fevered star by rebecca roanhorse review + aesthetic | a stunning star of a sequel!
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Title: Fevered Star
Series: Between Earth and Sky
Author: Rebecca Roanhorse
Narrators: Christian Barillas, Darrell Dennis, Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, Shaun Taylor-Corbett
Content Warnings: Blood and gore, death of a loved one
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
There are no tides more treacherous than those of the heart. —Teek saying
The great city of Tova is shattered. The sun is held within the smothering grip of the Crow God’s eclipse, but a comet that marks the death of a ruler and heralds the rise of a new order is imminent.
The Meridian: a land where magic has been codified and the worship of gods suppressed. How do you live when legends come to life, and the faith you had is rewarded?
As sea captain Xiala is swept up in the chaos and currents of change, she finds an unexpected ally in the former Priest of Knives. For the Clan Matriarchs of Tova, tense alliances form as far-flung enemies gather and the war in the heavens is reflected upon the earth.
And for Serapio and Naranpa, both now living avatars, the struggle for free will and personhood in the face of destiny rages. How will Serapio stay human when he is steeped in prophecy and surrounded by those who desire only his power? Is there a future for Naranpa in a transformed Tova without her total destruction?
Well, well, well, if it isn’t me, Lila, back again with yet another months-late review. *sigh* In my defense: I’m a recovering perfectionist who kinda slipped up on kicking the perfectionism habit when it comes to this review! But I digress…
Fevered Star is the highly anticipated sequel to Black Sun, which was book one of Rebecca Roanhorse’s Indigenous fantasy series, Between Earth and Sky. This book takes readers on an intense journey through the political trenches of the world of the series, all the while expanding the world and deepening readers’ understanding of the main cast.
writing
We are but fevered stars…Here a little while, bright with promise, before we burn away.
Fevered Star
If I’m being brutally honest, I’ve never found Roanhorse’s prose to be overly exceptional, but I think where she really shines is in her plotting and, in this series, in the resultant pacing. She really is a master of what I’d call “the slow and steady build up to the beat dropping.” Fevered Star is no different in this regard. Roanhorse really gorgeously and subtly increases the tension of the story scene by scene, until you have no doubt that the plot is about to burst into action! This slow burn build-up makes the book compulsively readable, as you end each scene hanging onto the story, needing to know what will happen next.
characters
Understand your enemy not by the face that they show you but by the face they do not.
Fevered Star
In Fevered Star we’re once again following Xiala, Naranpa, Serapio, and Okua, as in the previous book, but we also have a few interludes from another character (no spoilers for who it is, though). Whereas in Black Sun Roanhorse spent much of the novel establishing the history of each of the characters and the basics of who they were, Fevered Star stands firmly with those same characters in the present, showing how the complex tapestry of each character evolves along with the plot in the aftermath of the events of book one. Roanhorse weaves each character taperstry beautifully, allowing each thread to shine both individually and as part of a larger whole. I loved reading about how the characters’ storylines came together in ways I’d never expected as well! It was so interesting to see characters who I’d never imagined interacting have their fates become intertwined and I can’t wait to see whose storylines comingle in the sequel to Fevered Star.
world building
A conflict between enemies may lose the battle, but a conflict between allies risks losing the war.
Fevered Star
One of my favorite aspects of the Between Earth and Sky series is the intricate world, and Roanhorse continues to build on what she previously established to create an even more rich and lush universe! The world of Between Earth and Sky expands tenfold in Fevered Star and it’s fascinating to finally meet all of the societies that were alluded to in Black Sun in full. We already know the clans of Tova and a bit about the Teek, but in Fevered Star we’re introduced to more of the Teek, as well as to the Cuecolans and the peoples across the Meridian Grasslands. We see not only how Tovan clans view themselves in the world of Between Earth and Sky, but also how other peoples of the world outside of Tova view the clans and the city and how Tova is politically situated in the larger picture. Roanhorse truly does a masterful job of weaving this all together without info-dumping or making it feel like she’s telling us rather than showing us.
themes
“You Tovans are obsessed with bloodlines.”
Fevered Star
“And the Teek aren’t?”
“No, the Teek are all bastards, no fathers, shared mothers, everyone of us half something else. Kinship is what matters, not—”
She waved her hand to take in the whole of the city. “Not this blood nonsense.”
Personally, as someone who is mixed Afro Indigenous just like Roanhorse is, the largest theme I found present in Fevered Star was that of identity and belonging. At the start of the novel, Xiala has a poignant discussion with a member of one of the Tovan Sky Made clans about how Tovans fixate on bloodlines, whereas Teek prioritize kinship. In many ways this is reflective of the divide between how Indigenous Americans and African Americans see community membership. It is a divide that leaves a lot of us who are Afro Indigenous (which is most African Americans, by the way) out and splits us away from our Indigenous communities.
In Fevered Star, Serapio, Xiala, and Naranpa all face unique challenges related to these themes of identity and belonging. Serapio expects to be seen immediately as a member of the Crow Clan, in part because of his maternal bloodline, and in part because of him being imbued with the spirit of the Crow god. Yet, despite the fact that he for all intents and purposes presents himself as a Crow and despite his maternal bloodline and despite part of him being the Crow god, Serapio struggles to fit in and find his place within the clan, feeling that he is perpetually an outsider. Serapio’s experience mirrors the Indigenous American sentiment that your community isn’t just who you claim, it’s who claims you in return. The Crows struggle to accept Serapio, who, while a Crow by bloodline, did not grow up in Tova within the Crow Clan. We also see Naranpa go through a similar but slightly different struggle. Naranpa hales from the fallen and outcast Coyote Clan, but left to become the Sun Priest. However, Naranpa never felt at home within the world of the Tower and when it and the priesthood falls, she finds herself back amongst the Coyotes. Despite the Coyotes accepting her as their own, and even desiring Naranpa to be their leader, Naranpa struggles with her own internal sense of where she belongs. Meanwhile, Xiala is trying to outrun her heritage and her position as her mother’s daughter, but by the end of Fevered Star finds this to be a useless effort: heritage is something you can never quite escape.
As I mentioned before, as someone who is Afro Indigenous myself, I really appreciated Roanhorse’s depiction of these complicated themes. Her take on these delicate topics is quite nuanced, allowing room for many differing—and even conflicting—views of heritage, belonging, and identity to coexist respectfully.
All in all, I loved Fevered Star and found it to be a stellar sequel! From the way that Roanhorse fleshed out the characters to her expansion of the world and nuanced take on themes, it all came together amazingly. If you enjoyed Black Sun, I think Fevered Star will be right up your alley and I definitely recommend reading it!
spill the beans, friends
- Have you read Fevered Star?
- If so, what are your thoughts?
- If not, are you planning to?
