Y’all. BOOM! Studios has never let me down, and they aren’t stopping now. I’ve been following this one for a while. As soon as I heard Roxane Gay was a part of this graphic novel, I wanted to read it, and I’m super grateful I got the opportunity.

“When I was a young girl, my husband’s father flew an air machine into the sun. Since then, the days have been dark, the nights bright.” The story takes place in a world with no sun, and it jumps back and forth in time to tell the reader about the history of how things got that way as well as the present and future of living in a world of darkness.

I loved so many things about this book. The catalyst. The stories of young lovers and how children often face the consequences of their parents’ actions. The art was fantastic, and it, like any good sci-fi book, examines humanity in the context of “what if,” examining the best and worst in others when faced with a catastrophic event. I think there’s a lot in this story that relates to our current situation. We aren’t without the sun, but COVID has changed all of our lives, and like the people in this story, I think we will feel its effects even after its over, perhaps forever.

This one’s out on October 27, so keep an eye out for it at your local comic shop, bookstore, or request it from your local library.

What a delightfully weird story. I found it a bit of a struggle at first to get into the story or it's unusual premise, but soon it had me compelled. I enjoyed this unique dystopian/almost post-apocalyptic take on class struggles.

For libraries: A good fit for a thriving adult graphic novel collection.

Roxane Gay, Tracy Lynne Oliver, and Rebecca Kirby adapted Gay’s New York Times bestelling short story “We Are the Sacrifice of Darkness” and turned it into a full length graphic novel, and added depth and color to a world where the sun doesn't shine.

If you haven't read any of Gay's work before this is the perfect primer. For those used to her non-fiction the graphic novel really helps you get into the world of this story. Like most of Gay's work that I have read it is both uplifting and illuminating, since she has a way of causing me to reevaluate some of my preconcieved notions about the world I live in.

At first, it's hard to immerse yourself in the story because I found the characters' background and the consequences of Hiram's decision not believable. But again, I think it's because I have read many science fiction books and, you know, not getting any sunlight is basically the end of life on Earth; Earth will become unsuitable place to live because there's no source of energy, blah-blah-blah.

But the point of Gay's The Sacrifice of Darkness is not that; it's about love, it's about class struggle, it's about filial love and longing. If you're able to past those stuffs I've mentioned above, then you will enjoy The Sacrifice of Darkness. The art is really beautiful and the story is really touching.

I wasn't familiar with the short story this is based on, but I enjoyed even so. It jumps in quite quickly, but you'll get it soon enough. Beautiful art, really appreciated the two different time lines had diffrent colour pallets.

3.5!

I think there’s a collection of love stories at the core of this one. Love of parents for children, of people for purpose, of human for light. I liked the way Hiram and Mara’s “before”s were interwoven with Joshua and Claire’s “After”, how they both had a distinctive colour scheme and feeling to them - also in line with the event that separates their before and after, that is? the disappearance of the sun.

I did feel like I missed some depth to the characters, particularly to Claire. Besides her loyalty and sense of justice, I feel like we know very little about her, and I wanted to know more. In addition I found the focus on women bearing children, and how prevalent and automatic that felt as a logical course of action a bit much, especially since it felt like that notion really just existed without the women in question having much of a different purpose besides supporting the men they love. I think that in combination with a world that felt at times pleasantly ungraspable and at times confusingly distant left me feeling a little unsatisfied with the story in the end.

And of course I have to point out the artwork, which is absolutely gorgeous. I love the style, the fluidity of it, the colours, the sense it gave you of the space this story exists within, which is both similar and very different from our world. It really enhanced how connected I felt to the story.

A very pretty, contained work of art.

This is a gorgeous graphic novel with a couple of sweet romances but a weak plot. In a world where Hiram Hightower, a miner, has flown into the sun and put it out, this graphic novel follows the "before," following the events leading up to this disaster, and the "after," following the fallout for the world and his family and attempts to bring the light back.
The gorgeous artwork by Rebecca Kirby is the best part of this graphic novel. I especially love her character art—every person is absolutely beautiful. The romances between Hiram and his wife Mara and Joshua, their son, and his friend Claire are both very sweet, and I found them to be grounded and truly emotional. However, the plot leaves something to be desired. The beginning spends too long establishing the setting and takes a while to get to the main characters, who are the focus of the rest of the book. The text boxes with the exposition are written in a very matter-of-fact way which can sometimes distract from what is otherwise an emotional story. The timeline can sometimes feel very rushed, jumping years ahead at a time. And some of the speculative fiction aspects are not explained very well, leading to what feels like a lack of depth to the world. Also, and maybe this is a personal issue, but the terms "corona council" and "flareon" both took me out of the story, the first because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the second because of Pokémon. Overall, it's a beautiful book but a bit of a lackluster read.

The story was sure out of the box.
It had a different atmosphere and the setting and the characters were nicely written.Though I didn't like the plot much(maybe I shouldn't have gone into it thinking that it was a 100% sci-fi story)it is worth mentioning that the colour scheme of this graphic novel is well done.
For teens and up.

Many thanks to BOOM! Studios for providing me with an e-ARC of this book!

I received this digital arc in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios/Archaia!

What an interesting graphic novel! The art was gorgeous, and the way it portrayed time jumps was interesting. The story was intriguing, with themes of classicism, specifically the violence and lack of compassion from those who profit off the lower class. As such a short story, it did a great job of exploring corporate greed, the way in which society dehumanizes the working class in order to exploit them, and the repercussions of such dehumanization. It talks about social ostracization and injustices in society. It was well told, and it made an impact on me.

