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Black Sun

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Black Sun

By: Rebecca Roanhorse
Narrated by: Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, Kaipo Schwab, Shaun Taylor-Corbett
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About this listen

 Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Series!

From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Resistance Reborn comes the “engrossing and vibrant” (Tochi Onyebuchi, author of Riot Baby) first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy 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

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 even 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 a “brilliant world that shows the full panoply of human grace and depravity” (Ken Liu, award-winning author of The Grace of Kings). This epic adventure explores 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 this “absolutely tremendous” (S.A. Chakraborty, nationally bestselling author of The City of Brass) and most original series debut of the decade. Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Historical Women's Voices World Literature Royalty Native American

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Critic reviews

"This epic fantasy, which includes political upheaval, taboo magic, and a hint of romance, is narrated by an array of textured voices. In this intense, adventurous story, inspired by pre-Columbian civilizations, every voice is clear and grave. While Cara Gee and Nicole Lewis are slightly warmer in tone than Kaipo Schwab and Shaun Taylor–Corbett, make no mistake—all the narrators remind us that everything is at stake in this fantasy. Having four narrators for overlapping storylines may seem like a lot at times, given the numerous characters and the constant movement within this adventure. But each voice is distinct and drives the story forward, leading to an explosive ending."
All stars
Most relevant
I've just finished this audio book and it's certainly left me eager for the next. I did struggle to get into it to start with, but I think that's just how it is for me with several stories running at once and so many new names to remember.

The main characters drew me in and I was rooting for them, and the plot unfolds nicely. The characters and their relationships were not stuck in the stereotypes we are so often exposed to, and they were developed well.

The narration was good, though Serapio's speed of speech changed dramatically between narrators. This may have been so the female narrator could distinguish between her characters, which is important, but it stood out to me. A small thing though.

Looking forward to the next.

Good character development

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the story and world building is the best I've read in a while. so beautiful and gripping, a love letter to indigenous, black and queer identities

absolutely stunning

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Rebecca Roanhorse has vindicated her place as one of the most beloved fantasy-authors of her time with this fantastic start to a new fantasy series. Where I felt her urban fantasy work didn't stand out too much from the crowd, Black Sun is deserving of the title of fantasy epic.
From the vicerally gripping opening-chapter, until the edge-of-my-seat-finale, I was completely transported into the wonderful foreign world of Tova, and its memorable characters.
With its multiple POV's, Black Sun sets up a broad scope of the world, and a multifacetted conflict that I already know will only lead to tragedy in the end. Still I couldn't help but get equally attachted to Naranpa, Okoa, Xiala and Serapio, each of them being destinct, fleshed out, and likable in their own way characters.
I can safely say that Black Sun is going to make it into my top 3 fantasy novels of 2020, and I hate that I have to wait a year for book 2 to arrive. Highly recommend to all fans of epic fantasy!

Great start of a new fantasy series

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Bought book 2 immediately and ordered a printed copy.
Audio could have been crisper. Some actors were stiff and a few bad line-reads here and there could have been re-recorded. But loved most of the voiceacting. But I suspect this book is even better printed and not as a recorded piece.

Loved the book!

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It was so easy to immerse in Rebecca's world of magic, Crow God, the powerful and the outcasts, thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't mind too many threads left hanging for that is what life is anyway- an unresolved chapter. Having said that, when's the second book coming? 😉😊

so so good

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