Black Sun is Roanhorse’s first foray into epic fantasy and it is a feat in worldbuilding. Roanhorse draws from indigenous cultures and folklore to create a world that is truly unique in the fantasy genre. And like any good epic fantasy it is rife with politics, magic, and complicated characters. There are tragic characters training to become a god, and will sacrifice everything to do so. A hard-drinking bisexual sea captain with magical powers. A corrupt priesthood that one young woman is desperately trying to change, despite the bias against her. This is truly a character-driven book, so let’s take a look at the three main protagonists.

Naranpa is a sun priest, technically the head of the priesthood that rules over the continent and the city of Tova. She is a young woman who took over the role of sun priest after being hand-picked by the previous one. She struggles to regain the power that her predecessors held in order to reform the priesthood itself. Naranpa is an unlikely priest, having ascended from poverty to enter the order while most members are from the elite upper-class. She faces constant discrimination from other priests for her low birth, and struggles to forget her past.

Naranpa is a strong-willed individual who clearly wants to make the world a better place. But she makes plenty of mistakes along the way. Her naivete and inexperience often shows all too clearly on the page. However, this makes her a stronger character. She is human and flawed, and this makes her a relatable character. She is a true believer in the priesthood, despite the obvious corruption that she is powerless to change. However, this does not stop her from trying. Her obvious desire to make peace with the tribes, and to help the people of Tova is admirable.

The priesthood itself is haunted by a history of mass murder, and strife with the various tribes that inhabit the city. In particular they are at odds with the Carrion Crow tribe, who await the rebirth of their long lost god. In the history of the world, the priesthood murdered an entire generation of the Crow tribe and the current members seek bloody vengeance.

For years members of Carrion Crow have awaited the promised rebirth of their long-lost god. This is where Serapio comes in. The young man grew up in isolation in far-away mountains, instead of with his tribe in the city of Tova. His mother promised him that he would become a god, and his entire life is dedicated to achieving this. He is blinded, scarred, and trained to kill. His entire life hinges on the moment that he will face the sun priest and exact vengeance for the tribe he has never known.

It is unclear exactly how Serapio will become the Crow god. (Did it happen when he was born? When he was blinded? Will it happen when he faces down the sun priest?) But it is clear that he has some unique magical abilities, able to wield shadow magic and command crows. He is also expected to sacrifice everything in his quest to exact vengeance. Serapio is a sympathetic character, but he might also turn out to be the villain.

By setting up Serapio in opposition to the equally sympathetic character of Naranpa, we are left to question exactly who we should be rooting for. And this is entirely intentional. The complex world sets up the tension between the Crow tribe and the priesthood. We understand the Crow’s thirst for vengeance, as much as we understand the need for the priesthood’s existence. This is a testament to the worldbuilding that Roanhorse does with every line of text, establishing the diversity of the people, and a complicated world history.

The third major protagonist in Black Sun is the character of Xiala. She is a Teek, descended from a magical race that can utilize water magic and possibly do much more. In many ways, Xiala was my favorite character. She is brash and no-nonsense, she only wants to live her life in peace without answering to anyone else. But she also has issues with authority, and often finds herself locked in a jail cell or ordered around by men in power.

Despite all of this, Xiala is still a pretty mysterious figure in the landscape of the book. We know that she is a Teek, but we don’t know exactly why her race is so reviled by others. There is an implication that the Teek can use their magical Song and powerful voices to control others. It seems like they are a race of sirens. This is backed up by the fact that the Teek are said to be a race of all women who can commune with the goddess of the ocean. The creatures of the sea are their siblings, the goddess is their mother. Unlike the sun priests who look to the stars for answers, the Teek draw their magic from the waters of the planet.

We learn this information in tantalizing snippets throughout the book, but do we not know much about Teek history. Or why Xiala left her people to take to the sea. There are hints at a larger mystery surrounding Xiala, and exactly what she can do with her water magic. I’m sure that these mysteries will be further explored in future books, and I am excited to learn more about her character and the magical people she comes from.

