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Nataliya's Reviews > Black Sun
Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky, #1)
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I think a big reason why this book garnered such attention was the setting � an epic fantasy based on pre-Colombian American cultures rather than the standard quasi-medieval Western European-style setting. And yes, the setting is different than that standard, but that’s all. Other than that the story was not unfamiliar � political clashes between the factions of theocratic society, a god reborn to carry our vengeance, and a hasty romance between a lovable rogue ship captain and that god avatar. There’s a cringeworthy chapter right at the start featuring child mutilation in the name of the ancient god, but after that it’s the more or less familiar epic fantasy ground. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
Except that it did absolutely nothing for me. All 400 pages left me absolutely indifferent. It was an easy read, without any glaring issues, with perfectly serviceable prose and characters. And yet I just could not bring myself to care, periodically glancing at the Kindle percentage to see if we are there yet.
I could not connect with these characters at all, except at times with Xiala and her recognizable lovable rogue persona � but that stemmed more from me liking this archetype and therefore looking for the reasons to like her. But even then I ended up caring less and less as the book progressed. The rest of them - Naranpa, Okoa, Serapio � nope, nothing, don’t care although I feel I’m supposed to, although I see exactly where those points of connection are meant to be. Their inner worlds I found to be uninteresting, their struggles unconvincing. It all felt strangely superficial, like they were just fitting their roles in the story � and nothing more, with their voices barely distinguishable.
And that romance was unnecessary, with a bath scene that made me cringe in its unintended awkwardness.
And then the plot *finally* lumbers to the cliffhanger-ish conclusion � and I happily closed the book without feeling the need to ever read the sequel (unless, that is, it gets nominated for Hugo or Nebula Awards in the future).
And in the end, nothing about this one really stands out. Forgettable at best.
2.5 stars, rounding down for sheer indifference. As I said - meh.
—ĔĔĔĔ�
My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: /review/show...
by
“I am the only storm that matters now, and there is no shelter from what I bring.�Obviously my opinion is an unpopular one given the high rating this book holds, but I can really sum up my feelings about it in one word � “Meh.�
I think a big reason why this book garnered such attention was the setting � an epic fantasy based on pre-Colombian American cultures rather than the standard quasi-medieval Western European-style setting. And yes, the setting is different than that standard, but that’s all. Other than that the story was not unfamiliar � political clashes between the factions of theocratic society, a god reborn to carry our vengeance, and a hasty romance between a lovable rogue ship captain and that god avatar. There’s a cringeworthy chapter right at the start featuring child mutilation in the name of the ancient god, but after that it’s the more or less familiar epic fantasy ground. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
Except that it did absolutely nothing for me. All 400 pages left me absolutely indifferent. It was an easy read, without any glaring issues, with perfectly serviceable prose and characters. And yet I just could not bring myself to care, periodically glancing at the Kindle percentage to see if we are there yet.
I could not connect with these characters at all, except at times with Xiala and her recognizable lovable rogue persona � but that stemmed more from me liking this archetype and therefore looking for the reasons to like her. But even then I ended up caring less and less as the book progressed. The rest of them - Naranpa, Okoa, Serapio � nope, nothing, don’t care although I feel I’m supposed to, although I see exactly where those points of connection are meant to be. Their inner worlds I found to be uninteresting, their struggles unconvincing. It all felt strangely superficial, like they were just fitting their roles in the story � and nothing more, with their voices barely distinguishable.
And that romance was unnecessary, with a bath scene that made me cringe in its unintended awkwardness.
And then the plot *finally* lumbers to the cliffhanger-ish conclusion � and I happily closed the book without feeling the need to ever read the sequel (unless, that is, it gets nominated for Hugo or Nebula Awards in the future).
And in the end, nothing about this one really stands out. Forgettable at best.
2.5 stars, rounding down for sheer indifference. As I said - meh.
—ĔĔĔĔ�
My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: /review/show...
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Black Sun.
