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A review by cielosiluminado
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
holy shit. i still don’t even know how to start this because so many things happened and i know i’m going to forget something.
— the characters / point of views. ⌇ (potential spoilers...?)
let me start off by saying i did not expect so many povs. the book starts with young serapio, then transitions to sun priest naranpa’s pov, then we meet the mermaid/siren captain xiala, we then get current-day serapio pov, and lastly and unexpectedly, we meet okoa, the son of the recently deceased carrion crow matron...? i’m counting serapio’s povs as two separate ones because one pov is in the past and the other is current day, so yeah, i think i listed every pov.
some povs were definitely more interesting to read than others. i appreciated having younger serapio pov’s because that’s how we learn a lot of his backstory and who made him the way he is / what he is destined for. the first chapter alone was captivatingly chilling and a phenomenal way to start the story.
meeting xiala was so much fun. that girl is messy and unapologetically herself. quite inspiring tbh. also to this day, i do not know if she is a mermaid or siren...? whatever she is, her powers are so cool.
naranpa’s pov was infuriatingly interesting to read. i think it’s an unpopular opinion to say i found her pov more interesting than others *sometimes*. she really reminds me of people who vote against their own interests, swearing they belong with the majority, when she’s actually the minority voting against her own interests.
to me, okoa’s pov was unexpected... it feels like he seemingly came out of nowhere? though based on like the last 10% of the story, it’s quite obvious he’ll play a huge role later on in the series.
— the plot / setting.
the world that is expanded on in this book was so easy to delve into and the plot was so engaging.
this story is inspired by the indigenous civilizations of the pre-colonial americas and portrays how so many people are wrecked with the wounds of generational trauma. how those traumas can lead to feelings of un-belonging in so many aspects, of being an outsider in a land that can use you one moment and dispose of you just as easily the next.
— the characters / point of views. ⌇ (potential spoilers...?)
let me start off by saying i did not expect so many povs. the book starts with young serapio, then transitions to sun priest naranpa’s pov, then we meet the mermaid/siren captain xiala, we then get current-day serapio pov, and lastly and unexpectedly, we meet okoa, the son of the recently deceased carrion crow matron...? i’m counting serapio’s povs as two separate ones because one pov is in the past and the other is current day, so yeah, i think i listed every pov.
some povs were definitely more interesting to read than others. i appreciated having younger serapio pov’s because that’s how we learn a lot of his backstory and who made him the way he is / what he is destined for. the first chapter alone was captivatingly chilling and a phenomenal way to start the story.
meeting xiala was so much fun. that girl is messy and unapologetically herself. quite inspiring tbh. also to this day, i do not know if she is a mermaid or siren...? whatever she is, her powers are so cool.
naranpa’s pov was infuriatingly interesting to read. i think it’s an unpopular opinion to say i found her pov more interesting than others *sometimes*. she really reminds me of people who vote against their own interests, swearing they belong with the majority, when she’s actually the minority voting against her own interests.
to me, okoa’s pov was unexpected... it feels like he seemingly came out of nowhere? though based on like the last 10% of the story, it’s quite obvious he’ll play a huge role later on in the series.
— the plot / setting.
the world that is expanded on in this book was so easy to delve into and the plot was so engaging.
this story is inspired by the indigenous civilizations of the pre-colonial americas and portrays how so many people are wrecked with the wounds of generational trauma. how those traumas can lead to feelings of un-belonging in so many aspects, of being an outsider in a land that can use you one moment and dispose of you just as easily the next.
“Why try to educate those who cared not to learn?”
everything in this really makes you question who is a “hero” vs “villain”, “a good person” vs “a bad person” vs “a monster”, as it really talks about darker parts of humanity quite openly and without much restraint.
so much is happening starting from page 1 that it was hard to put it down. good thing roanhorse’s writing style wasn’t convoluted as some fantasy books can get. her descriptions and world building were so vivid, it felt like i was there, seeing all the calamity and bloodshed. that being said, i also liked the quieter, calmer moments in the story, like i really enjoyed xiala and serapio’s scenes together on the sea, and i was rooting for their potential budding romance.
i came to grow very fond of each chapter’s epigraph because those added so much context to the story that i often found myself going back and rereading them because of how much it provided to the story. it included myths and tales of the crow god, history of tova and other parts of their world, duties of the sun priest and of the others, teek legends and curses, diary entries / accounts of people from the past, etc.
lastly, i will forever cherish when queerness in books are beautifully woven into the story. there were multiple non-binary and trans side characters in this world, and xiala was bisexual herself. like the queer characters were just there, without the need for some kind of grand proclamation. it was super refreshing.