Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse

Title: Tread of Angels

Author: Rebecca Roanhorse

Publisher: Gallery 2022

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 201

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer Reading Challenge

The year is 1883 and the mining town of Goetia is booming as prospectors from near and far come to mine the powerful new element Divinity from the high mountains of Colorado with the help of the pariahs of society known as the Fallen. The Fallen are the descendants of demonkind living amongst the Virtues, the winners in an ancient war, with the descendants of both sides choosing to live alongside Abaddon’s mountain in this tale of the mythological West from the bestselling mastermind Rebecca Roanhorse.

A bit of a strange book to review. The plot line centers around a women trying to defend her sister in a murder accusation. Pretty straight forward, but the world they live in is anything but straight forward. We get a clear divided between the Fallen and the Elect and appearances from demon lords. I sped through this book in one sitting and was engaged the entire time. The weird theological questions that came to mind keep me thinking of this book. Throw in Roanhorse’s personal history and current place in life, and I was even more intrigued. Something tells me that this book is going to creep back into my life in the future…

Next up on the TBR pile:

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Title: Black Sun

Author: Rebecca Roanhorse

Publisher: Gallery 2020

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 464

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter Seasonal TBR

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.

I borrowed this from a friend as multiple head recommended it for me. And boy, were they right! This was a beautiful complicated story of struggle and identity set in not our world, but one related by so many cultures and stories. We meet a wonderful cast of characters all with their own agendas, secrets, and ambitions. I loved following each one as they came closer and closer together in the city of Tova. Xiala was my favorite character of the lot. She was a fascinating person with such an interesting background. The writing keeps pushing us forward to what we know is not going to be happy ending (at least in this first book), but we are kept wanting to turn the pages until the end. I was right there along for the ride and couldn’t wait to see how the characters all come together. As to the creation of the story, I loved reading Roanhorse’s author note at the end discussing the inclusion of a variety of cultures and myths and legends. I can’t wait to see what she does in the second book.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Title: Race to the Sun

Author: Rebecca Roanhorse

Publisher: Disney Hyperion 2020

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Pages: 298

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Lately, seventh grader Nizhoni Begay has been able to detect monsters, like that man in the fancy suit who was in the bleachers at her basketball game. Turns out he's Mr. Charles, her dad's new boss at the oil and gas company, and he's alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. Nizhoni knows he's a threat, but her father won't believe her. When Dad disappears the next day, leaving behind a message that says "Run!", the siblings and Nizhoni's best friend, Davery, are thrust into a rescue mission that can only be accomplished with the help of Diné Holy People, all disguised as quirky characters. Their aid will come at a price: the kids must pass a series of trials in which it seems like nature itself is out to kill them. If Nizhoni, Mac, and Davery can reach the House of the Sun, they will be outfitted with what they need to defeat the ancient monsters Mr. Charles has unleashed. But it will take more than weapons for Nizhoni to become the hero she was destined to be . . . Timeless themes such as the importance of family and respect for the land resonate in this funny, fast-paced, and exciting quest adventure set in the American Southwest.

This was an addition to our homeschool curriculum. I thought it fit well with the theme of “Fantastic Journeys and Perilous Quests.” We get a great story weaving Navajo myths and stories with a very modern day middle school girl. The writing style is very much like Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series. I wonder if that was the direction given to these various authors. I wanted a bit more of a difference, but the characters and story definitely made up for it. We learned a lot about Navajo culture and had a lot of fun along the way.

Next up on the TBR pile: