Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse
21 December 2020
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Between Earth and Sky #1, Black Sun, Rebecca Roanhorse

My Five Word TL:DR Review : Rich worldbuilding, characters with depth
I had a great time with Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. To be honest, I expected to like this one, I loved the first two books in the Sixth World Series after all, but, as we all know, high expectations combined with lots of hype can sometimes spell disaster. Fortunately this was not the case with Black Sun. This is a story that combines rich world building with well drawn characters all singing from their own hymn sheets and it just works so very well.
I’m going to be a little lazy here and steal part of the description from Goodreads, simply because it’s well written and so why reinvent the wheel:
“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“
I mean, right there – Pre-Columbian America – who would not want to read a book with this setting? Seriously, this just feels so unique and not just that, it’s well written with descriptions that bring the place vividly to life.
On top of this we follow four pov characters with all the threads slowly converging during the course of the book. What is satisfying about this is it feels more like two storylines simply because of the geography with the story switching between time on the high seas and time in the city of Tova, and occasionally incorporating flashbacks.
As the book starts we meet Serapio as he undergoes a painful ritual performed by his mother. This is the first step in fulfilling the prophecy that predicts his destiny as Crow God. We then jump forward a few years, Serapio, now a young man, is about to journey to Tova to confront, well, not to be spoilery, to fulfil his mission in life.
Xiala is a mysterious sea captain known as a ‘Teek’. The Teek are feared and also revered for their abilities to sing to the sea and the sea creatures and smooth the passage of ships that travel upon them. Xiala is an outcast who now takes jobs as and when she can find them. Her latest job takes her onto the wider oceans (rarely travelled upon at this time of year due to the threat of stormy weather and the inevitable watery grave) where she is charged with transporting Serapio to Tova. A journey that must be completed within a certain period to coincide with the Solstice and solar eclipse.
Meanwhile, at Tova we meet Nara, recently appointed Sun Priest. She has new ideas and is enthusiastic about making positive changes. Unfortunately, it would seem that not everyone is equally enamoured with this recent appointment and Nara will encounter assassination attempts and behind doors machinations to remove her from this coveted position.
Finally, Okoa, member of the Crow Clan. Recently returned to the fold to support his sister following the somewhat suspicious death, of their mother.
Now, you do have to bear with things here because obviously with four characters populating the pages there’s a lot to take in, but it is well worth the effort.
I loved the writing, there’s something subtle and understated about how the author manages to combine so many elements and pull them together in a way that makes you hungry for the next instalment. On top of this she injects history, myth and lore with religion and rebellion and chucks in a little seafaring and light romance for good measure. To top it off, the characters are each so distinct with their own stories and histories to discover. And, what’s really superb is the tingly feeling that I have that Roanhorse has only just scraped the surface of what’s to come such as learning more about Nara and her family, particularly her brother, or Xiala and her abilities – or more to the point, finding out what she truly is. And, if this isn’t enough, for me, there’s an ambiguity here, that is very clever. For example, Serapio – is he one of the good guys or one of the bad guys. It’s difficult to tell at this point and it feels like the lines are muddied for a purpose.
Now, one thing I will say, and this isn’t a criticism so much as an observation, I couldn’t help feeling more attached to certain characters/storylines. Xiala and Serapio stole the show a little for me but I’m still open to the other storylines winning me over in the next instalment.
I think it’s probably time to start drawing this review to a close and in case you haven’t guessed, this was great and I definitely recommend it without a doubt.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publishers, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion. I also bought a copy of the audio and I both read and listened – and I thought the audio for this was really good.
My rating 4.5 of 5 stars
December Countdown, Day 21 : Santa’s Snack
21 December 2020
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: A Bronte Sisters' Mystery, Bella Ellis, December meme, Santa's Snack, The Diabolical Bones
December book meme (details here). Santa’s Snack – a book that was a ‘light read’ between heavier books :
December Countdown, Day 20 : Eggnog
20 December 2020
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: December meme, Eggnog, Patrick deWitt, The Sisters Brothers
December book meme (details here). Eggnog – a book that was out of your comfort zone :
Friday Face Off : Highly Stylised

Here we are again with the Friday Face Off meme created by Books by Proxy . This is a great opportunity to feature some of your favourite book covers. The rules are fairly simple each week, following a predetermined theme (list below) choose a book (this doesn’t have to be a book that you’ve read), compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Future week’s themes are listed below – if you have a cover in mind that you’re really wanting to share then feel free to leave a comment about a future suggested theme. I’ve also listed events that take place during the year, that I’m aware of, so you can link up your covers – if you’re aware of any events that you think I should include then give me a shout. This week’s theme:
Highly Stylised
I literally have no idea what I had in mind for this week’s theme. And, searching around I found a few covers that I thought fit this and I decided instead of choosing one book and compare it’s covers I thought I would choose a number of books that fit this theme and show a medley of covers:
Do you have a favourite?
