Her Teek heritage has bestowed upon her the magical power to use song to calm the oceans, to coax the waters into speeding them along. Anyone else would have said it can’t be done, but Xiala is no ordinary sailor. Called Serapio, his very presence makes Xiala and the crew uneasy, added to the fact that their benefactor has stipulated a nearly impossible deadline for their journey through treacherous waters. As it turns out though, the passenger in question is a strange and unnerving young man-blinded, scarred, and rumored to have the ability to speak to crows. The job sounded easy enough when she agreed to it, involving the transport of a single passenger across the seas to Tova.

Meanwhile in the city of Cuecola, exiled far from home, a Teek captain named Xiala finds herself taking on an unusual assignment. In Carrion Crow, disgraced among the clans, a fanatical group of renegades believe that it is a sign of the imminent return of their god who will take vengeance upon those who stripped them of their power generations ago. But this year, the event would be coinciding with the solar eclipse, a sign of great disturbance. As the winter solstice descends upon the holy city of Tova, all the members of the Sky Made clans under the newly appointed Sun Priest would normally be preparing for the upcoming celebrations.

Told via multiple perspectives, the story takes place in a world inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas. Her first crack at epic fantasy, however, was even better than I could have imagined! Black Sun is incredible, my favorite work of hers yet. I am stunned! I mean, I always knew Rebecca Roanhorse would go places ever since I read her debut Trail of Lightning, and I have also gone on to adore the follow-up Storm of Locusts as well as the novel she wrote for the new Star Wars universe, Resistance Reborn. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own. I received a review copy from the publisher. Book Review: Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse