Black Sun

From the Blurb:

“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. Crafted with unforgettable characters, Rebecca Roanhorse has created an epic adventure exploring the decadence of power amidst the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts in the most original series debut of the decade.”

Review:

Black Sun by US author Rebecca Roanhorse is the first instalment in an exciting new epic fantasy series Between Earth and Sky. The mythic fantasy world for the setting of Black Sun is inspired by Mesoamerican prehistory and culture, focusing around the eclipse, astronomical divination and sun-worshipping religious order.

Black Sun follows Serapio, a ruler’s son, outcast by his family since his cultist mother intentionally blinded him in worship of the Crow god from her native Tovan culture before her suicide. Blind since twelve, Serapio has been trained by hardship and determination, knowing only the cultist beliefs of his mother and her co-conspirators and their vengeance against the celestial order of the Sun Priest in Tova.

For Serapio, only getting to Tova before the next eclipse matters. He is taken on-board a ship as a passenger, the only captain willing to travel the open ocean to make Tova in time is a disgraced Teek, a woman named Xiala. There, en route to Tova, Serapio finds an unlikely companionship and ally in Xiala who is outcast for her own type of magic. For Xiala, Serapio’s quiet strangeness is accepted and his power as the vessel for the Crow god make him a useful ally in their journey to Tova. But as Serapio travels his homeland for the first time, the city of Tova is on the cusp of civil war, the celestial order led by the Sun Priest, the natural enemy of the Crow and all the noble houses on the brink of chaos. As the seasonal equinox culminates with the eclipse, it will bring forth fantastic beings and forces from the myths of this world, where the giant crows and water-beetles, mermaids and priests are nothing to a vengeful god reborn.

Final Thoughts:

Black Sun was a wonderful new epic Fantasy that explores a mythic world inspired by Mesoamerica yet absolutely unique. The instability of the upper echelon of society with its feuding clans and religious orders is cleverly opposed to the united presence of cultist groups and the unquestionable dominance of the criminal underworld. There is a strong combination of fantasy themes, folklore and world-building that unite the political and social intrigue.

My Conclusion?

This is a must-read for fans of Rebecca Roanhorse and those who enjoy non-Anglo/Nordic fantasy. Highly recommended!