” she said, nodding. “That’s what the Teek call it. They are rare.”

Rebecca Roanhorse’s Black Sun is the first book in an epic fantasy series set in a world inspired by ancient American civilizations and cultures. This a-chronologically told story revolves around four main characters (with the chapters all alternating from each of their perspectives—in third person) who are all bound by forces of destiny beyond their knowledge or control. The story itself succeeds in the dynamic originality of the worldbuilding, the depth of the characters, the engrossing plot, and the extremely multifaceted, subtle, and insightful exploration of the human mind and soul.

“A man with a destiny is a man who fears nothing.”

In a genre full of literally thousands of books easily confused and conflated due to their similar looking worlds, trope-y characters, and identical plot devices, Roanhorse’s new book stands startlingly alone in its refreshing originality but also in the penetrating and beautiful humanity of its characters.

“Usually,” Xiala said carefully, “when someone describes a man as harmless, he ends up being a villain.”

One of the most interesting and compelling things that I thought Roanhorse did in this book was not to set a clear delineation between good and evil. Even after the end of the book, it is still not clear who the villain is—if there is one. Which, in a fantasy novel, is extremely innovative and rather ingenious because if fantasy is the mirror by which we as readers examine our own reality, I feel as though Roanhorse is expertly accomplishing that feat by creating a cast of characters whose individuality outweighs their role in a mere plot. The characters act in very human and unexpected ways that belie expectation and predictability but still make perfect sense in the context of their development.

I also loved her use of Crows as subcharacters—corvids have always been my favorite kind of birds—and her comment in the acknowledgment sections about how she made up the talking crows but that they “are closer to the real thing than you might think” was just 😚👌🏻. She KNOWS if you know what I mean. 😉

“We will witness order move to chaos and back to order again.”

While the writing style is not very literary—which is what I’m usually most drawn to in my readings—the plot was extremely engrossing, the characters were all very interesting, and the worldbuilding was exquisite—easily my favorite thing about this book. I also especially loved its originality and the very effortless, casual representation of various genders and orientations. This book is the first book I’ve ever read that had a character using xe/xir pronouns which was extremely cool, and one of the MCs was pansexual! And yes. There is a bibliography. 💯 I am so excited to see where the rest of this series goes!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TW // CW: ritual suicide, violent death, murder, gore, seastorms, drowning, violence against children

Additional thoughts…
I really hope this book comes with a map in its published version—especially with a zoomed-in map of Tova which sounds like *such* a beautiful city.

I’m also getting kind of emotional thinking of just how amazing a movie adaptation of this book—how beautiful the setting, how powerful the music, and how incredible an all-indigenous cast—would be.

I do wish Roanhorse had used even more (though she definitely uses a reasonable amount anyway) of the Yucatec Maya and Tewa languages that she was inspired by for the cultures she invented in her story as language is one of the main things that really draws me into a fantasy world.

Favorite character: Zataya—definitely hope there’s a *lot* more of her in the sequels!

Recommended further reading: A Phoenix First Must Burn, ed. Patrice Caldwell; Rebecca Roanhorse’s story “ was my favorite of this outstanding anthology.

I just finished Black Sun and even though the book doesn't come out until October, I had to share my excitement. It was an absolute privilege to go on this journey laid out by Roanhorse. The character development is second to none and the world building is top shelf in all of high fantasy, and the climax is one of aplomb and tremendous payoff. I know I am gushing but I am slightly abashed I have not read this author before! A full and detailed review will be out close to the publication date.

An epic fantasy inspired by pre-colonial North American history and myth. The story switches between two converging threads. One centers on Naranpa, Sun Priest of Tova, who is somewhat naive and unaware of simmering discontent in the city. Fed up with oppression and the murder of their people, a group of cultists wish to return the crow god to power, while the city’s elite scheme to install one of their own behind the Sun Priest’s ornate mask. The other thread follows Xiala, a freewheeling, hard drinking sea captain who must transport a strange cargo to the northern city in time for the solstice. The book is dark at times but also features a touching romance, a fascinating city carved into the cliffs and tops of mesas, and fantastical elements such as giant crows that can be ridden like dragons, water-insect powered boats, and foul-mouthed mermaids. Fantasy fans who are interested in non-Eurocentric worlds should take note.

I received an ARC for a honest review.

It was truly an honor to read this book. To be immersed in this epic fantasy and see the world through a shuttered in, blind character, opened this book up to a new depth. I loved the story line. I am definitely awaiting book two. Xiala, Serapio or Naranpa, And Naranpa’s brother hold my attention. I want to know more about them. Will. Area survive. Will Serapio seek her out and end her? So many questions.

A tight, intricately plotted book with a fully realized world and compelling characters. BLACK SUN should be considered a masterclass in fantasy writing and take a space next to the greats of the genre.

