Fevered Star

Kind of a disappointment when compared with the first book, not gonna lie. I read the first book earlier this year, loved it, and added it to my favorites list for this year without question. This one is very clearly Book Two, in that nothing of any particular special note happens, but we get a lot of exposition about what happened.

All of the previous points of view are here for you to read and digest their feelings after the aftermath of the first book. Lots of regret, lots of confusion, lots of anger to go around for everyone involved, which is understandable but also kind of....boring? It felt like the same points of anger, regret, confusion are repeated several times in several different ways across the viewpoints, and it started reading as very same-y by the end. Also, lots of political intrigue buildup in this book, so if that's not your thing, you probably won't enjoy this one very much.

Funny enough, Xiala's viewpoint was my favorite in the first book, but I found it kind of bland in this one. She's just kinda....there, and all the badassery she showed in the first book now has her questioning everything and regretting things and being a downer and kind of wishywashy. I sort of wanted her to embrace her new side to a degree, not run from it. She also doesn't seem to drive the plot any like she did in the first book, so it felt like she was just the reader's observer character in this one. I don't know, kind of disappointing.

But I do like all the political pieces moving around! I'm big on fantasy political drama, and it seems to be setting up for something good in the next book. There's just a lot of slog to get through along the way.

3.5⭐️ I love the world building. I love Iktan. I'm interested in seeing more of Xiala. I didn't love that nothing really happened. There are a lot of moving parts, and they're getting into position, but I was kind of bored. I zoned out a lot and feel like I didn't miss anything. I'm sticking around for Iktan and Serapio but I hope there's more to enjoy in the next book.

Totally blown away by this second entry in Between Earth and Sky. This may be the only epic fantasy series that I've ver truly loved. I am just so compelled by how Roanhorse does this fascinating, intricately plotted politics while keeping her characters realistic humans whose self-interests, self-doubts and relationships consistently figure into what happens. I love the world building, the nuanced and often challenging characters, and the many factions each with many subdivisions. This is fantasy at its best: creative, brilliant and absorbing.

 Maybe it's been too long since I read the first book but I had a hard time getting into this story. There was a lot of setup and traveling that dragged the book for me. 
The narrators in the audio book were teriffic! 

Well that was going nowhere, slowly.

Paper thin plot, read a summary and hope for a better book 3.

I highly enjoyed this sequel to Black Sun. I did forget a lot from the first book and was often confused about what was happening, but I was entranced with this one and became invested in so many of the characters. I'm excited to see where this story goes.

I enjoyed it but it suffers a bit from “book two” syndrome, where a clear purpose and arc to the plot is lacking, as characters kind of just maneuver around the board after the last book and setting up the next.

It felt like not much happened in book 1 but this was even worse

This book definitely had some middle book syndrome.

Black Sun was one of my favorite books last year. However, I found that when I started Fevered Star, I remembered literally nothing from it. I even googled a recap, but nothing could jog my memory. I think that might have hampered my enjoyment because for the first 25% I was just trying to figure out what was going on. But as I filled in the blanks, I found that this book wasn't that exciting. There wasn't much going on at all. I felt like this whole book was a set up for the next. I felt like some of the characters did things that I felt was a little out of character for them. However, I do still really love this setting and this story, and I hope the third book knocks it out of the park. I do like what this book set up for the third. I think learning more about the gods and their magic was interesting, and hopefully will lead to a lot of interesting action in the third book.

TW: misgendering, suicide, self-harm for blood magic, alcohol consumption, blood & gore depiction, body horror, death of a parent recounted, murder, torture, war themes

Wowwwwwww ... this is a whole 'nother level for Roanhorse. Those insipid characters from the first book are now nuanced, feeling, conflicted creatures. (Minor spoiler) The Annoying Prophecy having been (partially) foiled in the first book, events are now free to take very interesting new courses, and oh, they do. It's like seeing cardboard cutouts suddenly spring to life.This is Book Two Of N: I came in expecting development, not resolution, and got much more than I dared hope for. The Meridian world feels much more real. The intrigues are better defined. And the characters... I'm in love with half of them. They now show gumption, fears, feelings, self-reflection, uncertainty, grit. New relationships are forged here, with all the stages of grudging and developing trust. Relationships begun in the first book are clarified and better defined. What surprised me most is the quiet competence that the principal characters now exhibit, and how Roanhorse depicts it. (I'm a sucker for smart competent people). This is a more mature work than anything I've read by her. Rewarding, filled with promise.Friendly hint: re-skim [b:Black Sun 50892360 Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky, #1) Rebecca Roanhorse https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601212809l/50892360.SY75.jpg 61321587] if it's been more than a few months since you read it. Roanhorse wastes few words filling in backstory. (Don't even THINK of reading this without having read Black Sun first. It will make very little sense.)Another Friendly Hint: If you're the kind of person who needs a tidy wrap-up, don't read this yet. Wait for the next, or possibly next-next: this has the feeling of a long-game saga. And pray to whatever gods you pray to that Roanhorse will not abandon this series.

Fevered Star is a worthy follow-up to Black Sun, one of my favorite books of the last few years. This is epic fantasy of the highest order and Roanhorse's writing is a joy to read.

While Black Sun was constructed like a ticking time bomb with a narrative structure that built towards an epic conclusion, Fevered Star is a quieter tale. It's the calm after the storm that that hit in book #1. It's a transitory time in the Meridian as factions grow, contract, splinter off, or soldier on. The characters scramble to consolidate power and lines are drawn in the sand.

Despite the more subdued action, I'm fully invested in these characters. Each POV brings something interesting to the table and Roanhorse uses this novel to position her chess pieces for the coming conclusion/confrontation/clash to decide the fate of this world. Several fuses have been lit, but we'll have to wait until the third book to see them pay off. I know I'm looking forward to it.

See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.

Not quite as strong a book as Black Sun, and unlike many readers I definitely noticed a little bit of middle book syndrome as the board was clearly being set for the finale, but by all accounts a good read.

Some twists I saw coming, some I didn't, some characters I grew to like more (Iktan really shines here!) some grew a tad annoying (will Xiala please stop pining) and the ending, as in Black Sun, feels rather abrupt. Any shortcomings however are drowned out by a fast-paced, immersive story that dives right in where Black Sun left off at a breakneck pace. The Crow God is reborn after all.

What becomes even more clear in this second novel is that the world of The Meridian is the true star of the show. Such a beautiful, well-realised world that is carving out its own place in a genre that is usually, though thankfully decreasingly so, Euro-centric. Rebecca Roanhorse has clearly put so much love and care into crafting this world, and I love spending time there. I wish these books were twice as long.