Hello and welcome to my segment on Kriti’s blog– Ariel’s Arcs! Today I am sharing about Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse.
The Story
A solar eclipse will be occurring soon, and with that the promise of chaos and change. How the various characters, clans, and powers-that-be respond to this event will change the course of history.
A grumpy sea-captain whose magical powers make those around her nervous, a vessel for a vengeful god whose sense of duty is tampered only by his desire for community and human connection, and a wiley priestess who must politically maneuver her way through cutthroats and opportunists alike create three distinctive points of view that give the readers different perspectives and vantage points of the world of Black Sun. I quickly grew attached to these characters, and I loved to see how their stories developed over the novel.
Like all epic fantasies with original worlds and magic, there is some acclimation to a new system and information, but once the reader is settled in the world, there is no slowing down and I found the book increasingly difficult to put down.
Possible Content warnings: consumption of alcohol, attempted murder, some graphic violence, self-inflicted bodily harm, and mention of forced prostitution/sexual abuse.
The Setting of Black Sun
In an original fantasy world, Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse is an epic fantasy of breathtaking proportions. Subverting the Euro-centric epic fantasy trope, the world within Black Sun is inspired by the pre-Columbian Americas. The reader might recognize some themes from Aztec, Mayan, Pueblo, or Polynesian lore and history such as sea-navigation by the stars, cliff cities, pyramids, and more. As for the world itself, Tor has an article about the maps that can be found within the book.
If the reader is new to the breadth of the sophistication and advancement of the Pre-Columbian Americas that this book is inspired by, it may be helpful to learn about the technology, cultivation, and trade of this era before diving into the novel. A book on this subject that I found particularly enlightening was 1491 by Charles C. Mann which provides a large-scale look at what pre-Columbian American life was like.
Black Sun is a refreshing take on epic fantasy as a genre, and I loved immersing myself in a completely new fantasy world. The setting, characters, and tensions found within the book are so full of detail, color, and potential that I am excited to see where this series goes in its sequels, and I would love to see potential spin-offs as well.
This book is out October 13th, 2020. If you enjoy original fantasy worlds with unique magic systems and epic fantasy that entails adventure and political intrigue, Black Sun is worth the read!
Final Rating:
** Be sure to preorder or check out Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse when it is published on October 13th, 2020! **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
Cover image: Photo by Jongsun Lee on Unsplash
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