Scan barcode
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
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
5.0
FEVERED STAR picks up where BLACK SUN left off, handling multiple perspectives in an excellently crafted way that was easy to follow. Now that Serapio is the embodiment of the Crow God, separated from Xiala, Serapio is dealing with the sudden change from being an isolated person to a religious figurehead, having lost everything that grounded him even as he gains immense power. Xiala is trying to rejoin Serapio, but gets caught up with a charismatic ex-priest, who has xer own agenda. Naranpa is an avatar without a temple, trying to connect to the brother she left behind years ago and figure out whether there's a life where she can fit. The worldbuilding focuses on different areas than what was established in BLACK SUN. No longer insular, many factions have moved in order to take advantage of alliances, and set up for the conflict that seems inevitable.
FEVERED STAR is lull between storms, the midgame when all the players trade promises and pledge loyalties. The Sky Made has several factions, but most of the perspective characters are on the outside in some way, removed from the major factions by training, distance, or a estrangement. This is one of the best examples I’ve read in a while of intricate but understandable politics in fiction, with many factions who all have slightly different goals and motivations. It also does an excellent job of allowing people within the factions to disagree, each having their own motivations. I love political wrangling and intricacy in fantasy and so I enjoyed this middle book of a trilogy where everyone’s trying to reposition after the gods are returned to the world. It could be said that either every character has a new storyline, or no character has a new story of their own that wasn’t present to the previous book. Everyone in their own way of dealing with what happened on the day of Black Sun, it represents such a monumental shift that even ignoring it would have to be a deliberate choice (albeit it one that I cannot recall any characters making). Several people’s access to power has changed either in a political or magical sense, and some minor characters from BLACK SUN gain new importance as they hatch their own schemes, taking advantage of the shifts caused by the eclipse.
This would mostly makes sense to someone who read the first book a while ago, but if they tried to start here without having read BLACK SUN at all, it would likely be confusing for a while. It's a well-told story, but one which fundamentally is concerned with moving things in place for whatever is to come in the third book. Part of how it maintains that balance is that many of the characters have a sense of this as a lull between conflicts, whether literal or metaphorical. Almost everyone is making moves to position themselves better for what is to come, or to control what the next change might end up being.
This is an excellent continuation of the series, and I'm excited to read how it all turns out.
FEVERED STAR is lull between storms, the midgame when all the players trade promises and pledge loyalties. The Sky Made has several factions, but most of the perspective characters are on the outside in some way, removed from the major factions by training, distance, or a estrangement. This is one of the best examples I’ve read in a while of intricate but understandable politics in fiction, with many factions who all have slightly different goals and motivations. It also does an excellent job of allowing people within the factions to disagree, each having their own motivations. I love political wrangling and intricacy in fantasy and so I enjoyed this middle book of a trilogy where everyone’s trying to reposition after the gods are returned to the world. It could be said that either every character has a new storyline, or no character has a new story of their own that wasn’t present to the previous book. Everyone in their own way of dealing with what happened on the day of Black Sun, it represents such a monumental shift that even ignoring it would have to be a deliberate choice (albeit it one that I cannot recall any characters making). Several people’s access to power has changed either in a political or magical sense, and some minor characters from BLACK SUN gain new importance as they hatch their own schemes, taking advantage of the shifts caused by the eclipse.
This would mostly makes sense to someone who read the first book a while ago, but if they tried to start here without having read BLACK SUN at all, it would likely be confusing for a while. It's a well-told story, but one which fundamentally is concerned with moving things in place for whatever is to come in the third book. Part of how it maintains that balance is that many of the characters have a sense of this as a lull between conflicts, whether literal or metaphorical. Almost everyone is making moves to position themselves better for what is to come, or to control what the next change might end up being.
This is an excellent continuation of the series, and I'm excited to read how it all turns out.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicide, Racism, Alcoholism, Violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Murder, Death, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Animal death, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Sexism, and Ableism
casthecryptid's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Self harm, Torture, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Physical abuse
bookycnidaria's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
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: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, War, Blood, Physical abuse, Torture, Classism, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Confinement
ishtar_n's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A great read! But far more fast paced than book one. Kinda wished it had taken its time more - some of the character decisions seemed out of nowhere.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Blood, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Rape and Pedophilia
alexalily's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Blood, Gore, Grief, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Confinement, Homophobia, Classism, and Self harm
black_cat_iiix's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and Alcoholism
Minor: Child abuse
sharkbrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-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
4.25
New settings and a few new characters, but a bit of middle-book syndrome here as not much advances between the principal characters - felt like the players were being moved around to set the stage for the final volume. As always, the magic system and the world-building as well as the nuanced characters made this an outstanding read / listen - I both read it and listened to the great audiobook production, with Cara Gee’s Naranpa a real stand-out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism
aardwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
The worldbuilding and magic really make this series. Everything is just unabashedly cool. Giant birds, scary people who can turn into murders of crows, spooky dream powers. Some of the characters are more engaging than others (Naranpa is somehow more of a drip than ever) and there's a touch of second book slump, but the good is worth coming back for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, Sexism, Abandonment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Animal death, Murder, Addiction, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and War
thereadingskeleton'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
4.5
Thank you to B2Weird Book Club and Saga Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.
