I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
A great story with well thought out story. Good writing and images.

I enjoyed this but I’m still confused on why the father did what he did. Something about class struggle that flew over my little blonde head?
I liked the two timelines and I loved how it ended. The strength of the mother was wonderful but the father character felt weak. His son was much stronger.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for an eARC of this title.

I didn’t know what to expect when I first started reading this graphic novel and it did surprise me. The story is much sadder than I expected, but also hopeful. We are following the family of a man who everyone hates and the ramifications of this one man’s actions. This story really highlights how small towns can hold a grudge against an entire family for something one person did. It looks at the anger and resentment, as well as the irrational fear that everyone related to someone who commits an act will be the same.

This is absolutely a wonderful graphic novel, though it is heartbreaking in some places. It is not the fun and upbeat graphic novels I tend to gravitate toward, but I do recommend it for those interested in sci-fi and family stories.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

While I enjoyed reading this, I was disappointed when it ended. I wish it was longer. I know it originated from a short story, but I would've loved to see it split out into multiple issues to flesh out the storyline. I wanted more time with the characters and their stories. I didn't feel like I had enough change to get to know them or see the characters develop. However, the artwork and coloring was absolutely gorgeous and made this worth the read!

I love this graphic novel. I love the characters. I love the story. I love the colours. I love love love this book and want to crawl inside it.

I really can't find much to say about this, other than I don't really see the point of it. I'm guessing the original short story does more to explore the themes in greater depth than is presented here, but given that I generally don't enjoy short stories either, I probably should have known this likely wouldn't work out for me.

This was a really simple and touching story about two people trying to survive when the sun goes out. Told in two timelines, we follow Hiram Hightower, a miner who flies a plane into the sun which makes the light vanish, and subsequently, we follow his son, Joshua as he tries to make his way in the world under the shadow of his father's deeds. I thought the relationships at play here were very finely crafted with nuance and authenticity that I really enjoyed. I particularly liked the relationship between Joshua and Claire - her unwavering friendship and support for him in the face of unpleasant circumstances was incredibly sweet. I thought that the artwork was beautiful, using muted pastel colours sparingly, but with visual cues to differentiate between the two timelines, which was a really nice touch. My only complaint really, is that I thought that things drew to a close a bit abruptly - I could quite easily have continued in this world and with these characters for a lot longer! Overall, this was a really enjoyable graphic novel that I would highly recommend.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Archaia Press for sending me this book to review.

Both the authors, Roxane Gay and Tracy Lynne Oliver have seamlessly worked with Rebecca Kirby, the illustrator, to create this moving and wonderful graphic novel. It is set in a mining town where, in his air machine, Hiram Hightower heads towards the sun. He has been working in sub human conditions underground in a mine in darkness and cold for the last five years. When he crashes into the sun, the town is plunged into darkness.

There are two themes to the novel. The first is the greed of the Council to exploit the mines. A rare and precious mineral Flareon has been discovered in the mines which could bring great prosperity to the town. Eight-hour shifts are extended to sixteen and five working days increased to six. But the people who benefit from this are the rich townsfolk and the Council members; the conditions of the miners remain the same. As Hiram tells his son, the wealthy townsmen have forgotten the ones who have made their lives and homes possible

The second theme is that of love and loyalty irrespective of social status. The novel works on two time schemes: the present-day when the lights go off and the past when Hiram Hightower first meets Mara Blessings and falls in love with her.

The present-day story deals with Joshua, the son of Hiram and Mara, who is ostracized because of his father’s actions—the house is barred to prevent people from throwing things. He is befriended by Claire whose mother has her heart in the right place insists that her daughter invite Joshua home.

The authors present parallel love stories between Hiram and Mara and Claire and Joshua. Joshua and Hiram come from a miner’s family Claire and Mara are born to wealth. However, the authors show how love triumphs over all adversities and the need to be supportive and compassionate. This is in direct contrast to the Council members who want a blood sacrifice from the Hightower family for the darkness they have had to suffer.

The thought-provoking story is supported by brilliant and appropriate images. The present-day images are more brightly colored than those from the past which are in hues of dull blue and a sort of pinky orange.

This graphic novel was amazing. I loved all of it and I really can't find any fault with it. This book is told between present time and flashbacks about Hiram Hightower, a miner from a small town who flies into the sun and destroys it. By flying into the sun he plunges the earth into total darkness. In present time his son, Joshua deals with the stigma of being Hiram Hightower's son - the Sun Stealer. Throughout the book Joshua has to deal with countless people and the city council saying that there needs to be a sacrifice to bring the sun back. The family refuses though. Over time Joshua has his own family and moves on with is life. I'm not giving spoilers for the end of the book though, you'll have to read it for yourself! Overall, this book was fantastic and I highly, highly recommend it!

CW: Bullying, Classism

When I saw this graphic novel up on NetGalley, I knew I needed to read it. I've always wanted to read a Roxane Gay book, and having it be a graphic novel was a win-win for me. I always love reading graphic novels because they have a unique feel. You get to experience a world through the graphics.

The graphics in The Sacrifice of Darkness were great. They enhanced the story, and I loved that it was easy to tell when a flashback was just by looking at the drawings. I loved the gritty feel of the book & enjoyed seeing how the story progressed.

