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jjvaldezbooks's review against another edition
- 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
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
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
tommelisesofia's review against another edition
- 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
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
jo_lzr's review
- 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
3.75
The worldbuilding and the magic system are very intriguing and well built, even though there is more to the magic system that we haven't seen yet and I'd definitely like to see more.
I also thought it very ingenious how the traitors ended up unknowingly saving Naranpa's life by scheming against her.
Furthermore, I loved the scene when the Crow God realized that Eche didn't have the sun's essence and that the real Sun Priest was somewhere else. I would love to see Naranpa discovering her potential, though I'm guessing that she might have to share the same fate as Serapio.
TW: If you're sensitive to images of body horror, please read with caution as they are graphically described.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
fedoratheexplora's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Grief, and Death of parent
erebus53's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
There are three main characters. In a harsh world, a young boy is taken from his life to be turned into the vessel for a Godform. The whole story starts in abuse, physical mutilation, and sacrifice, and that's pretty harsh. Although his life is harsh it is not without love. At least the kid has his crows.
A young girl is brought up in poverty in the back streets, and through savvy and devotion she is elevated to the head of her religious sect, but her underlings aren't happy about it.
A woman of an Amazon-like minority culture, and who are said to have magical powers, is the captain of a ship that takes a strange cargo on a tight deadline, at the wrong time of year, and she has to deal with an unruly crew, and dangerous weather.
The plot is just an underpinning though. The characters are really fun, and through the narrative there are many characters of many different genders and sexualities. There are at least two obviously NB characters with xe/xer pronouns and one side character is a trans woman. It's normalised, but not all cultures have the same attitudes toward sex, gender roles, or even nudity.
Although there is some combat and training-montage type scenes I was not bored and it was not blow-by-blow or glamorizing. The pace was good, the character interplay was fun and I bought in, and I've always been a sucker for prophecy stories... This one is hopped up on monk juice, scary mermaid energy and seriously full of crows (and crows are cool). Some of these babies are riding size.
Where's MY crow mount?? ok I'm off to read the second one.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
alyanna_dm's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Racism
Minor: Genocide
moonytoast's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Sexism, and Vomit
lavenderhimbo's review
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Racism, Self harm, Suicide, and Xenophobia
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, and Sexual content
par0xys's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, and Physical abuse
saucy_bookdragon's review
- 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
Black Sun is almost a perfect epic fantasy! A world based on the Americas' pre-Columbian societies, the story had me captivated the entire time. I finished the entire book in only three days, only two of which I was actually reading it, I could not put it down any time I picked it up! Its a twisty game of gods and magic with a cast of characters that had me wishing they could live in better situations, I wanted to hold them in my hand and feed them nice treats.
Serapio is my son. Xiala is such a good execution of a character whose badass and rough who has a vulnerable soft side, I also loved the lore behind her and the Teek! Naranpa had such an intriguing plot and world building, a priestess unraveling a dangerous mystery. This plot and world mainly work because there's such an enduring cast at the reins of it, giving ample reason to care. I also adored how effortlessly queer this book is, practically every character is queer in some way and there are even two who use xe/xir pronouns!
What kept me from giving this a full five stars were mostly small things. I didn't care much for Okoa's POVs, not that I disliked him or his chapters, I just felt he came in too late for me to really connect like I did with the others. The cliffhanger ending makes the overall story feel incomplete, so my feelings won't be complete until I read the sequel or maybe even the entire series. But overall, this was an extremely promising start to the Between Earth and Sky series!
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia