Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse Narrator: Christian Barillas, Darrell Dennis, Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, Shaun Taylor-Corbett
Series: Between Earth and Sky #2
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio on April 10, 2022
Source: Library
Genres: Fantasy, Indigenous Fantasy
Length: 12 hrs 50 mins
Pages: 384
Format: Audiobook
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There are no tides more treacherous than those of the heart. —Teek saying
The great city of Tova is shattered. The sun is held within the smothering grip of the Crow God’s eclipse, but a comet that marks the death of a ruler and heralds the rise of a new order is imminent.
The Meridian: a land where magic has been codified and the worship of gods suppressed. How do you live when legends come to life, and the faith you had is rewarded?
As sea captain Xiala is swept up in the chaos and currents of change, she finds an unexpected ally in the former Priest of Knives. For the Clan Matriarchs of Tova, tense alliances form as far-flung enemies gather and the war in the heavens is reflected upon the earth.
And for Serapio and Naranpa, both now living avatars, the struggle for free will and personhood in the face of destiny rages. How will Serapio stay human when he is steeped in prophecy and surrounded by those who desire only his power? Is there a future for Naranpa in a transformed Tova without her total destruction?
I hate to tell you to go back and read Black Sun before starting Fevered Star, but you really should. And the good news is the “to be continued” ending won’t bother you nearly as much as it did me if you can head straight into this one. Not that this one has a very satisfying ending either, but it’s at least not quite as cliffhanger.
As before, the world (a weaving of pre-Colombian influences) is strongly engaging and well developed, with fascinating characters and culture. We have several viewpoints in Fevered Star, some more compelling than others. We learn more about our avatar’s powers and about their own interior struggles. We see the people that surround them, those who love them, hate them, or want to use them. Heroes and villains are very much a matter of perspective. There’s a war coming and the book is all about forming alliances and putting people in the right places, which can at times make it feel like not much is actually happening.
I’ve loved the world and the characters and am looking forward to the (hopefully) conclusion in the next book. My one complaint is how little each book tells its own story. It’s like I’ve listened to 24 hours of setup to what I’m really hoping is a grand finale.
About Rebecca Roanhorse
Rebecca Roanhorse is a NYTimes bestselling and Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Award-winning speculative fiction writer and the recipient of the 2018 Astounding (Campbell) Award for Best New Writer.
Rebecca has published multiple award-winning short stories and five novels, including two in The Sixth World Series, Star Wars: Resistance Reborn, Race to the Sun for the Rick Riordan imprint, and her latest novel, the epic fantasy Black Sun. She has also written for Marvel Comics and for television, and had projects optioned by Amazon Studios, Netflix, and Paramount TV.
She lives in Northern New Mexico with her husband, daughter, and pup. She drinks a lot of black coffee.
I’ve read Train of Lightning and Storm of Locusts by Roanhorse, but not any of her books in this series. It does sound good though. 🙂
The world those take place in sounds interesting.