Mirrored Heavens

 

Mirrored Heavens (Between Earth & Sky #3) by Rebecca Roanhorse (2024) 597 pages

There are reviews of the first and second part of this trilogy on this blog. After the middle part of the trilogy took the main characters to different parts of the world of the Meridian, it was great that this book has them all converging in the same climactic battle. This series is consistently full of intrigue as leaders and gods vie for power, characters try to understand cryptic prophesies, and they discover hidden magic within. Serapio, the Crow God Reborn, and Xiala are such captivating main characters. Balam is a great tormented villain hungry for power. Naranpa, Iktan, and Okoa are the major supporting characters, who are fully brought to life. I enjoyed that the world building is bigger than the city of Tova, which was the focus of the first book. I love that the characters continue to be three-dimensional with faults and heroic aspects. There is a lot of action, exploration of gruesome darkness, and also love stories. 

Fevered Star

 

Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse (2022) 384 pages

I've been excited to continue this fantasy series, which Ms. Roanhorse calls Between Earth and Sky. The land, the Meridian, and the people and magic are based on Mesoamerican culture before Europeans arrived. It has been two years since I read the first book of the planned trilogy, so it took a little while to reacquaint myself with the main characters and where the first book left off. I love the world building and exploring it with the old and new characters. I love that even though there is a cosmic battle between the dark and the light most characters are not one-dimensionally evil or good. There are faults and heroic aspects of all the main characters. The author expertly builds tension through the suspense of courtly intrigue with multiple tribes of people vying for power. Several storylines are left open-ended to be resolved in the third book. However, this one still feels satisfying as the protagonists have grown and changed, and recommitted themselves to new goals that will change the order of the Meridian.

Feral Creatures

 

Feral Creatures / Kira Jane Buxton, ready by Robert Petkoff,  353 pgs.

S. T. is back! He is working hard to keep his nestling safe.  He is trying to raise Dee as a the perfect Mofo but she is more interested in being an animal. Like most parent/child relationships, there is friction.  But now things are changing, S. T. is convinced that returning to his murder is necessary to keep Dee safe.  They start out on this trip a little bit disconnected by riding on the backs of some killer whales.  Yes, if that last sentence doesn't clue you in that this is a read doozy of a story, just check it out yourself.  S. T. still has some amazing lines but he is a bit of a control freak.  Are the restrictions he tries to place on Dee making him part of the patriarchy? Or can a crow who can't really stop anything really be the problem?  I love it when Dee just scoops him up and takes him along.  A really fun audiobook.

Hollow Kingdom

Hollow Kingdom / Kira Jane Buxton, read by Robert Petkoff, 308 pgs.

After you read a bunch of post-apocalyptic fiction, you find they all have one thing in common...they are real bummers.  This one is different.  S.T. is our main narrator.  He is sad that his companion Big Jim seems to have bit the dust.  He takes on care of Dennis, Big Jim's dog. S. T. is a crow...and all of the other characters in this charming tale are other animals who are making their way in the post human world.  The audio version is perfectly narrated by Robert Petkoff who was born for this job.