A review by rorikae
Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.5
'Tread of Angels' by Rebecca Roanhorse is an inventive fantasy that deserves a full book length to be fleshed out.
The story centers on Celeste who works in a mining town where she lives with her sister. Their town is caught up in the political fallout of a war that included demonkind. When her sister is accused of murdering a doctor who is part of the ruling class, Celeste has to go out of her way to prove her sister's innocence. To do this, she will even go back to a past demon lover of hers that she has sworn to stay away from.
Roanhorse creates such engaging worlds and this is no different in 'Tread of Angels.' Her world building instantly sucked me in but how short the story was meant that it was never able to fully flex its wings. There are a number of characters in this story, all of whom are fascinating but never given enough room to become fully fleshed out. The ending felt a little bit rushed for this reason as well. I hope that Roanhorse will return to this world in the future because there is clearly so much to explore. This story really deserved more room to grow and I think that its short length does it a disservice.
The story centers on Celeste who works in a mining town where she lives with her sister. Their town is caught up in the political fallout of a war that included demonkind. When her sister is accused of murdering a doctor who is part of the ruling class, Celeste has to go out of her way to prove her sister's innocence. To do this, she will even go back to a past demon lover of hers that she has sworn to stay away from.
Roanhorse creates such engaging worlds and this is no different in 'Tread of Angels.' Her world building instantly sucked me in but how short the story was meant that it was never able to fully flex its wings. There are a number of characters in this story, all of whom are fascinating but never given enough room to become fully fleshed out. The ending felt a little bit rushed for this reason as well. I hope that Roanhorse will return to this world in the future because there is clearly so much to explore. This story really deserved more room to grow and I think that its short length does it a disservice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Murder