There was a sweet love story centered on found family and making the best out of a terrible situation. It was great, but I think it should have been flushed out a bit more. I would have loved to learn more about the characters, watched them grow close and interact with each other a bit more, get some context on why things happened the way they did. The pacing was too quick for me, I think. But as a short story, it was a strong one for sure.

this was beautiful. i think the combination of the artwork and roxane gay's writing is perfection. i wasn't expecting such a powerful and deep storyline from the synopsis, but i very much enjoyed it. i think is a great introduction to roxane's writing if you've never read something from her, because is a lot lighter than her non-fiction work, but still great.

This graphic novel was pure magic. First of all, the art style was incredible and had a very stylistic feel. It reminded me of an older indie animated film and I adored every single panel. The story was heartwarming and uplifting. A true tale of love and companionship, with a powerful message of never letting your light fade. I enjoyed absolutely every second of reading it. Would highly recommend.

This story is unique in a lot of ways. At the beginning it shows a miner Hiram Highwater breaking down from the greed of the company working the miners and he drives his plane into the sun causing the sun to go out for everyone. The town was forced to use lanterns to bring light to the town to bring back some normalcy of night and day and basically to be able to see, with the light going out this also caused the town to be cold. This brought out a lot of resentment towards Hiram's wife Mara and his son Joshua.
Then, the story switches between the love story about Hiram and Mara then Joshua and Claire. How they came to be together, how Mara's family did not approve of Mara becoming a wife of a miner and how she went ahead and married him. Then, it switches back to how Joshua and Claire start hanging out and their love develops and they get married and eventually have a daughter.
I really enjoyed this graphic novel and the story line. It was hooking and kept me interested. The story definitely was deeper than I originally thought and the wealthy and the influential people of the mines that they became greedy basically forced the workers to work overtime to get all the minerals that they wanted out of the mines. I definitely recommend this graphic novel to anyone who enjoys a good love story and a little bit of a mystery! I definitely will check out more from this author as well!

The world feels especially dark and heartless right now, which makes perfect timing for this strangely hopeful, empowering graphic novel adaptation of a short story by Roxane Gay (from the collection "Difficult Women") in which the sun's light has disappeared. It's just what I needed to read at this moment in time. The art is beautiful, I grew to care about the characters, and I loved the allegorical, speculative sci-fi feel. Pull this book out when you need a breather from the injustices of the world; when you need to be reminded of what's good.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have never read any of Roxanne Gay’s work so this graphic novel adaptation of one of her stories felt like an easier way in than her non-fiction, which I know tackles a lot of tough topics.

The story was interesting and followed two sets of characters, some ‘before’ and some ‘after’. The world building was a bit confusing at points because although this could be classed as sci-fi/fantasy or at least speculative fiction, it is very close to our real world and so some of those speculative aspects were not fully explained.

Rebecca Kirby’s artwork was my favourite aspect of this reading experience. The muted colours not only differentiated between the two time lines but she managed to pack so much emotion into each panel.

Overall I enjoyed this and will be seeking out more of Rebecca Kirby’s work. The story itself wasn’t the strongest aspect for me but I would be interested in reading more by Roxanne Gay.

3 out of 5 stars!

The artwork is stunning in this graphic novel. I found myself spending a good amount of time really looking and taking it in.

Story wise, at times I found it a little confusing and would probably have worked well if fleshed out so we had more information.

Overall it was entertaining and would recommend this clever little graphic novel.

I thought that this story was interesting, if you looked beyond the surface level.
It had a lot to say about the working class and the exploitation of them to benefit "society" to their detriment. It also explored the way working class people, but especially working class people of color, are blame when they rise up and fight back against their exploitation.
This is all handled in a very subtle way. I think many readers could miss the significance of the story.
I found myself sometimes less invested than I would have liked to be.
The art was quite lovely and unique and I appreciated that the artist tried to make the past and present clear to the reader.

Roxane Gay is one of my favorite writers and I had read the short story this is based on before.
After years of working underground at the mine, Hiram Hightower flies into the sun and then the sun disappears. Life goes on after the sun disappears but the council is desperately searching for a way to bring the sun back.
The story alternates between the past with Hiram and Mara, and the future with their son Joshua and his friend Claire. The two stories are beautifully illustrated and I loved how the colors changed between two to show what the absence of the sun did.

A very clever idea that was turned into an entertaining graphic novel. The story got confusing at times especially since the science of the world nor the properties of flareon. The side story of money hungry corrupt politicians and misplaced bandwagon hate were well done.

This could have been five stars if it was fleshed out a bit more, but overall it was quite good.

I thought I wouldn't like where the story is going to take me. But man, I was so wrong. I really love the ending, it is just beautiful.

The illustration is just beautiful too. I like the way they used color to differentiate between the time setting.

Hiram Hightower has decided to fly towards the sun, he can no longer bear the life full of darkness that working in the mines represents, and he succeeds, the sun has stopped shining, it has become a crack in the sky.
Word soon spreads that Hiram is the cause that the sun no longer exists, so his family faces the scorn of society, to the point of subjecting them to public trials holding them responsible.
Meanwhile a love story arises between Joshua (Hiram's son) and Claire, who want to do something so that the sun returns and thus no longer be persecuted. The story itself is dark, however, as far as I know without the sun, life as we know it is not possible.