Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

82 reviews

tedonome's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

aardwyrm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Hits you right in the first book of a trilogy, managing full story arcs for the many viewpoint characters while setting up a longer tale to come. The worldbuilding (definitely the strength of the book) makes the universe feel lived in even as it oozes epic fantasy tropes of noble houses and magic animal allies and such. The prose is evocative and lush and the pacing is excellent.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Vomit

ruuntvoces's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Violence

Minor: Animal death

bodiesinbooks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing and Slavery

enriquesjem's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

troisha's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Racism, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, and Grief

reviewsandreadathons's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death

peachmoni's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.25

Oh wow, did I enjoy this book! I was a bit worried at first; not being that into fantasy after teen and young adulthood, I can get bored in the opening chapters of a book. Since this was a book club read, I persevered and eventually, the world Rebecca Roanhorse created drew me in. By the halfway point, I was fully invested. When I got to the last page, I actually yelled "Oh my God!" What a cliffhanger.

I appreciated getting to see a fantasy world set in Mesoamerica. I am not any more than superficially knowledgeable about the people that lived in that world, so I wasn't able to recognize specific tribes in the writing, but I did notice little details like pyramids and such.

I found myself being totally drawn into the love story between two main characters and was truly heartbroken when there was no way for them to be together... so technically, you could say this book is better than Romeo and Juliet in that sense.😂

These days, the true test of whether I really enjoyed a book is if I want to buy a physical copy of it. I absolutely want Black Sun in my personal, physical library.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Pedophilia, Racism, and Trafficking

genny's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

5.0

Re-read before I jump into the sequel! I gave this 5 stars back in 2020, and I'm giving it 5 stars again in 2022. 💘 I'm mad at myself for not taking notes both times, but I was too engrossed in the story to bother.

The first chapter is one of the best openings I've ever read. The worldbuilding is lush, immersive, and yet never confusing. I think this would be a great starting point for beginners to adult fantasy! Because we're counting down to the solstice, there's this constant heavy feeling in the background, like the characters are being pushed faster and faster towards an inevitable...Something. It makes for a great atmosphere, and I personally had no problem with the somewhat open ending. It just felt right to me. But if you hate cliffhangers, get your hands on the sequel ASAP. 😉 All of the major characters have their flaws, but IMO they're all likable and I felt invested in each POV. I absolutely love Xiala and Serapio, individually and together. They have my whole heart!!!

To summarize: Black Sun has great characters, great worldbuilding, and a great plot. This is a criminally underrated series and I can only hope it draws a bigger following as it continues.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement and Genocide

Minor: Death of parent

melaniereadsbooks'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

Thank you to LibroFm for the ALC of this book. 
This is a fantasy of absolutely epic proportions.  I loved every single bit of it. Xiala is one of my new favorite characters of all time. I was immediately hooked on her storyline and character development.

I also loved Serapio and his story. There is so much going on there, and he is such an interesting character.

The plot of this book really took me by surprise. There was so much going on, from political rivalries, to religious sects, to sirens and villains and cults and everything, but it all flowed together really well.

Roanhorse's writing is delightful and accessible. I absolutely love how well she incorporates so much world-building in without making it feel like exposition drops or overly explanatory writing.

Honestly this book was incredible and I can't wait for the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder