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.

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.

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.