Book Review: Black Sun

The gorgeous cover of Black Sun

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse is a 400+ page adult secondary world fantasy inspired by pre-Columbian cultures, especially those in Mexico and the Southwestern US. Black Sun a reference to solar eclipses, which bookend the novel and have significant magical power and effects on the characters. There are three POVs. Serapio, a blind man/avatar for the crow god, wishes to travel to Tova and avenge a fifty year old massacre of the Crow clan by killing all the priests, especially the Sun Priest. Xiala is the captain of the ship taking him there, but her crew doesn’t trust her due to her being a woman and having special power over the sea. Naranpa, newly risen Sun Priest, just wants the city of Tova to be more equitable, but the system she leads doesn’t like her style or poor background and threatens mutiny.

There was so much to like here. I read this thing fast, despite it being a pretty sizable novel. I love Roanhorse’s style, which isn’t a surprise since I liked two books of hers before. Looks like I’m a fan for life! The characters were well built and had unique voices and problems, and the worldbuilding was cool. I got excited whenever I recognized something (like the round houses in the Maw; I’ve seen some ruins of roundhouses at Bandolier National Park). But it was also great to see the fully fantasy elements as well. This was such a cool ride from start to finish.

On the downside, this ended with cliffhangers all around, setting up a sequel and didn’t give me any closure! This was purposeful, of course, but the sequel is going to be a while.

This is a book for you if you enjoyed Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning, Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, slow burn romance, and dark prophesies. This book may not be for you if you can’t handle nonbinary pronouns or if you want to read stand-alone novels or already completed series.
 
Have you read Black Sun? What did you think of that ending? Let’s discuss in the comments!