Perhaps one of the most refreshing things about Black Sun is how unique it feels in the genre. When it comes to epic fantasy, we are so accustomed to reading stories based on Western European fairy tales and folklore. And there are authors doing excellent work in reviving those old stories and giving them a new and subversive twist. But it was honestly so exciting to read a book that draws from indigenous cultures and folklore. This is something that is rarely seen in the fantasy genre. It is even more rare for that world to be written by an author with an indigenous background herself.

The cast of characters in Black Sun are all incredibly compelling and they jump off the page. Each one has their own distinctive personality and history that informs who they are. This makes each individual – no matter how small a role they play – feel truly life-like and real. You understand their motivations and conflict, and this makes it easy to relate to them even if you don’t necessarily like them.

There are four different point of view characters in Black Sun (I didn’t cover Okoa, the son of the Carrion Crow matriarch because I didn’t want to get too spoilery here). Each point of view chapter transitions seamlessly into the next, with history, memory, and backstory all woven throughout each character’s story. The prose is vivid and atmospheric, really evoking the radiant glory of the sun priests, or the shadowy menace of the crows. Definitely a page turner that will have you reading late into the night.

Look, Rebecca Roanhorse is flawless and everything she writes is amazing. This is no exception. I loved this book, loved the world building, loved everything about it!

i've been sitting here trying to send my review for this book for days now, but i'm genuinely not sure how to review this book. it's just brilliant and captivating, and i was intrigued the whole time. political intrigue, celestial prophecy, magic, mermaids, etc. all set in a world inspired by pre-Columbian Americas? truly what more could you want?

i think a highlight of this book is definitely the characters. i loved reading from Xiala's POV the most, and i just loved her character. she's a bisexual mermaid/siren and captain of the ship, and she had a great personality. then there's Serapio, a blind young man who is traveling to Tova for the convergence. his chapters were also really interesting to read from considering he is blind and what he does to overcome that, but also his background was really intriguing. Naranpa is the final POV character, the sun priestess in Tova. i liked her chapters the least, but they still weren't boring and i'm really interested to see where her character development goes in the rest of the series. i have nothing but appreciation and love for the amount of casual queerness there is in this book. with 2/3 MC's being queer, especially a bisexual MC, and several trans side characters who use neopronouns

the writing was also a strong suit of this book. it was gorgeous and there's no doubt that Rebecca Roanhorse is a talented author.

i'm sad that this isn't a standalone as i had thought, (i've been so bad at picking up sequels this year since my memory is not that great and i don't want to reread before every sequel that comes out) but i am definitely excited to see what else happens in this series!

Thank you so much to Saga Press and NetGalley for letting me read Black Sun early! I managed to grab it when it was on Read Now and I wasn't able to get to it until after it came out (it released on October 13, so if you haven't grabbed it yet, make sure you do that!), but it was so good and I'm so glad I read it!

Black Sun 4/5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads:

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.
I really enjoyed so much of this book! It was the perfect mix of spiritual politics to betrayal to sealife and mutinies and did I already mention all of the carefully crafted betrayals? Man it was so fun to read, but it's definitely not a book that you can read without paying attention to what's happening- you have to focus on when the chapters are taking place, who's narrating them, where they are in relation to the other people who have been narrating chapters, how everything is going to come together in Tova at the Convergence. All in all, it made for a really intriguing book and some of the betrayals were ones I didn't see coming until the very end. Sometimes the timelines were a little confusing, but that was more because I don't think I was reading as carefully as I needed to. I'm really excited for book 2 now, because I cannot wait to see where the story goes! I think character wise, Xiala was my favorite, but Serapio's backstory was the most interesting and I really want to know more about Naranpa's journey into becoming the Sun Priest. I feel like Okoa's story was the least explored, so hopefully we see more of him in book two!

The nitty-gritty: Rebecca Roanhorse does it again in this lush and thrilling tale of magic, adventure, betrayal and redemption.

All the glowing reviews you’ve been reading got it right: Black Sun is a wonderful start to a new epic fantasy series based on a Pre-Columbian Americas world, and Rebecca Roanhorse proves once again what a talented and versatile writer she is. This is a fairly complex story with several interwoven points of view, but it actually turned out to be a quick read, since it was very hard to put down once I started.