Black Sun is the first in a series, a powerful and compelling introduction to a SFF world based on the cultures, cities, and religions of indigenous, Pre-Columbian American civilizations. Full of detail and depth and complex, conflicted characters, it is written with great skill and beautiful timing and plotting. Everything about this feels real and immediate, and there is so much more I can't wait to learn about the cultures presented here, the characters, and, of course, what happens next. The book ends with a cliffhanger of sorts, albeit one constructed so well that it also feels like an appropriate point to pause, so be prepared. But go read it, right now.

Thank you NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an unbiased review!

The short of it?

Read this book. Devour it.

I’m completely at a loss now that I’ve finished it. How can something be so perfect at the right time?

I won’t talk about anything plot related, but Rebecca Roanhorse is truly a master at her craft. I want to scream about characters, moan my love for them, yell about the plot, but all of that will have to wait. Just know that you are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t buy this book. Rebecca has made such a beautiful, fascinatingly rich and unique book that the fantasy genre has been waiting for. Read it.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I devoured this book. And at this point, I am a little bereft that this is an ARC, so I have to wait even longer for the book to be released and the subsequent books to come. Rebecca Roanhorse has created a thought-provoking fantasy based on pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas. It's a tale of long-game revenge and love, mixed with magic and religion, with history and political maneuvering thrown in for good measure. After each reading bout, I found myself looking at maps of the Gulf of Mexico, trying to plot out the course of the novel, as well as looking up the different cultures of the Americas and trying to match them to the different peoples in the story. Roanhorse lists multiple books in the credits that she used for research and I feel the need to dig into those as well now. This story has so many vividly written aspects - landscapes, food, magic, religion, emotions, LGBTQIA representation - it drew me in so thoroughly, and all I want is more.

I enjoy Rebecca Roanhorse's post-apocalyptic fantasy series a lot, and was so thrilled to see the description for this book! Pre-Columbian Americas-inspired epic fantasy?! Sign. Me. Up. I love the premise.

Black Sun is the first book in a series. Much of the action revolves around people with different motivations and religions and priorities preparing for a major solar eclipse. The city of Tova is a major cultural, religious, and economic hub, and we spend much of the book either in Tova or following characters on their journey to Tova. I loved the way Roanhorse brought this city to life! She excels at world-building and so much about this world was wonderfully detailed, from the internal politics between different groups to the different languages and religions, from the economic disparity between rich and poor to the education systems employed - she put so much thought into everything she created, and it shows.

This is a very complex world. The story also has many characters with their own motivations and plans, and many of the main characters don't know or interact with each other. This makes for a somewhat disparate story, with a lot of action and plot happening that does not seem to relate to much else. There is so much forward propulsion in this story to get to the solar eclipse, but it left the book as a whole feeling like it did not have a lot of its own plot or resolution - it felt like an introduction to the main event, which we have not gotten to yet.

I think I'll really enjoy this series once I get further into it, but this first book felt more like a taste. That said, so excited to see more of this world and how it evolves, and love the whole premise.

This book starts with one of the most propulsive opening scenes I've ever read. From there, at least for me, it never let up and this is probably my favorite book I've read so far this year. This is high fantasy exactly the way I like: 1) character driven, 2) with political machinations, 3) in an interesting, non-basic-b****-medieval world, 4) with a cool magical elements, 5) that doesn't lag & keeps me engaged throughout. I absolutely cannot wait for the rest of this trilogy and this is one of the strongest series starters I've read in a long time.

Fantasy fans take notice. Rebecca Roanhorse has written an instant classic. I usually take notes while reviewing an ARC, I literally forgot to while reading this. I was so immersed in the story that I forgot myself. Thank you Saga Press/Simon and Schuster for gifting me with an Advance Reader's Copy of Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. It releases on October 13, 2020. What an intense, gripping, imaginative novel. With stunning, vivid writing Rebecca Roanhorse paints an intriguing picture of a society mixed with magic and danger. I will absolutely be trying to pre-order a signed first edition of this book.

I will be leaving this 5 star review multiple places on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon (when it releases), Twitter, multiple places on Facebook as well as all my bookclubs. Fantastic book. Thank you for the opportunity to review it.

"I am burdened with glorious purpose, to be created & born to be naught but a vessel for an avenging God, allowed no real childhood, love or anything beyond training brutal & harsh after being bereft of all normal senses & stimulus at 11...." So, could one of the first to be introduced characters of this story say. This tale winds like a snake through glimpses of memory through many lands, peoples & stories & like a snake you cannot but watch it not being able to take your eyes or mind off until you know where it has gone & what has happened in its travels.
Thus, this created tale of places begins & continues. Strong feel of the people of the south of old. Not their ceremonies, culture or ways per se but that is how I place it in my mind. Delightful & intricate in its simplicity & well told, easy to immerse in like a strong & sulfurous hot spring to soak up the heat &minerals & earth & let go of the toxins, to enjoy & dream. I close my eyes & see the colors & pictures & people, I can do that, it is delightful complete with tastes & smells as well as sight. Yes, I loved this tale I was gifted from Netgalley into my email box, an unexpected delight

This year's winter solstice is more special than most in the holy city of Tova, as it coincides with a solar eclipse. The Sun Priest warns  that the prophecies speak of an unbalancing of the world. Tourists and pilgrims alike travel to Tova for the celestial event, including Xiala, the captain of a ship paid by a strange nobleman to deliver her one passenger to Tova on time for the eclipse. Xiala's crew is wary of the young blind scarred man, but they are also wary of their captain Xiala, a female and a Teek, whose magic can calm the waters and drive men insane.