I’ve updated the list now to include themes for next year. If you know of an event that’s coming up let me know and I’ll try and include covers that work for the event itself so that you can link up to the Friday Face Off and, as always, if you wish to submit an idea then leave me a comment – or if you’d like to host a week then simply let me know. Also, I would just mention that it’s very possible that some of these might be repeats from previous FFOs although I have tried to invent more ‘open ended’ prompt that can be interpreted differently and also prompts that relate to emotions. Finally, don’t struggle with any of these, this is meant to be a fun way of highlighting books. If you can’t come up with a book you think fits for a particular week use a freebie – perhaps a recent read for example:
Next week – Freebie
2020
25th December- Freebie – or day off
2021
January
Vintage Sci-Fi month – if you’re taking part you could try and find some vintage style covers
1st – Dressed in White – could be a person could be a landscape – or something else completely?
8th – Books with ‘Moon’ in the Title
15th – An Aerial encounter – spaceships and explosions
22nd – An Alien Encounter – ‘we come in peace’ or maybe not.
29th – A favourite classic or vintage sci-fi
February
5th – A Book with a romance that you enjoyed
12th – Furry – a beast, something cuddly, or a fur covering
19th – Serpentine – could be a snake, could be a snake-like font, could be a snakeskin style cover
26th – A book with ‘Magic’ in the Title
March
5th – March is named for the Roman God of War – a Roman style cover or a cover with a God or Gods or simply a book about war
12th – Middle Grade – choose whatever pleases you
19th – Ruin or derelict, old and worn, could be the book itself, a building, a place
26th – A picture within a picture
April
2nd – A train or tram – travelling down the track, could be old style, futuristic, overhead, down below.
9th – Cartoonish or graphic
16th – I have to have it – a cover that gave you ‘grabby hands’
23rd – Your current read (if it has covers to compare) or any recent read
30th– A series that you love – highlight all the books in the series
May
Month of Wyrd and Wonder
7th – A Series where the cover changed midway through – which style do you prefer most
14th – The earliest fantasy you recall reading – or the first fantasy book you really loved, maybe the book that kickstarted your love of fantasy
21st – The Top Hat
28th – The Hood
June
4th – The nose boop – any animal, or human, with a close up shot.
11th – A cover that annoyed you and why
18th – Out of Perspective, or make you feel a bit dizzy
25th – Upside down, back to front or topsy turvy
July
2nd – A book with a landscape you’d like to visit
9th – A Wicked Grin
16th – Books with ‘book’ in the title
23rd – A Black Hole – could be in the universe or going deep into the ground
30th – Chaos – maybe too much going on in this one
August
6th – “They cluck their thick tongues, and shake their heads and suggest, os so very delicately!” – The Motel
13th – A favourite holiday read
20th – Dressed to kill (could be literally someone dressed to kill, or someone dressed up for a big night out
27th – Sunbathing or on the beach
September (RIP event)
3rd – 1920s feel, noir detective
10th – I’m Henry the Eighth I am – let’s look at Kings or other Emperors/rulers
17th – Books with ‘Murder’ in the title
24th – A favourite thriller
October
1st – A Halloween read
8th – Chills – anything at all that almost makes you too scared to pick up the book (your own pet hate)
15th – Your favourite book of magic
22nd – Books with ‘Queen’ in the title
29th – Must be gothic
November – Sci Fi Month
5th – Your earliest sci-fi read or the first sci-fi you reviewed
12th – A book with ‘star’ in the title
19th – Futuristic vista
26th – A Black Hole – in the universe or going deep into the ground
December
3rd – Windswept, the classic figure, stood majestically, with wind blowing out in a fetching way
10th – A fairytale retold
17th – Winter Solstice approaching – anything cold and seasonal
24th – All things fire – red hair, red covers, fire breathing dragons, simply fire?
31st – What’s your catnip – if it’s on a cover you have to pick it up