Black Sun follows four main characters who are all on converging paths. Serapio is only a young boy when his mother prepares him for his future as a god by scarring and blinding him. Now ten years later and only twenty days before a celestial event called the Convergence, Serapio joins a ship headed for Tova, the home he left long ago.

Xiala is Teek, a group of people who are mostly ridiculed and feared, but she’s given a chance for future wealth when a man named Lord Balan hires her to transport Serapio to Tova. The catch? She and her crew have only twenty days to make the dangerous sea journey.

Naranpa (or “Nara” as she is sometimes called) is the Sun Priest and part of the priesthood of the Sky Made people, four clans who live in cliffs and ride giant beasts. But her status is called into question when a jealous rival betrays her.

And finally, Okoa is a Carrion Crow and is away from home training at the war college, when word of his mother’s death reaches him. He returns home for the funeral, only to be approached by a group of cultists who are trying to raise an army to start a war against the priesthood, retaliation for a long ago attack against them called the Night of Knives.

All four characters are destined to meet—in one way or another—in Tova, just as a rare eclipse of the sun is about to take place. 

Roanhorse’s world is simply stunning. Filled with myth and religion, this is a colorful world with so many unexpected fantasy elements. I just want to mention a few of my favorites, but there is oh so much more to discover between the pages of this book. I especially loved the world of the Sky Made, where each clan is represented by a giant beast (crows, eagles, serpents and water striders). Crows play a big part in the story as well. Not only are some of the characters trained to ride on the backs of giant crows, but Serapio’s life is linked to a type of crow magic. Even crow feathers are used in masks and other types of clothing to show a person’s elevated status in society.

And then there is Xiala, who was probably my favorite character of the bunch. Xiala communes with the sea and the creatures beneath it, and she has her own special type of magic that can control ocean wind and waves. It’s one reason she’s such a good sailor and ship’s Captain: she intimately understands the ocean and can almost guarantee smooth sailing whenever she is on board by singing her magical “Song.” But Xiala also has a secret that the reader discovers during her journey to Tova, and it’s pretty mindblowing!

Roanhorse’s characters are wonderfully drawn and developed, and I appreciated the fact that their paths don’t always go where you expect them to go. I’ve already talked a bit about Xiala, but I loved Serapio just as much, probably because the two of them spend so much time together on the ship bound for Tova. The rest of the ship’s crew are nervous about Serapio’s odd looks and behaviors, but Xiala takes a chance and gets to know him, and their developing relationship was such a delight to read. We also get some flashback chapters that explain what happened to Serapio as a child and how he came to be blind. I loved these chapters, where the boy is visited over the course of ten years by three tutors who will prepare him for his destiny.

At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about Nara, but I grew to love her as well. Both she and Xiala have similar lives, since they both have to overcome prejudice and betrayal, but they are both strong women who manage to rise above these injustices. There are a lot of side characters as well, who all add to the story and have interesting interactions with the main characters. Even better, many of the characters end up being connected in unexpected ways, which you’ll discover as you read, and I love these moments when disconnected events suddenly take on a completely different meaning.

Roanhorse starts each chapter with a short quote from various journals, teachings or sayings, which adds a nice extra layer to the worldbuilding and gives the reader more insight into this fascinating culture. For example, Serapio’s mother Saaya was obsessed with crows as a young girl and spent hours observing their behavior. Some of these observations show up as journal entries, and it simply reinforced the richness and depth of this world.

And if you love action sequences, you won’t be disappointed. Black Sun is a fast paced story with plenty of danger, bloodshed, backstabbing and more. There are layers of political intrigue, religious fanaticism, the possibility of war and even romance. Roanhorse knows just when to inject emotion into her story, and there were several heartbreaking moments that I still haven’t recovered from! And as for diversity, I loved the fact that there are at least two non binary characters (Roanhorse uses the pronouns “xe” and “xer” for both), and Xiala appears to be pansexual. I guess what I’m trying to say is that Black Sun is a wonderfully well-rounded story, perfectly paced and full to the brim with interesting ideas and characters.