I love this epic fantasy based on the culture and myths of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and Polynesia, particularly the world-building. The advanced architecture, agriculture, astronomy, and sea travel and navigation seem downright modern, at least compared to traditional European fantasy technology. Those seemingly familiar modern elements contrast against an unfamiliar government of four high priests of the Celestial Tower and the four matriarchal clans of Tova, and the system is ripe with political intrigue, mistrust, and usurping. And although I am unfamiliar with a commerce system based entirely on cacao, it doesn't really seem that far-fetched. Then there's the gods. Some dead, some alive. The sun god in power, and the crow god seeking his revenge.

It's not just the new well of potential of world-building that fascinates me, Black Sun features multiple characters of interest, and two of the four protagonists really shine. Xiala, the ship captain, is disgraced in her homeland and lives in a culture that doesn't understand and often mistrusts her kind. She's either on a ship or drunk in a tavern, and though protective of her people and her heritage and her magic, she has no idea how deep her power goes. Although Xiala can read most people, her passenger is a mystery. Serapio has a magic all his own, and he understands the depth of his power, but refuses to share with Xiala, even as their strange friendship blossoms. The reader has the advantage of getting to know Serapio in chapters that flashback to his childhood and his training. Back in Tova, you'll get to know Naranpa, the Sun Priest, a young woman newly appointed to her position by her deceased mentor, who wants the sky-made priests to become more accessible to the common people. Most don't agree that she has the pedigree to have risen to her current station, having grown up in the depths of the rough city below. Finally, Okoa is the son of the recently deceased matriarch of Crow Clan and leader of her army, recently returning home to Tova after years of training abroad.

Each of these protagonists is powerful in their own ways, whether through birth, or station, or training, or inherent magic or some combination thereof. But none are powerful enough to erase their past, escape their generational trauma, or feel as though they have control of their destiny, and you'll root for all of them. Instead of fantasy that pits good against evil, you're not sure who among them is the villain. On a more modern note, the characters are diverse. The gender inclusive (bisexual protagonist, two characters with gender neutral pronouns) and differently-abled (blind) protagonists read as real people and feel appropriate for this fantasy civilization.

All I'm saying is read the first chapter of the book. It's dark and macabre and visceral and (trigger warning) contains violence towards children, but it hooks! And while this first book in the Between Earth and Sky series will leave you itching for the next volume, if you love the idea of dead gods, giant beasts, and mermaid sirens in a fantasy based on the indigenous Americas, then this book is for you!

Fantastic. Outstanding. Left me gobsmacked.

Holy crow, this was amazing. I cannot wait for the next book in this series. I received this as ARC from Netgalley. I feel privileged to have had a chance to read this before it came out.

As the author said in her acknowledgements, "so much of epic fantasy is set in analogs of Western Europe but I think most readers believe that all fantasy must be sent in a fake England in order to be considered epic. Happily there seem to be more and more epics set in secondary worlds influenced by various cultures in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia, but it still seems incredibly rare to find a fantasy inspired by the Americas."

Well, this is a stunning example of such a fantasy, and hopefully inspires many more. So much fantasy is your standard swords-and-sorcery stuff that when you read a book in that setting, you pretty much know what to expect regardless of the specific plot - this is true even of great fantasy in that genre.

Well, I definitely didn't know what to expect when I started Black Sun. It made me immediately realize that I know essentially nothing about the history and culture and lives of the peoples who lived (and still live) in South America prior to European invasion. So the fact that this story and the richly detailed setting in which Roanhorse places it feels so "fresh" is due largely to my own - and our society's - ignorance of that history.

This book is clearly setting the stage for the rest of the series, but it stands very well on its own as well. It is not clear, even at the end, whether there are "good guys" and "bad guys" on the sides of the central conflict. A central theme is "what is the price of freedom - what are you willing to do, and what is necessary to do?" So both/all sides make their rationalizations and their compromises and their Faustian bargains - no one is innocent, yet no is fully guilty either.

Anyway, I highly, highly recommend this book and this series.

Mystery, intrigue, and adventure awaits a reader when they read this book. Full of strong female leads characters and a man who may be decended from a god, you can't go wrong to read this book.