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Reading Progress
October 25, 2020
– Shelved
December 17, 2021
–
Started Reading
December 17, 2021
–
15.0%
December 18, 2021
–
32.0%
"I don’t like oysters. And apparently I also don’t like descriptions if people slurping down oysters � for the second time in five pages.
So far this book is doing nothing for me."
So far this book is doing nothing for me."
December 18, 2021
–
99.0%
December 18, 2021
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 63 (63 new)
message 1:
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nastya
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rated it 2 stars
Dec 18, 2021 08:45PM
welcome to the meh club! 🙂
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Oooh, fascinating! I’ve been ambivalent about reading this but finally bit on buying bc of the $2 price tag.
nastya wrote: "welcome to the meh club! 🙂"Thanks! (I guess).
I mean, I knew it was not going to get great � I remembered your and Jennifer’s reviews - but I did not think it was going to be this boring. I am reading the reviews of my friends who loved it and keep thinking � I don’t think I read the same story as they did�
carol. wrote: "Oooh, fascinating! I’ve been ambivalent about reading this but finally bit on buying bc of the $2 price tag."I am pretty sure you will not enjoy it. It did not seem like a Carol book to me. Unless you happen to be in a right mood for it, but I can’t really imagine what that mood would be.
I feel so validated seeing someone else feel the same way! I asked for an ARC and everything and still haven't finished it despite multiple attempts. It feels like it suckered people in with a strong prologue + interesting setting and no one saw past that. All the characters seem to do is stare at or think about some other character, literally nothing was happening.
Thank you for the review, had been debating reading it. Will definitely give it a pass.
Kate (Feathered Turtle Press Reviews) wrote: "I feel so validated seeing someone else feel the same way! I asked for an ARC and everything and still haven't finished it despite multiple attempts. It feels like it suckered people in with a stro..."Yes, it seems like overwhelming majority of readers liked it � and I just keep wondering why. If it wasn’t a Hugo nominee, I would have probably abandoned it because I could not care less to see what happens.
Nataliya wrote: "I don’t think I read the same story as they did�."oh I know exactly what you mean!
Tim wrote: "Thank you for the review, had been debating read it. Will definitely give it a pass."You are welcome. It seems to have worked for quite a few readers, but it left me completely indifferent. And there’s nothing good about a book that fails to arouse any strong feelings one way or another,
nastya wrote: "Nataliya wrote: "I don’t think I read the same story as they did�."oh I know exactly what you mean!"
I know, right? I know reading experience is very subjective, but still � exciting plot and great characters? Nope, I did not see that at all.
I remember The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was so hyped and the best of the last year and this year I keep seeing it in unhauls on the booktube 😄 this one was so hyped last year
nastya wrote: "I remember The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was so hyped and the best of the last year and this year I keep seeing it in unhauls on the booktube 😄 this one was so hyped last year"At the risk of sounding very ignorant � what are “unhauls�?
when people are getting rid of books :)
nastya wrote: "when people are getting rid of books :)"Ah, it reminds me of seeing 10,000 copies of Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia in used book stores and Goodwill.
Since you love lovable rogues with piratey stuff, may I suggest listening to the March Tale in Neil Gaiman's Calendar Tales. There's a SoundCloud link in my review. Also I saw people LOVING this book saying it's "important" and I knew I was about to get Addie LaRued. What booktubers and bookstagram hype isn't often what's good. To this day people try to convince me Children of Blood and Bone wasn't trash and I wonder if they read a different book
mwana wrote: "Since you love lovable rogues with piratey stuff, may I suggest listening to the March Tale in Neil Gaiman's Calendar Tales. There's a SoundCloud link in my review. Also I saw people LOVING this ..."
Thanks! I’ll put it on my list.
I love how you use “Addie LaRue� as a verb 😆
Alexander wrote: ""Meh" is such an underrated word."I’m doing my best to give it a wider use. It’s so wonderfully expressive :)
Had this on my tbr. Oh well.
Stephen wrote: "Had this on my tbr. Oh well."It is one of those books that suffers from the hype making it seem more awesome than it actually is.