Epic fantasy lovers won’t want to miss this series opener, and even if you are the type of reader who is intimidated by epic fantasy, Black Sun is one of the most accessible ones I’ve read, and I suggest you give it a try. Roanhorse leaves things on a bit of a cliffhanger, but it only made me more excited to read the next book in this fresh, imaginative series.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

In the city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration. But this year the solstice coincides with a rare solar eclipse, and rumors are brewing on the streets that something is going to happen. The new Sun Priest has positioned herself to bring unwanted change to her religious order, but there are factors within set to undo her efforts. Meanwhile, across the sea a ship captain has been commissioned to bring a harmless blind man to Tova in time for the solstice. But the man is not harmless...

"Usually," Xiala said carefully, "when someone describes a man as harmless, he ends up being a villain."


Black Sun and The City We Became are going to arm wrestle for a Hugo next year.

Hell, they're going to battle for ALL the awards.

Trust me.

Prophecies are a breeding ground for opportunists. And an excuse for bad behavior.


How do I begin to describe this book?

Should I start with off with what I though it was about, when I first saw the blank posting on Goodreads, an epic fantasy based upon pre-Columbian cultures? When I saw the posting, the partial blurb and the cover reveal, some part of me was dead convinced that it was going to be about Indigenous Americans In Space!

That is not what the book is about. I'm still waiting for that book, but that I got here was something even more epic and fantastic.

This is a story featuring an amalgamation of cultures, inspired by pre-Columbian societies and written by an Indigenous author. This is an epic fantasy about the power of religion, belief, and the ways past traumas shape generational thought and culture. This is about magic. And change. And revenge.

Who am I to convince you that life is worth living? I'm a mess.


While I really, really loved Naranpa, the new Sun Priest, because of how she had escaped from poverty and risen above—and how she was ostracized because of it (and honestly, set up for failure by her predecessor)—and also because of her life-breathing ambition to remake the priesthood into something less ceremonial and more functional towards society, my heart was aligned with Xiala.

I loved Xiala. I want an entire book on her. From her mysterious exile from the all-woman, magical Teeks, to her past as one of the few women on the sea, to her various loves and triumphs and her bisexuality—I just loved her. She's my favorite bisexual disaster.



I was less fond of Serapio, but I felt for him and all of the abuse he suffered as a child, and continued to suffer. From a mother who saw him as a pawn to fulfilling the Great Prophecy, to an emotionally abusive and neglectful father, to abusive teachers and more, he had a horrible life. However, I did like how his blindness was written, and his magic was so fucking fascinating. I wanted more!

Another highlight of this book was the diversity in sexuality and gender. There are prominent non-binary secondary characters, and there are minor non-binary secondary characters. There are trans characters! There are a ton of bi, lesbian and gay characters, and I think a character or two who was ace.

And finally—the world-building.

This is an entire world so beautifully woven together that I just wanted to sink to the floor and drink it all in. Logistics, cultural significance, clothing, religion, social norms, monetary features and food all came together to craft a world that was so fantastical and amazingly put together that I just wanted to scream with each new thing. It was so expertly compiled!

As I said before—this book is gonna pick up some awards. But it's got stiff competition this year!

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

I actually requested this book by accident, and I will admit to not being super optimistic because I have just read so much fantasy lately that draws on South/Central American pre-Columbian cultures, and a lot of it has been less than stellar. But bless Rebecca Roanhorse, because this was FANTASTIC. The characters are incredible, with varied backgrounds, and she draws on cultures in a way that is respectful and interesting and adds incredible amounts to the story. There is also excellent bisexual representation (the rarest of rarities in fantasy) and a blind main character who isn't defined by his blindness, which was refreshing. It's also an absolutely captivating slow burn romance. (I swear there was a subsection of this book where the unresolved sexual tension nearly resulted in my death.) There are giant crows, mermaids, lots of sailor jokes, and a generally cohesive and fast-paced plot with strong characters. I'm really looking forward to the sequel.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In this epic fantasy set in a world inspired by the pre-Columbian Americas, three main characters are set to converge. The mermaid sea captain Xiala, who wakes in jail after a typical alcoholic bender, becomes tasked with transporting Serapio, a mysterious, young blind man cloaked both literally and fantastically in darkness across the sea to Tova, the holy city of the Meridian continent. They must arrive by the winter solstice, which coincides with a celestial convergence of sun, moon, and Earth. At this Convergence, the newly invested Sun Priest, Nerapa, is expected to preside over the solstice ritual. But her fellow Watchers of the Celestial Tower may not be as aligned as she thought.

