Black Sun
Rebecca Roanhorse
Rebecca Roanhorse's Between Earth and Sky series is a finalist for the 2025 Best Series Hugo. I read Black Sun, the first novel in the series, for that reason. I don't plan to continue reading the series. This novel ended in a cliffhanger, and I don't care how it gets resolved.
It's not bad. It's not outstanding. It's a serviceable fantasy novel with the usual elements of fantasy. In her acknowledgements Roanhorse implies that it's special because it is based on "the pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas... it still seems incredibly rare to find a fantasy inspired by the Americas." Fair enough. I can think of one or two -- the most recent I read was Pinquickle's Folly by R.A. Salvatore. But for all that, the world-building felt familiar. There is magic, there are gods, there are priests and priestess who aspire to ascend to godhood, there is palace intrigue, there are voyages... Never did I catch myself thinking, "That's weird and cool." (For the record, Pinquickle's Folly did that for me.)
If you are particularly fascinated by pre-Columbian America (Indo-Pacific cultures also get a look in), you might love this. I am not uninterested in pre-Columbian America, but I am no more interested than in any other historical location and era.