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halebop's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Very cool worldbuilding and great characters. Excited to read the other books in the series and see what happens next. Pretty dark.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death and Suicide
sannesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Great story! I didn't know anything about the story getting into it. I am positively surprised and want to get to the sequal asap.
The writing is very good. Learning about the world and the character is done very naturally. The world isn't too compex to understand. The map is (currently) also not very elaborate. This is a plus for me because I tend to get confused easily when the map starts of very detailed.
The writing gives this book a modern feel. I liked this but other might not like this. I also liked how the author included a third gender in this book.
The magic is also very interesting and I want to keep learning more about it!
Every character is interesting and unique. In every chapter something interesting but it is not a page-turner in my opinion. That is not necessarily negative, but I did not feel the need to immediately continue or pick it up again. That is the the reason why it is a 4.5 instead of a 5 for me personally.
The writing is very good. Learning about the world and the character is done very naturally. The world isn't too compex to understand. The map is (currently) also not very elaborate. This is a plus for me because I tend to get confused easily when the map starts of very detailed.
The writing gives this book a modern feel. I liked this but other might not like this. I also liked how the author included a third gender in this book.
The magic is also very interesting and I want to keep learning more about it!
Every character is interesting and unique. In every chapter something interesting but it is not a page-turner in my opinion. That is not necessarily negative, but I did not feel the need to immediately continue or pick it up again. That is the the reason why it is a 4.5 instead of a 5 for me personally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Animal death, Sexual violence, and Death of parent
kshertz's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
It’s so engaging and now I’m going to have to read the whole series. I enjoyed all the characters and this fantasy world. I enjoy the nods to the issues in this world. There was so many great pieces and moments. I can’t wait to see how it all comes together. I struggle with too many characters but this was well done.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
justcallmeemily's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, and Sexual content
jennireadsmaybe's review
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
Black Sun has been on my radar for the longest time. I didn't know much about it going in, and I do think that's the way to go. Epic fantasy can sometimes fall prey to the dreaded info dump, but I think Rebecca Roanhorse did a phenomenal job of stretching out learning moments throughout the novel instead of all at once. Additionally, I genuinely enjoyed every point of view; not only was each POV necessary to the overarching plot, they were each unique and entertaining enough to jump between without wishing to skip one. I honestly couldn't pick a favorite character if you asked me to.
There's a lot of moving parts in this. Between prophecies, politics, and magic of all kinds there's enough action and mystery to keep the pages turning. I definitely recommend an immersive reading experience with a physical and audio copy because it's got multiple narrators that capture everything so well. The world itself was so immersive and all the different settings throughout were easy for me to imagine; I could definitely see the similarities between the book and the Pre-Columbian Americas it's inspired by. I really liked the queer + trans representation and how normalized it was for our characters.
Read this if you like epic fantasy, great world building, multiple POVs, political intrigue, ancient prophecies, magical worlds, and LGBTQIA+ characters.
There's a lot of moving parts in this. Between prophecies, politics, and magic of all kinds there's enough action and mystery to keep the pages turning. I definitely recommend an immersive reading experience with a physical and audio copy because it's got multiple narrators that capture everything so well. The world itself was so immersive and all the different settings throughout were easy for me to imagine; I could definitely see the similarities between the book and the Pre-Columbian Americas it's inspired by. I really liked the queer + trans representation and how normalized it was for our characters.
Read this if you like epic fantasy, great world building, multiple POVs, political intrigue, ancient prophecies, magical worlds, and LGBTQIA+ characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, and Sexual content
jjvaldezbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
it stops at the climax but I kind of forgive it bc I liked the build up so much. I love and hate all the characters and I will absolutely be reading the sequel
READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS bc good lord this one is dark and things pop up with no warning. i think they're well done and useful to the plot but if you have any triggers at all, check the lists first
READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS bc good lord this one is dark and things pop up with no warning. i think they're well done and useful to the plot but if you have any triggers at all, check the lists first
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
cryosphinx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.0
The strength of this book comes from the world building and the diversity of the characters. There's a complexity between the characters and the world and it tackles themes such as colonization in a high\epic fantasy setting. Where it loses is that it feels like a really long prologue to the next book. The pinnacle comes together at the end but the ending isn't super satisfying since it it does read like a prologue. The beginning was also slow especially after that first hard hitting first chapter. I've only read one or two short stories by Roanhorse but I do really love her writing story and I hope for more indigenous authors to enter the fantasy space.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Animal death, Vomit, and Alcohol
tommelisesofia's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
nonopi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Classism
bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I'm glad I waited until the whole series was out to start this one because THAT ENDING!
I loved the worldbuilding and the characters. The multiple religions felt fleshed out and made sense for the setting, as did the conflict that sprang from those religions. I loved that there was no true villain and that both Serapio and Naranpa were simply following the path that had been set out for them and doing their best with it. I also loved that the cultures we encounter in the book had varying attitudes to gender and sexuality as well as other cultural differences. Fantasy is so often either based in a fully homophobic and misogynistic world or in a fully queernormative one, and this approach makes so much more sense.
I do wish that the supporting cast had been more fleshed out. Iktan is the only non-POV character who felt fully fleshed out. I think that was mostly down to length, though. This book could have been 100-200 pages longer, though that might have slowed it down too much. And I did like the group scenes we got a whole lot (the ones with Xiala's crew maybe being the weakest of the lot).
I was expecting Xiala to be my favorite character because she's the sort of character I normally love and cannot get enough of, but while I quite enjoyed her, Naranpa was far and away my favorite. I adored her and spent the entire book rooting for her -- not necessarily for the sun priests and co generally, but very much for Naranpa in particular. And they're both bi! Truly a win for us all.
Excited to continue with the series!
I loved the worldbuilding and the characters. The multiple religions felt fleshed out and made sense for the setting, as did the conflict that sprang from those religions. I loved that there was no true villain and that both Serapio and Naranpa were simply following the path that had been set out for them and doing their best with it. I also loved that the cultures we encounter in the book had varying attitudes to gender and sexuality as well as other cultural differences. Fantasy is so often either based in a fully homophobic and misogynistic world or in a fully queernormative one, and this approach makes so much more sense.
I do wish that the supporting cast had been more fleshed out. Iktan is the only non-POV character who felt fully fleshed out. I think that was mostly down to length, though. This book could have been 100-200 pages longer, though that might have slowed it down too much. And I did like the group scenes we got a whole lot (the ones with Xiala's crew maybe being the weakest of the lot).
I was expecting Xiala to be my favorite character because she's the sort of character I normally love and cannot get enough of, but while I quite enjoyed her, Naranpa was far and away my favorite. I adored her and spent the entire book rooting for her -- not necessarily for the sun priests and co generally, but very much for Naranpa in particular. And they're both bi! Truly a win for us all.
Excited to continue with the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, and Misogyny