This first book in Roanhorse's Between Earth and Sky series has set the bar epically and celestially high. Plot, character development, world-building are all excellent. But what makes this series debut special is its outrageously compelling beginning and an ending that manages to both satisfy and set the stage for subsequent books. I also loved the use of neopronouns 'xhe' and 'xer' for nonbinary characters, who are an organic presence in this society. Seven hells, I pine for Book 2.
[I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.]

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse is the first book in the Between Earth and Sky series inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas. If you've been waiting for a story to keep you on the edge of your seat and amazing world building, this is for you.

While the story is told in multiple POV's, it's Serapio's story that had my attention the most. This is one of those books that you want to go in blind and just immerse yourself in. It's riveting and that cliffhanger will want you making grabby hands for the next book.

The beginning of this book was relatively slow, and it took about 30% for me to get into it, but then once I did the story sucked me in. Keeping all the characters straight was a trial, but eventually they each showed their own distinct voices. I really enjoyed Naranpa's POV, and I thought the whole Serapio plotline was intriguing. It's still a mystery what Xiala can do/who she is, but I'm definitely interested to know more.

The ending was a bit rushed compared to the pacing of the rest of the book. I thought the whole Convergence scene(s) were anti-climactic in that the details seemed to be skimmed over rather than explored. We've waited the whole book to see this one day, this one moment, and it seemed too fast. All the characters are in dire straights, especially Naranpa, and it's hard to imagine anything positive coming out of the ceremony. I would be interested in a book 2, if only to see what's going on with the main overarching plot.

I sometimes have trouble getting into the world building of fantasy stories, but I slipped into this world like a hand into a comfortable glove. Interesting characters, wonderful story... Can’t wait for more.

If you are a fantasy reader, you should check out Black Sun! From the goodreads description this is inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic.

I was listening to the audiobook and the narrator performances are excellent and really draw you into the story! Unfortunately, the truth that I keep slamming into is that I am not a fantasy reader. As much as I want to and as much as I’m intrigued by the concepts, for whatever reason I’m not able to really get into it. This is entirely a case of it being me and not the book but I will be DNFing at 50%.

Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley and Libro.fm for the free advance reading and listening copies.

I haven't been able to get into an epic fantasy for a while now but Rebecca Roanhorse's clever, complex, and very readable new book set in a magical version of the pre-columbian Americas really hooked me. Four stars and not five only because I felt like Xiala and Serapio's POV chapters were markedly stronger than the others which led to a little unevenness for me but other than that I loved this book. Intrigue, magic, old gods, new priests, family ties, all in a fresh and naturally diverse/inclusive setting. I look forward to more!

I have been really waiting to get my hands on this book. An epic fantasy that is inspired by the cultures of pre-Columbian Americas-YES!! I devoured this book. It is everything I have been missing in epic fantasy lately. The story is told through four main characters. Serapio, scarred, blinded, filled with an awesome power and a terrible destiny. Xiala, a Teek ship Captain, whose devil may care attitude hides her own secrets. Naranpa, the Sun Priest who is trying to unite Sky Made Clans but her past might make that impossible. Okoa, the Crow Warrior and son of the Crow Matron who has been away at War school and comes back when his mother dies to find his people are ready to believe that the Crow god is coming to give them vengeance for what happened on the Night of Knives. All of their stories will come together on the Day of Convergence when the Sun will be covered by the night. I love the world building, the story and especially the characters. I cannot wait for the next book. Thank you #NetGalley for my advance copy.

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse is a groundbreaking new fantasy that is inspired by the history from Pre- Columbian Americas. The story is rapid paced, with so much conflict, it is hard telling who exactly is on what side of the good or bad coin, but the story was a fun read. The look at politics and religion is the best thing, do you believe in the prophesy? do you believe so much in the prophesy you will do anything to stop it? Will you set up your own candidate for murder but look like it is suicide to take over? will you make a suicide look like murder to stop a war? These are all questions asked in this deeply engrossing novel. The novel features the first pansexual character that I've read it is a very friendly LGTBQ story. There are four revolving narrative each with its own agenda and unique backstory. A really great climax, I wanted more story closure at the but it is clear that Black Sun is the first book in Between Earth and Sky trilogy so it ends on a cliffhanger. I have known about Rebecca Roanhorse for a while, I have seen great reviews for Trial of Lightning, and bought it on a kindle deal, after Black sun that book will be jumping up my TBR. I thanks to Netgalley and Gallery books for an advanced reader copy. Black Sun was published on October 13 2020.

