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Trail of Lightning (1) (The Sixth World) Hardcover – June 26, 2018
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2019 LOCUS AWARD WINNER, BEST FIRST NOVEL
2019 HUGO AWARD FINALIST, BEST NOVEL
Nebula Award Finalist for Best Novel
One of Bustle’s Top 20 “landmark sci-fi and fantasy novels” of the decade
“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, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse and Midnight Crossroads series
“Fun, terrifying, hilarious, and brilliant.” —Daniel José Older, New York Times bestselling author of Shadowshaper and Star Wars: Last Shot
“A powerful and fiercely personal journey through a compelling postapocalyptic landscape.” —Kate Elliott, New York Times bestselling author of Court of Fives and Black Wolves
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—and it is up to one young woman to unravel the mysteries of the past before they destroy the future.
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, unraveling clues from ancient legends, trading favors 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.
- Print length304 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherS&S/Saga Press
- Publication dateJune 26, 2018
- Dimensions6 x 1 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101534413499
- ISBN-13978-1534413498
- Lexile measureHL700L
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Editorial Reviews
Review
A Library Journal Best Book of 2018 Selection
An Amazon Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2018 Selection
A B&N Sc-Fi & Fantasy 50 Greatest Debut SFF Novels Ever Written Selection
A Tor.com Best Book of 2018 - So Far Selection
A B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Best Book of 2018 So Far Selection
Selected as a Highly Anticipated Summer Read by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks.
An Amazon Best Book of the Month Selection
One of Bustle's top 20 books of the decade
“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
“What an astonishing tour de force with thrilling action, fascinating characters and a near future vision of America that I've never seen before. Urban fantasy just got a whole new lease on life.” -- -- Charlie Jane Anders, ― Hugo Award-winning author of All the Birds in the Sky
* "Roanhorse vividly depicts Navajo land, legends, and culture in her marvelous fantasy debut." ― - (STARRED REVIEW) Publishers Weekly
* "This exciting postapocalyptic debut, with its heady combination of smartly drawn characters, Wild West feel, and twisty plot, is a must-read." ― -- (STARRED REVIEW) Library Journal
"It’s the perfect book to pack for the beach or on a summer trip.” -- – Andrew Liptak ― , The Verge
“Roanhorse is indigenizing the future of science fiction and fantasy.” ― – SYFY Wire
"Super great! It is so exciting to read such a fresh take on Urban Fantasy." -- Ana Grilo, ― Kirkus Reviews
“What’s not to love about Trail of Lightning? It’s a frakking awesome novel and a fantastic prelude to what is sure to be a thrilling series.” -- – Alex Brown ― , Tor.com
"This is a fast, fun read." -- - Liz Bourke ― , Tor.com
"Trail of Lightning has set a new standard for speculative fiction." ― - BookPage
"Roanhorse writes this page-turner with visceral clarity." ― Santa Fe New Mexican
"I could have read about Maggie, her badassery, her damage, and her perseverance for hundreds more pages." ― , Anomaly
“A sharp, wonderfully dreamy, action-driven novel.” -- Kirkus Reviews ― July 1, 2018
"It's tense and exciting, and a wholly new turn on post-apocalyptic tropes." -- John Scalzi, New York Times Bestselling author of The Consuming Fire
"Riveting and relentless." -- Victor Lavalle, World Fantasy Award-Winning author
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Product details
- Publisher : S&S/Saga Press; First Edition (June 26, 2018)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 304 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1534413499
- ISBN-13 : 978-1534413498
- Lexile measure : HL700L
- Item Weight : 1 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,068,209 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,918 in Native American Literature (Books)
- #10,783 in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction (Books)
- #20,040 in Science Fiction Adventures
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Rebecca Roanhorse is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning speculative fiction writer. She lives in Northern New Mexico with her family.
Customer reviews
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Speaking of plot! It's a fascinating world Roanhorse has built! Climatic disasters have wiped away much of the US as we know it but in the ruins of one order, another rises--or rather, rises again. Roanhorse's use of familiar apocalyptic tropes sets a really fascinating and powerful backdrop for the Navajo/Diné nation at the heart of the story. In the ruins of the settlers' US, the Diné and their gods have risen, building a wall to protect their homeland and surviving despite the apocalyspe because, as Roanhorse's characters point out, indigenous people in the Americas have already experienced many apocalypses through the genocidal machinations of white European settlers. The end of one world can allow for the birth of another.
And this exploration of how the apocalypse might seem to a marginalized community is why this book is so important. Not just because it's a good story with good characters and a fun, interesting plot; ownvoices book like Trail of Lightning remind us that when diverse authors tell diverse stories from diverse points of view the genre as a whole is enriched and we're all given the gift of stories we would never have dreamed of. A Diné hero, fighting Diné monsters on Diné land is a triumph of a book and I cannot wait for the sequel!
When I first heard about Trail of Lightning, I was immediately sold on the fact that it's a post-apocalyptic urban fantasy that revolves around Native American culture and history and was written by a Native American author. For that reason alone, I'm glad I read it. It's a really good story! Roanhorse deftly weaves Navajo mythology into a Mad Max meets American Gods world with a dash of Buffy and the result was refreshingly unique and exciting.
There were things I loved about it and some things I didn’t. Thankfully, the things that irked me weren't a big enough issue to ruin my enjoyment of the story even though one part made me madder than hell. I sat down and read the whole thing in one sitting which says a lot about the writing. Also, can we just appreciate the cover art for this book for a second? It is seriously epic!
Let's talked about the things I loved first. As always, I was enthralled with the worldbuilding! The mythology and the post-apocalyptic setting were amazing! Everything about the worldbuilding and the magic system are deeply tied to the Navajo culture. Clan members sometimes develop powers that are unique to their clan and theirs alone. And I really loved how the author integrated current politics as well as climate change into how the apocalypse happened. The earth flooding because of our negligence was a nice touch.
I did have to stop a few times at the beginning while reading to look up things about Navajo mythology so I wasn't lost. It was fascinating but distracted from the story a bit as it was assumed that the reader has a basic knowledge of Navajo history and culture. I read an ARC so I don't know if this was added to the final version but I kind of needed an appendix for terms and a who's who for the gods and heroes.
The characters that inhabit this world are strange and vibrant. From mercenaries to medicine men to gods that now walk the earth, there's a little of something for every one. The main character, Maggie, is kind of the Navajo version of Kate Daniels only she's a bit more emotionally walled off than Kate was at the beginning. I couldn't help but like her though. She's not good with people and kind of enjoys killing to a certain level. Her clan power and upbringing have played a big part in making her that way. She’s a monster hunter cursed (or gifted depending on who you ask) with supernatural speed and the ability to kill. