Reviews with content warning for Classism - Czarne Słońce

Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Czarne Słońce by Rebecca Roanhorse

12 reviews

that_boi_eliza's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was utterly phenomenal, holy cow. Gripping from beginning to end, and I cared so deeply for each of the characters. Serapio and Xiala’s story arc especially just ripped at my heart. I cannot wait to find out what happens in the second book, even if I am moderately terrified it’s going to be painful.

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tinysierra's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

An amazing epic fantasy with intriguing diverse characters. Wow. Also… mermaids! Giant crows!

There was a mix of character driven and plot driven moments. I felt like there was a lot of slow/medium paced moments where there was more focus on character development/interactions but it did pick up in some places with more plot related aspects. It kept my attention either way.

The timeline hopped around a bit, jumping back into the past and then forward into the present. Slowly putting the pieces together. The chapters had the date along with experts from in world media (like journal entries), which really added to my immersion.

I liked Xiala and Serapio’s chapters the most. It was nice to see the story through a blind characters perspective. I hope to see more about Xiala’s powers in the next book.

In this book, queer characters are accepted in some of the societies but not others. There are characters that use neopronouns (xe/xir)! Xiala mentions that she takes pleasure with “men, women, and other genders” which I assume means that she’s bi or pan.

I guess I didn’t expect to see fuck and shit in a fantasy book because they usually have fantasy curses. Xiala even says “Mother Seas” instead of “God” so that part felt… kind of jarring?

The ending was fast and admittedly a little anticlimactic but I don’t find myself feeling disappointed. I’m curious about where the story is going.

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bookycnidaria's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny 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? No

4.0

Note: My full review is here.

This was a really interesting read. If there's one thing I want to read more of, it's pre-Columbian fiction/nonfiction/fantasy/what have you, (1) because pre-Columbian cultures and histories are fascinating and (2) because I know very little about said cultures and histories and would like to learn more.

Black Sun is the first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy, an epic fantasy set in a world inspired by the pre-Columbian Americas. This is a world where music has power and mermaids are real, where giant crows are bred as warrior mounts and no one is disturbed by the idea of a third gender. They do have a lot of problems based on class and race, but, well, nobody's perfect. The story is narrated by turns by Xiala, a Teek ship captain who can manipulate the sea with her Song; Naranpa, the reigning Sun Priest, who bootstrapped her way to the top but now finds her life under constant threat; Serapio, a blind man burdened with glorious purpose; and Okoa, a crow-riding warrior from Serapio's mother's clan, who finds himself in the middle of a religious uprising despite his best attempts to avoid it. Along with the chaos of their everyday lives, they have to deal with the Convergence, an upcoming solar eclipse that will affect all of them in different ways.

One of the most wonderful things about this book is its sheer diversity. Though it takes place on one continent, there are several different ethnic groups, orientations, and identities, including a nonbinary gender called bayeki, which uses the pronouns xe/xir. This whole world was incredibly detailed, but the world-building never distracted from the story. Overall this was a really intriguing first installment, and I am now in wait mode for book two, particularly as Black Sun ended on a rather cruel cliffhanger. I am seriously considering reading it again. Now that we've been introduced to the characters and the world, I fully anticipate that books two and three will be even better than book one, and I can't wait to see what they have in store.

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takarakei's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

5.0

If you are looking for an immersive, epic, non-Eurocentric fantasy adventure with some romance, and with characters that you are rooting for then please read Black Sun! This is also a fantastic audiobook! I did a combo of listening while reading a physical copy. Full cast narration is well done.

A joy to read. I truly loved the world Rebecca Roanhorse has created. I think my favorite thing is that with the multiple POVs you are really getting attached to all these characters because they are complex and interesting, but they are (seemingly) on opposing sides so you're just wondering how it's going to play out. I love the inclusion of a character list, and maps! the only thing that would've pushed it over the top was a little glossary since this is a high fantasy (I found myself a bit confused mainly on the hierarchy of The Watchers and The Sky Made Clans).

As always check content warnings - there are some pretty dark things that happen, in particular with Serapio's backstory. The backdrop of the plot is political/religious tensions and power struggles.

This book also has fantastic LGBTQ+ and specifically nonbinary rep. There are unique non-gendered pronouns aside from she/her and he/him. Several of the characters are queer, and Xiala is definitely bi or pansexual.

It's definitely written as the first book in a series, so the ending is very unresolved, but in a way that you are just so excited to read the next books and find out what happens.

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