Plot: Serapio is blinded and carved when he is a teenager during the Black Sun, in twenty years when the next Black Sun comes he will be a God. Serapio has started gaining the ability to see and talk with crows, and he can also release a deadly shadow. Xiala, is jailed former captain, and also a Teek, whose song can calm the waters and people around her. She gets the deal of a lifetime, a ship, bailed out of jail, and a mission taking the mysterious Serapio to Tove to become Crow God. We meet the Sun Priest Nara a good leader that has an assassination attempt foiled, but she won't retaliate, to most people displeasure, that want war and the priest to rule by war. It is prophesied that for Serapio to become Crow God he must kill the Sun Priest. Okoa has recently lost his mother, he is lead to believe at the hands of the Sun Priest, after meeting her he is convinced she was not responsible, but he is inadvertently involved with the assassination plot on Nara. There's a lot and this is just the start of this twisty novel.

What I Liked: The backstories on everyone are really well done and reveal so much. This novel has 3 scenes of action that are super intense. The character's are great it took me a little while to get on Nara's side but I liked the others pretty instantly. The powers of Serapio and Xiala are really cool and keep evolving. The world building was done really well, it reminded me a lot of Scythe by Neal Shusterman, where it starts small and expands so naturally, also it reminds me of Scythe of how politics and religion work together. The visuals the words paint were easy to picture. The ship mutiny scene was so great, and everything leading up to it. I think pansexuals will be happy with Xiala's portrayal. Serapio is like a blind Bran from Game of Thrones that actually does cool things with his power.

What I Disliked: I do wish that the ending had the closure of the story and not leave it so open ended. The Xe and Xir was really confusing to figure out. sometime it was capitalized sometimes not (I did receive an uncorrected proof, so hopefully this is made a bit clearer in the final version).

Recommendations: Black Sun is a very good piece of writing that I can't wait to read the next book. The world building is new and fresh. If you liked Scythe like I liked that story I think they are very similar in the way the stories are told, but very different stories. This is a good little fantasy that is fun with a great story, that has a lot more to tell. I rated Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse 5 out of 5 stars.

Roanhorse is so, so good at world building and creating characters with nuance and making you feel for them.
I truly enjoyed the story, the characters, and the world that Roanhorse created and cannot wait to read the sequel(s)!

If I had criticism for this book, it would be that it was clearly written to be a first book, so the cliffhanger was both expected but also frustrating. There was also a lot of information at one time, and it was difficult to get my bearings at the beginning of the story.

Fans of fantasy will love Black Sun. Thank you to Roanhorse, Gallery Books & Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Black Sun is a stunning start to a new fantasy series that begins with a bang, ends on a serious cliffhanger, and in between features compelling, complex characters, loads of political intrigue, twists, turns, and a vividly described world and magic system inspired by the civilizations of the pre-Columbian Americas. In centers characters who are disabled (blind), casually queer, and people of color. Also it has badass mermaids. I mean really...what more could you want?! I have zero complaints. Here Rebecca Roanhorse really shows off her versatility and what she's capable of. This is very much worth your time.

This is one that is probably best to go in knowing little, but it is a multi-pov novel with very distinct characters who really bring the story and world to life. It is a darker fantasy that begins quite brutally and continues to be punctuated by bloody rituals, violent magic, political betrayal, and more. I loved spending time in this world and with these characters and I can't wait to revisit them when we get book 2! This will definitely make my best of list for 2020. I received this book for review, including an audio influencer copy from Libro.FM. All opinions are my own.

This book does come with a lot of content warnings and my list is not exhaustive, but in addition to things mentioned in the review we see child abuse, suicide, loss of a parent, murder, gore, drug use.