Ah So not Hamnet bad just boring.
Nataliya wrote: "mwana wrote: "Since you love lovable rogues with piratey stuff, may I suggest listening to the March Tale in Neil Gaiman's Calendar Tales. There's a SoundCloud link in my review. Also I saw peopl..."
It's less than five minutes long.
Well the synonym is bamboozled. Or hoodwinked. But Addie Larued makes it sound like exactly what it is. an overhyped book with little to no redeeming qualities and was only popular because the author is popular.
Stephen wrote: "Ah So not Hamnet bad just boring."No, not quite that bad � but also not that much better either.
mwana wrote: "But Addie Larued makes it sound like exactly what it is. an overhyped book with little to no redeeming qualities and was only popular because the author is popular"That’s a perfect description :)
Couldn’t agree with you more Nataliya. Our little RL book group read it on the strength of those early reviews. We tried mightily to find things to like but it was a struggle. Your excellent review sums up most of the reasons why.
I had a feeling. Another entirely unremarkable and uninventive "re-skin" of the Fantasy standard. No thanks! :)
"and I happily closed the book without feeling the need to ever read the sequel (unless, that is, it gets nominated for Hugo or Nebula Awards in the future)."Welcome to my personal Crazytown. 🙈
This book had a lot of potential given its unconventional setting but I think it was mostly squandered too. I remember being frustrated with Naranpa's storyline and how dull she was as a character and how her feud with her brother was settled. I found Okoa's POV as very pointless and Xiala was the only character I enjoyed reading about, largely owing to the whole Teek background and her vivacious personality. That ending was a slap in the face though and I wonder how I would rate this if I were to ever reread it one day lol.Great review Nataliya!
Barbara K wrote: "Couldn’t agree with you more Nataliya. Our little RL book group read it on the strength of those early reviews. We tried mightily to find things to like but it was a struggle. Your excellent review..."Thanks, Barbara! I really think this book ended up coasting on the strength of originality of the setting � but it’s really not enough to make a good book by itself. You need more � and Roanhorse did not give that “more�. And really, once you mentally peel away the novelty of the setting, it’s the same old story without anything new or particularly exciting.
Jonathan wrote: "I had a feeling. Another entirely unremarkable and uninventive "re-skin" of the Fantasy standard. No thanks! :)"Yup. Just adding a bit of superficial polish on the same lackluster framework, and not doing much development otherwise. And even that new setting was underdeveloped, hurting the only interesting element in this book.
For fantasy, I think I’ll turn to Adrian Tchaikovsky instead.
Dennis wrote: ""and I happily closed the book without feeling the need to ever read the sequel (unless, that is, it gets nominated for Hugo or Nebula Awards in the future)."Welcome to my personal Crazytown. 🙈"
Thanks! So I guess that Crazytown now has 2 residents. Time to decorate 😆
Serge wrote: "This book had a lot of potential given its unconventional setting but I think it was mostly squandered too. I remember being frustrated with Naranpa's storyline and how dull she was as a character ..."Dull is the perfect word to describe that whole Naranpa’s storyline! A woman in her mid-30s acting like an inexperienced teenager, with unclear stakes, simplified mean-girls-like politics, very vague mention of some apparently radical reforms which are really not touched upon. That whole storyline would have fit better in high school halls � with her brother being a forgiving “bad boy�. 🙄 Okoa either needed more development or should have been cut as a POV. And Xiala ended up relying too much on the lovable rogue trope without bringing anything new � I liked her at first, but really because we are supposed to love those lovable rogues< in the end with that shoehorned romance I became indifferent towards her as well.
The only way I will ever pick up a sequel is if is needed fir my awards project. (Or maybe I’ll start making loopholes for me in my future awards projects).
I liked this one despite the number of things that would otherwise might have made me bounce off of it. (instalove, among others) The outsider status of the main characters made them appealing to me, and the crows were pretty cool. Of the Hugo noms I read, I'd have voted for the one that won.
