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A review by yourbookishbff
Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was a fantastic conclusion to Roanhorse's "Between Earth and Sky" trilogy. While we are still generally counting forward in time in this installment, we have a number of insightful flashbacks that help us to better understand the motivations of a few key characters, and the blend of present and past worked beautifully throughout. What I loved most about book one, Black Sun, was the countdown to Convergence and the tension and anticipation that that countdown built for the reader, and in this, while we aren't counting down, we are finally bringing all of our far-flung characters back to Tova, and that gravitational pull ensures each narrative and POV feels meaningful.
Where Serapio's powers are the driving force in book one, and Naranpa's powers in book two, we are finally exploring Xiala's powers in this installment, and man it's so freaking cool. I loved seeing how her own journey diverges and converges with Serapio's, and how all of our Gods and God-avatars circle each other until the very end. This is bloody and merciless, with a sprawling cast of morally gray characters, all willing to bargain morality for ambition. I also appreciate that so much of the driving force in this trilogy feels accidental and circumstantial, a significant choice in a story that depends so much on prophecy and fate. We explore this very literally in dialogue between Xiala and Serapio on the power of fate, and we see it play out as characters have to continually adjust their goals to account for unforeseen outcomes and new obstacles.
This is a grisly and compelling fantasy series all the way through, and one I look forwarding to recommending to new readers, now that it's complete! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a complimentary copy.
Where Serapio's powers are the driving force in book one, and Naranpa's powers in book two, we are finally exploring Xiala's powers in this installment, and man it's so freaking cool. I loved seeing how her own journey diverges and converges with Serapio's, and how all of our Gods and God-avatars circle each other until the very end. This is bloody and merciless, with a sprawling cast of morally gray characters, all willing to bargain morality for ambition. I also appreciate that so much of the driving force in this trilogy feels accidental and circumstantial, a significant choice in a story that depends so much on prophecy and fate. We explore this very literally in dialogue between Xiala and Serapio on the power of fate, and we see it play out as characters have to continually adjust their goals to account for unforeseen outcomes and new obstacles.
This is a grisly and compelling fantasy series all the way through, and one I look forwarding to recommending to new readers, now that it's complete! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a complimentary copy.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide, and Vomit