I had a slow start getting used to the author's writing style, but once I got the hang of it, the book picked up and I couldn't "put it down." I love the way the author narrates the story and her use of quotes at the beginning of each chapter, although for a moment, I got a bit confused about certain characters and timelines as a result of the constant back and forth with time ranges of dates before "the big astrological date" the book centers around.

Overall, the Rebecca did a great job of first introducing you to characters that seemed utterly unbelievable and not only make them becomes real, but actually likeable! Since this is my first time reading a novel from the author, I have nothing to compare her previous work to; however, based on her past awards and reviews and what I've tasted so far, I am excited about reading more of her work!

Awesome fantasy novel that fills its pre-Columbian Americas civilisation inspired setting with complex characters and twisted plots.

Content warnings include: child abuse (neglect, physical, mentions of sexual), graphic violence and gore, scarring and blinding, alcohol and drug use, imprisonment, abduction, corruption and betrayal, non-explicit sex on-page, superstition and religion, misogyny.

Black Sun has quite slow worldbuilding, it’s not confusing but some things could have been made a bit more clear, like how the different places are tied together and the details of the history. It also took me until after I finished the book and looked at the official map that I realized what it was the entire country/continent/area that was called Meridian.

That being said, I never lost track of the different POV characters, where they were from or what they were doing. So even though not a lot was explained, it was all perfectly well executed. I would have liked a bit more balance between the POV chapters in the first third of the book, though, because some characters get a lot more attention at first than others, and one even only being introduced pretty late. It becomes balanced later on, though, which the POVs rotation evenly.

I loved the little in-world document excerpts at the beginning of each chapter. I usually find those things really redundant in most fantasy novels, as I often don’t see how they add anything to the story, but here the short passages were always relevant to the chapter they preceed. They also added to the worldbuilding.

I also loved the casual inclusion of queer characters, though some places were more accepting than others. There was no outright queerphobia, though some sexism. I particularly adored the normalized nonbinary/third gender and neopronouns, and that in some parts a lof of words were not gendered where they usually are in today’s world.

There wa stons of political intrigue. So much betrayal and corruption and every character, be it major and minor, has their own agenda, and they often work against each other, both actively and without really knowing. There are POVs from opposing sides, and others who have no sides or stakes involved at all, and it was all interesting – if not always easy to read because at no point were any of the characters allowed to have a break or real hope for peace (inner and outer) on the horizon.

It’s not exactly a dark book, but both the personal fates of the characters as well as the overall plot is riddled with hardship and pain, though each in a different way. I particularly could have done without some of the more graphic scenes, especially the child abuse ones. The very first chapter packs a punch in the graphic direction and sets the tone for the rest of the book this way. The violence was not glorified, it just… was.

That being said, it was the ending that filled me with awe. It was both inevitable and unexpected, plain and extraordinary, a cliffhanger and deeply satisfying. I am definitely looking forward to the second book.

A crow god in human skin on a mission of vengeance, a bisexual not-mermaid who can't seem to catch a break, a noble warrior who . . . gets very little page time, and a politically incompetent sun priest, all have their lives intertwine as a portentous eclipse looms.

Pre-Columbian mythology of the Americas isn't a loom many fantasy novels weave upon, so I was interested to see where the author took this. And there's a lot to enjoy; the writing is quick-paced and entertaining, several of the characters were well-drawn (Xiala is a treasure! And Serapio was intriguing), and the story moves at a good clip.

My biggest complaint lies in the relative brevity of the book. For this to work as well as I assume the author intended, the worldbuilding needed a lot more texture than I felt we got. The giant animals are just sort of *there*, the science/magic aspects weren't well fleshed out, and several of the characters seemed like their development was being rushed. (And I don't actually think I was supposed to be calling the sun priest a moron the entire time I was reading, but my *goodness* she was *such a moron*, constantly demonstrating a sort of hapless naivete that seemed completely at odds with what we were told of her upbringing and life thus far. Honey, if you're constantly getting outwitted by a nineteen-year-old, the problem is *you*.) Also, I found the ending somewhat abrupt.

Overall, I'd rate this as solid but not spectacular read. I was entertained, which is the most important thing, and I'd be willing to pick up the sequel.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.