Beth wrote: "I liked this one despite the number of things that would otherwise might have made me bounce off of it. (instalove, among others) The outsider status of the main characters made them appealing to m..."Reading is so subjective, isn’t it?
I voted for Murderbot when nominating for Hugos, and it won! So I was very happy.
Thank you for the thoughtful review. I just took this book off my TBR list.
Elena wrote: "Thank you for the thoughtful review. I just took this book off my TBR list."You are welcome. Quite a few readers loved it but it clearly wasn’t for me.
Great review, Nataliya! Ahh... this is on my tbr, but now I'm not so sure after reading your thoughts. I'm not a huge fan the same old epic fantasy/scifi power struggle but just in a different setting, so I understand your meh.
Nataliya wrote: "Dennis wrote: ""and I happily closed the book without feeling the need to ever read the sequel (unless, that is, it gets nominated for Hugo or Nebula Awards in the future)."Welcome to my personal Crazytown. 🙈"
Thanks! So I guess that Crazytown now has 2 residents. Time to decorate 😆"
Yeah, let's put some crazy things on the walls. A list of Hugo nominees would be looking nice, I suppose.
Yun wrote: "Great review, Nataliya! Ahh... this is on my tbr, but now I'm not so sure after reading your thoughts. I'm not a huge fan the same old epic fantasy/scifi power struggle but just in a different sett..."Thanks, Yun! The more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that this book has surface glitter - unusual setting, mythology not yet trodden to death - but not much substance underneath the glossy veneer. Strange setting with an interesting power struggle that does not seem like teen aqua Ling � for that I’d recommend Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire, although that one is more science fiction.
Dennis wrote: "Yeah, let's put some crazy things on the walls. A list of Hugo nominees would be looking nice, I suppose."I’ll bring a mutated potted plant.
Or - and just hear me out - we can decorate it like that space station library in Tarkovsky’s Solaris movie. With candles and horse pictures.
Bwahahaha! That would be totally awesome! :D
Dennis wrote: "Bwahahaha! That would be totally awesome! :D"*curtsies*
Oh no😩😩😩.Even Nastya didn't love it 😫😫😫😫😫.
Sade wrote: "Oh no😩😩😩.Even Nastya didn't love it 😫😫😫😫😫."
Nastya is usually right when it comes to books that are just not good.
Thank you! I started this. Then I started it again. Then I sat there on about 25% I think for about a month. Finally I realised I had no interest I finishing it so it slipped off my 'currently reading' and into the ether. I will finish it eventually because I paid for the audiobook. Thank you for the totally validating review, Nataliya❤�
Claude's wrote: "Thank you! I started this. Then I started it again. Then I sat there on about 25% I think for about a month. Finally I realised I had no interest I finishing it so it slipped off my 'currently read..."You’re welcome :)
That’s the way I felt � I just had no desire to continue it, and would have quietly ignored it if not for my self-imposed awards project. It was just so dull.
Nataliya wrote: "Claude's wrote: "Thank you! I started this. Then I started it again. Then I sat there on about 25% I think for about a month. Finally I realised I had no interest I finishing it so it slipped off m..."I've just discovered I can't return the audiobook and get my credit back.😭 I think I might just write this one off. On to the next great read!
Claude's wrote: "I've just discovered I can't return the audiobook and get my credit back.😭 I think I might just write this one off."Ugh, that happened to me when I was reading Beautiful World, Where Are You, I think. I missed the return window and therefore finished it. Yeah, I shouldn’t have.
Nataliya wrote: "Claude's wrote: "I've just discovered I can't return the audiobook and get my credit back.😭 I think I might just write this one off."Ugh, that happened to me when I was reading [book:Beautiful Wo..."
Bummer. Out of all the nominations that one did not pique my interest yet it won. I will steer clear.
Claude's wrote: "Nataliya wrote: "Claude's wrote: "I've just discovered I can't return the audiobook and get my credit back.😭 I think I might just write this one off."Ugh, that happened to me when I was reading [..."
I assumed it would. It received buckets of praise, although I completely fail to see why.
