Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Black Sun

Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

52 reviews

effingunicorns's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

I came into this tentative but committed, wanting to catch up on yet another trilogy concluding in the first half of the year because I thought the final book sounded awesome but immediately running up against a story that, clear cultural differences aside, does read like a pretty normal high fantasy. I don't inherently object to the sub-genre, but it's not one I'm used to these days, so I had to adjust. On top of that, one of the protagonists soon proves to be in a real tooth-gnasher of a situation, making decisions time and again that left me begging for just a glimmer of situational awareness, for just one moment of "no, sorry, I don't fucking trust you".

Fortunately, I persevered. Partially, of course, this was because I was still so hopeful about that third book. Partially, though, the more I read, the more it felt like the storyline I was struggling with was one that had to unfold somehow, and the more obvious it became just how limited those somehows were. And then things finally came to a head, that third storyline dripping with irony, and now I'm ready to start the second book this weekend in full sickos.jpg mode.

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ivereads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

I am beyond words, I recently got back into reading after having over a 8-10 year slump, and I read this over the course of just 6 days. (That is insanely impressive for my slump) The storyline is phenomenal and I am absolutely in love with everything the author did. Rebecca Roanhorse did her mfing research and made the whole world building amazing. I am autistic so I have some biases for loving this stuff because it's a personal special interest. But she did a great job of bringing Indigenous history into a fantastical world full of magic and I beg that the second book is just as good and thoughtful. (Going to read that next) If you don't mind the talk of occasional violence and you love culture rich and diverse casts in a fantastical setting, i one million times over recommend this. Thanking and bowing to my friend who recommended me this.

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itsbrianascall's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

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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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barda's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

It was a broadly enjoyable book, though with some issues with pacing and characterisation, and a very slow start.

I loved the indigenous Americas-inspired setting, and the worldbuilding was fascinating. It offered up enough hints to form a relatively complete picture of the world, but holds back when it needs to to build up a sense of mystery. In particular I loved the Carrion Crows and how their culture and religion was portrayed, I really hope that the giant crows and the people that ride them are put more into the spotlight as the series goes on.

In terms of characters, I really enjoyed Xiala and found Serapio to be a really interesting character. Their journey together was heartwarming and tragic and I found them to be the best part of the book. However, felt like the other POV's in the book really contributed much to the overall story. Nara could have been a fascinating character, but she didn't do anything meaningful over the course of the book and from the ending it seems like the main bulk of her characterisation and actions may be saved for the second book. Okoa was simply boring, and he had so little screen time that I'm not quite sure why he was a POV in the book instead of being a secondary character (perhaps from the perspective of Nara).

The book also suffered from some very uneven pacing, with the beginning being quite slow with the action suddenly ramping up to be almost too fast in the last third of the book. I did quite enjoy the ending, however; it was a very grim ending with some huge implications for the world as a whole which I look forward to being explored in the next book.

Overall, the book was sometimes a too-slow read that could have benefitted with a change in who the POV characters were, but the worldbuilding made it a generally interesting read.

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catsy2022's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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? No

4.5

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27dragons's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective fast-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

4.0

Amazing worldbuilding inspired by indigenous American cultures (think Olmec, Mayan) which is an unusual approach that took some brain power to keep track of but was absolutely worth it. Fantastic LGBTQ+ representation, including a bisexual main character, a couple of nonbinary characters (xe/xir pronouns used) and one minor transwoman character. Another main character may have been asexual but it was hard to tell if it was lack of sexual attraction or simply dedication to his cause.

One thing I particularly loved: at the end of this first book of the series, I'm still not entirely sure who the "bad guys" actually are* - there are POV characters on all sides of the central conflict and all of them seem to be doing what they feel is right and important, within the scope of their personalities and positions. (*There are some definite individual villains, but that doesn't necessarily invalidate the purpose of their greater cause.)

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