Publishers Weekly
04/15/2024
Bestseller Roanhorse is in top form in the satisfying conclusion to her Between Earth and Sky epic fantasy trilogy (after 2022’s Fevered Star). The future of Serapio, the newly ascendant Carrion King, hinges on comprehending a cryptic prophecy conveyed by Zataya of the Coyote Clan, a witch who reads astronomical portents as signifying that “something terrible” is coming for the people of the land called the Meridian. She tells Serapio that he faces “three wars to lose, three wars to win,” but that in achieving victory, he will sacrifice everything. Serapio believes some of the message is clear enough for him to take action, but his plans to fulfill the prophecy without losing all he holds dear face numerous challenges. Other characters, including Xiala, a sea captain belonging to a community that lives on floating islands and has mostly lost its ability to perform magic through singing, are equally three-dimensional, and Roanhorse weaves the myriad plot threads together seamlessly, building to an epic climax. It’s a worthy finale to a blockbuster series. (June)
The New York Times
Rebecca Roanhorse... [is one] of the Indigenous novelists reshaping North American science fiction, horror and fantasy — genres in which Native writers have long been overlooked.
NPR
Rebecca Roanhorse is one of my auto-read authors — and one major reason is because of her fire Between Earth and Sky series. That trilogy comes to a stunning, fevered conclusion with Mirrored Heavens. All of the characters you love, hate and love to hate will converge on the city of Tova. Get ready for an epic battle between ancient gods, their human avatars and the mortals caught in between.
From the Publisher
I emerged from Black Sun bleary-eyed, tongue-tied, heart-swollen. This is a brilliant world that shows the full panoply of human grace and depravity. Rebecca Roanhorse is the epic voice of our continent and time.”—Ken Liu, award-winning author of The Grace of Kings, and The Hidden Girl and Other Stories.
"This is the novel I've been waiting for. This is the novel we've all been waiting for. Everything's different now, with Black Sun. Different and better. Stands shoulder to shoulder with the very best fantasy out there. There's Martin, there's Jemisin, and now there's Roanhorse."—Stephen Graham Jones, award-winning author of The Only Good Indians, and Mongrels
"Engrossing and vibrant. Black Sun left me with my jaw on the floor."—Tochi Oneybuchi, author of Riot Baby
"Absolutely tremendous. Roanhorse knocks it out of the park again with an epic tale about duty and destiny that will sweep readers away and broaden the horizons of an entire genre."—S.A. Chakraborty, nationally bestselling author of The City of Brass.
“The world sucks you in from the start, and the pacing yanks you along by the collar. Black Sun is instantly riveting from the beginning—Roanhorse is at the top of her game here.”—R.F. Kuang, bestselling author of The Poppy War
"Roanhorse introduces an epic fantasy with vivid worldbuilding and exciting prose. Readers will be attracted to the story, in which there is no real right vs. wrong. Only inevitable change will draw out the heroes of this imaginative tale." — Library Journal, (starred review)
Buzzfeed
A brilliant follow-up” Buzzfeed
Library Journal
★ 03/01/2024
Serapio has been crowned the Carrion King in Tova. The avatar of the Crow God Reborn knows that he has enemies, some even closer than believed, as the clan matrons scheme to take back their power. Another god's prophecy puts Serapio on a path of death—for others and possibly for himself. Xiala is back in Teek, the island she left, as invaders take control of the people and their magic. For Xiala to claim her power, she will have to sacrifice that which she holds dear. The Sun God's avatar, Naranpa, is in the northern wastelands looking for a way to save Tova from the fiery fate she dreams about, while the Jaguar God stalks her in body and in her nightmares. No one will come out of the final battles unscathed. VERDICT Roanhorse's world of the Meridian (last seen in the series entry Fevered Star) is a powerful tale of gods, power, and the way people seek to claim both. The exquisite storytelling doesn't release readers until the final page is turned.—Kristi Chadwick
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2024-04-05
Serapio’s newly won rule over the city of Tova is threatened from all sides in the third installment of Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky trilogy.
Serapio, now the Carrion King, has triumphed over Tova. As he’s an avatar of the crow god, his new kingdom is engulfed in a permanent eclipse. But his fight isn’t over yet. The powerful clan matrons conspire to assassinate him, and outside of Tova, the bloodthirsty Lord Balam is gathering a terrible force to destroy him. When a strange old woman tells Serapio that the coyote god has a prophecy that will show him how to defeat his enemies, Serapio is eager to hear it. But the prophecy is contradictory and confusing and finishes with the promise that “in winning he would lose everything.” Meanwhile, Xiala is home on the mysterious, matriarchal island nation of Teek. As she struggles to channel her strange ocean powers, Teek is invaded by Lord Tuun, who wants to force the women of Teek to build a navy for Balam’s war against Serapio. Xiala must find a way to outsmart Tuun, save what remains of her homeland, and make it back to Tova to find Serapio before Balam’s forces overtake him. Even as Roanhorse brings her epic story to a close, there are no simple answers here. Serapio is both a victim of the plot that bound him to the crow god without his consent and a brutal strategist when it comes to furthering his goals. Everyone from the goodhearted Xiala to the villainous Balam must contend with sacrificing pieces of themselves—and the lives of others—to achieve their ends. Roanhorse’s fans won’t be surprised to hear that she’s crafted a complex, suspenseful, and ultimately satisfying ending to her masterful trilogy.
A strong ending and a new classic of the fantasy genre.