The plot was pretty unique and kept my attention. I also enjoyed that the book showed a darker side of the world. I liked the brightness & hope that was in there too. There was the perfect blend of light and dark.

All in all, I enjoyed this graphic novel. The plot kept my attention, and the graphics were well done. I recommend this to anyone looking for a good sci-fi graphic novel.

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
I want to start this off by saying that the concept of the story, some of the elements in the story, the way the story is set up with the "current" vs "past" timelines, where we slowly get to know the story, is really good! I also really liked the art in general, but since this story is set in a dark world it does get very repetitive from frame to frame.
Sadly, though, I found myself caring about the story but also not at all. And maybe it was a bit boring? I loved the ending, though, and the growing friendship between Bear and Joshua. And I think this would have been better as a duology or trilogy of graphic novels where the emotional moments were allowed to make more of an impact on the reader, and so that we would get to know more the circumstances and the world. I just really wanted much more from this.

I haven't read the short story that this graphic novel is based on. But I enjoyed this a lot. It didn't all make sense but the gist of the story was nice. This is the first I've read of this author but her books are in my TBR.

A bit of a multigenerational and small-town tale of two star-crossed families (with some underlying classism) with a slight sci-fi twist. I feel some character introspection was lost in the adaptation, but it's still a worthwhile read.

I really enjoyed the narrative style of this story. In it we are thrust into a universe where the sun ceases to exist, a result of a man flying into it. As the story continues, we get to see how the results of losing the sun affects a woman and her husband. As they are dealing with this new reality, she reflects on her childhood, and how she met the young boy who would eventually become her husband.

The art is gorgeous. I love the color schemes and the way it changes when jumping between before the sun went out and after.

Overall, I would recommend this for everyone who is looking for a sweet romance in an alternate version of reality.

I found this a little hard to follow in the beginning but ended up enjoying both the art and the story.

So I feel like reviewing this particular graphic novel is tantamount to revealing the most personal psychoanalytical details of someone's Rorschach test results, but here we go!

This was depressing. The social commentary on class and greed is bleak enough -- it's barely even scifi; it's just our terribly flawed world described differently -- but to me this is a story about how the best among us are often among the most persecuted; how pain and intolerance is piled upon them to unbearable degrees while they remain stronger and more sure of their principles than ever before; and then they're often the ones to pull us out of our own worst mistakes while the masses curse and condemn them and the power hungry in charge take credit for their achievements. 

But, you know, love was found and life went on, so yay? 

😂😂😂 

I don't know, this was probably not the smartest thing to read on that particular Monday in November...

I'm definitely feeling a little better about it with some distance -- and with more hope coming from the real world -- but it still leaves me with a stronger sense of darkness than light.

It details a really depressing aspect of human nature and a really depressing aspect of capitalist societies, and how they're doubly depressing when combined.

The art was beautiful, but a really crucial part of the story was told in a confusing way -- and in retrospect I have to wonder if it was done that way to cover up the fact that it's kind of unbelievable?? Because I don't buy that the character would have behaved that way, and some of the details feel inconsistent with the rest of the world-building. 

I think it would have been more powerful to spend a little more time showing how the original situation (corporate greed, essentially) could lead to such a place of pure desperation, but ultimately I think my middle-of-the-road rating is probably just a case of preaching to the choir: "We're fucked up." "Agreed. Where's the chocolate?"

This story doesn't have a specified time and place, so it felt a little like a metaphor or parable. I read the ARC on my phone so wasn't able to appreciate the art very much, but the use of two color schemes to illustrate two different time periods was an easy visual indicator. A sweet story, but the dialogue was frequently awkward. An optional purchase for adult graphic novel collections.

The Sacrifice of Darkness is a graphic novel written by Roxane Gay and Tracy Lynne Oliver. It is a story about how one day a miner takes a vehicle to the sun and it goes out. The story then splits between before and after. It is a story of a family that is founded from deep love and finds a way to survive and fix past mistakes. This is a beautiful message of making friends with those who are not like you, those who other dislike, and the power of love.
The illustrations have these distinct color schemes based on when in the time line it occurs which really blends well with the story and creates an atmosphere to live in while you read. So times you read graphic novels and they are very basic on the illustrations or use very dark colors that make them hard to enjoy but here while both sets of times was on a monotone style they were easy to see, follow, and enjoy.

This was really so lovely, and so different!
In a world much like our own, a miner takes a plane and dive-bombs straight into the sun, destroying it and plunging the world into permanent cold night. However, as we learn more about Hiram, the miner, we wonder why in the world he would have ever done this, since he was deeply in love with his wife and son and seemingly had a very good life.
The book alternates between telling Hiram's story and the story of his son, and the one other person in town who was willing to be a friend to the family after everyone accused them of being the reason the sun was gone. It's such a beautifully told story filled with love and hope.

i haven't read the story this was based off of. but this graphic novel makes me want to. it's interesting to see what was clearly a well developed story be portrayed like this. the story itself is a look into the mind of a human who is deprived of a part of his identity. the decisions he is driven to when having to deal with the deprivation and the coinciding depression. the consequences of his decision on those who love him and the next generation. it is evocative and timely.