Trail of Lightning eARC Review

GoodReads:

2019 LOCUS AWARD WINNER, BEST FIRST NOVEL
2019 HUGO AWARD FINALIST, BEST NOVEL
2019 NEBULA AWARD FINALIST, BEST NOVEL

‘Someone please cancel Supernatural already and give us at least five seasons of this badass indigenous monster-hunter and her silver-tongued sidekick.” The New York Times

‘An excitingly novel tale.” Charlaine Harris

‘Fun, terrifying, hilarious, and brilliant.” Daniel José Older

‘Crafts a powerful and fiercely personal journey through a compelling postapocalyptic landscape’ Kate Elliott

While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters.

Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine.

Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel the rez, unravelling clues from ancient legends, trading favours with tricksters, and battling dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.

As Maggie discovers the truth behind the killings, she will have to confront her past if she wants to survive.

Welcome to the Sixth World.

Purchase Links

Amazon UK | Amazon US

**The links to the book used in this post are Affiliated links, should you click on my links and use them to purchase this book, it will gain me some monies, and will cost you nothing, but gotta disclose this first.**

My Review

I’m sorry, please forgive me Bookish Universe for taking so long to read this book.

If you’re wondering why I’m reading an eARC of this not exactly new release, it’s because it’s about to be new to UK stores!

Anyway, onto the important stuff, I LOVE THIS BOOK IT IS A GIFT FROM ROANHORSE TO US LESSER BEINGS.

That first comment from ‘NY Times’ about cancelling ‘Supernatural’ and getting five seasons of this…let’s make that happen because I would crowdfund like a mofo to make that happen. [Side note: Absolutely adored ‘Supernatural’ seasons 1-6, liked 7-11, then just forgot to watch the rest.]

Mags is the utmost kick ass protagonist while also still being so flawed that you realize just how vulnerable she really is. She’s complex and layered [like an onion for you Shrek fans] and I like her shoot first ask questions later attitude. Sure it gets her into more trouble than anything else, but it makes for one hell of an adventure.

Parallel to her is Kai, he’s not afraid to be vulnerable or to use words instead of guns or fists. He’s the grandson of the Medicine Man Tah who has helped her pick herself up after being left by her mentor, and at Tah’s suggestion Kai and Mags team up to try and tackle the answer to these new monsters roaming the land.

It’s a bit of a monster hunting mystery adventure and I’m 500% there for it.

They run into cryptic signs that this is just the beginning of something larger than just a monster hunt, and with the words of the trickster Coyote guiding them at times, Mags finds the clues all pointing to someone she didn’t expect.

I loved the side characters as well as our main peeps and I think they were so well fleshed out.

But really, the most amazing part of this all is the World Building, culture focus, and creativity. Hands down one of the best fantasy books I have EVER read and I can’t wait to read book 2!

This book was above and beyond my already high expectations considering my friends had all raved about it. They were all correct. Roanhorse gives us this lush and amazing world and background and history and magic and character development and lore, well, you get the point. This was a SUPERB read and I can’t believe I hadn’t read it before today. I would say that Mags is a completely complex and full protagonist, with wonderful flaws and an amazing spirit. The sub-characters were just as great, and though I did adore Kai, I think perhaps Tah was my favorite.

A flawless first book in The Sixth World.

Thanks to NetGalley and HodderBooks for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Pros:
– Worldbuilding
– Culture central lore, magic, and myth
– Awesome magic system
– Clans with unique powers and a unique distribution of them [see magic system point above]
– Perfect for Supernatural fans
– Tah is the best
– Fighting scenes that are GREAT
– Mythical creatures and beings running amok
– Monster Hunting
– Everything
Cons:
– You can’t function without knowing what happens in the next book.

About the Author

Rebecca Roanhorse is a Nebula and Hugo Award-winning speculative fiction writer and the recipient of the 2018 Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Her short fiction has also been a finalist for the Sturgeon, Locus and World Fantasy awards. Her novel Trail of Lightning was selected as an Amazon, B&N, Library Journal, and NRP Best Books of 2018, among others, and is a 2019 Nebula Finalist.

Her short fiction can be found in Apex Magazine, New Suns, and various other anthologies. Her non-fiction can be found in Uncanny Magazine, Strange Horizons, and How I Resist: Activism and Hope for a New Generation (Macmillan).

She lives in Northern New Mexico with her husband, daughter, and pug.

Author Links

Website | GoodReads | Twitter