Rep: Indigenous/Native-coded cast, blind MC, bi MC, queer MC, nonbinary SC (non-POV but important character), other queer characters
When I read Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse last year, it was an instant favorite. So many great characters. So much rich, vibrant description. So many twists and turns. Not to mention queer as hell. It was simply phenomenal.
I’m happy to report that the sequel, Fevered Star, is also phenomenal! I know that many people disliked Naranpa in the first book, and although I didn’t, I understand their reasoning. That being said, this is Nara’s book. She is the star, and she absolutely shines. In this book, Nara gets the chance to grow in a way she didn’t in Black Sun. Her chapters were my favorites, and I’m extremely interested to see where she goes from here.
On the flipside, I feel like Xiala—who was my favorite character in Black Sun—really let me down in this sequel. Her growth completely stagnates, and all she does is mope about not being with Serapio. Yes, she’s dealing with grief and trauma over the ending events of Black Sun, but her behavior was so frustrating to me.
I think part of the issue with Xiala’s arc is that this is, for better or worse, a middle book, and it has the hallmarks of one. There’s a lot of setting up for the final book in the trilogy, and that occurs to the detriment of some of the characters.
Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel and will be snatching up the next one as soon as it’s released. I especially recommend the audiobook (narrated by Christian Barillas, Darrell Dennis, Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, and Shaun Taylor-Corbett)!
Rep: Indigenous/Native-coded cast, blind MC, bi MC, queer MC, nonbinary SC (non-POV but important character), other queer characters
When I read Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse last year, it was an instant favorite. So many great characters. So much rich, vibrant description. So many twists and turns. Not to mention queer as hell. It was simply phenomenal.
I’m happy to report that the sequel, Fevered Star, is also phenomenal! I know that many people disliked Naranpa in the first book, and although I didn’t, I understand their reasoning. That being said, this is Nara’s book. She is the star, and she absolutely shines. In this book, Nara gets the chance to grow in a way she didn’t in Black Sun. Her chapters were my favorites, and I’m extremely interested to see where she goes from here.
On the flipside, I feel like Xiala—who was my favorite character in Black Sun—really let me down in this sequel. Her growth completely stagnates, and all she does is mope about not being with Serapio. Yes, she’s dealing with grief and trauma over the ending events of Black Sun, but her behavior was so frustrating to me.
I think part of the issue with Xiala’s arc is that this is, for better or worse, a middle book, and it has the hallmarks of one. There’s a lot of setting up for the final book in the trilogy, and that occurs to the detriment of some of the characters.
Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel and will be snatching up the next one as soon as it’s released. I especially recommend the audiobook (narrated by Christian Barillas, Darrell Dennis, Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, and Shaun Taylor-Corbett)!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, Torture, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Animal death and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
dreareads_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
4.5
"Too much darkness destroys as easily as too much light. We must see the balance between us"
Okay, I should note that Black Sun is one of my favorite books of all time, just the perfect start to an epic fantasy/sci-fi trilogy.
The sequel was SO good, but also pretty different in scope. While Black Sun had political intrigue, at its core it was the story of a boy & a girl trying to find/fight their destiny. In this book Roanhorse puts the political machinations at the forefront of the story. The scope and number of pov's that we get increase, giving us better insight into the plot of the story. We are introduced to many chess pieces that are slowly moved into position before the final book.
Our favorite characters continue to shine, with Iktan just being the best. I enjoyed the complexity of Serapios character, and Naranpas own journey was exciting. I personally was disappointed by Xiala throughout the book, because she felt as if the plot was happening TO her instead of her playing any important part. also, her being mostly love sick throughout the entire book was really annoying
Some may feel that the pacing was a bit slow, but I think it worked in giving us time to get used to the new characters and learn more from the world. Overall, this is a book meant to prepare us for the final installment and it did its job. I cannot wait for book three and what is sure to be an epic conclusio
Okay, I should note that Black Sun is one of my favorite books of all time, just the perfect start to an epic fantasy/sci-fi trilogy.
The sequel was SO good, but also pretty different in scope. While Black Sun had political intrigue, at its core it was the story of a boy & a girl trying to find/fight their destiny. In this book Roanhorse puts the political machinations at the forefront of the story. The scope and number of pov's that we get increase, giving us better insight into the plot of the story. We are introduced to many chess pieces that are slowly moved into position before the final book.
Our favorite characters continue to shine, with Iktan just being the best. I enjoyed the complexity of Serapios character, and Naranpas own journey was exciting. I personally was disappointed by Xiala throughout the book, because she felt as if the plot was happening TO her instead of her playing any important part.
Some may feel that the pacing was a bit slow, but I think it worked in giving us time to get used to the new characters and learn more from the world. Overall, this is a book meant to prepare us for the final installment and it did its job. I cannot wait for book three and what is sure to be an epic conclusio
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
More...