Black Sun is the second book I’ve read from Rebecca Roanhorse with the first being Race to the Sun. Since that was a middle-grade novel, I had no idea what to expect from a high fantasy by the same author, but I’m very happy to report that I ended up immensely enjoying it! Set in a secondary world inspired by the Pre-Columbian Americas and infused with rich mythology and an undercurrent of political intrigue, Black Sun is an epic fantasy lover’s dream come true.
Serapio is a man destined to become a god, or perhaps a monster. Xiala is a Teek sailor running from her past, whose song can pacify the ocean and twist minds. Naranpa is a priest trying to make her place in a society that’s incredibly prejudiced against her. Their fates will collide in the holy city of Tova on the day of the black sun, a day when a solar eclipse clashes with the winter solstice, and the very balance of the world tilts.
With a narrative so enchanting that putting down the book halfway through feels like the hardest thing ever, Black Sun was intense from the get-go; and through the entirety of the book, the pace never let up. Roanhorse’s prose is delightful and atmospheric, and the world she has created in Black Sun is expansive and thorough. Her characterisation is on-point too; as she introduces each character, you’d feel like you have known them since forever. The action scenes, despite being few and far between, are exceptionally well-crafted and vividly described. The political aspect of the book is also quite strong, and while that might prove to be a hit or miss situation with many readers, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Black Sun is a fairly character-focused story, with the narrative seamlessly switching back and forth between four POV characters with distinct and powerful voices, Serapio, Xiala, Naranpa, and Okoa, son of the matron of the Carrion Crow clan. Roanhorse treats all her main characters with equal care; they are well fleshed out with compelling, graphic backgrounds. There are frequent flashbacks into their pasts, and the two parallel timelines fuse together effortlessly instead of disrupting the flow of the story at the times of the shifts, which was something I found very satisfying.
While I enjoyed all four POVs, I’ll admit my personal favourites were definitely those of Serapio and Naranpa’s. Serapio is one of those characters with a tragic, sketchy past and rather dubious manners (he lets his crows peck people he doesn’t like to death) that you just can’t help rooting for. His character arc was captivating to say the least as he is a man who has long since accepted his destiny to become a savage, vengeful god, and yet can’t stop questioning whether his own actions are justified or not every now and then.
On the other hand, there’s Naranpa, the shrewd and resourceful Sun Priest trying to survive and hold on to her seat of power amidst people who’d love nothing more than to see her assassinated. Her journey throughout the story was fascinating, and I cannot wait to find out what happens next. Although Okoa was the one who had the least amount of screen presence out of the four leads, Xiala is the character who I felt didn’t have a lot to offer, even compared to some of the minor characters.
The one issue I can think of that I had with the book is the relationship that gradually builds up between Serapio and Xiala. Now, one of my biggest pet peeves as an epic fantasy reader is unnecessary romantic subplots, and unfortunately, that’s exactly what Serapio and Xiala’s relationship seemed like to me. I couldn’t help feeling like it kept obstructing the otherwise smooth flow of the story and didn’t really add much when it came to their individual character arcs, or the story overall.
That being said, it definitely wasn’t a major nitpick, and ultimately it didn’t keep me from enjoying the book as a whole. If a historically and politically heavy epic fantasy sounds like your thing, I’ll urge you to pick Black Sun up. Also, if you’re a reader trying to transition from reading YA to adult fantasy, Black Sun might be a great place to start!
Black Sun is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of October 13th 2020.
Will you be picking up Black Sun? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Resistance Reborn comes the first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy, inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic.
A god will return
When the earth and sky converge
Under the black sun
In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world.
Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.
Crafted with unforgettable characters, Rebecca Roanhorse has created an epic adventure exploring the decadence of power amidst the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts in the most original series debut of the decade.
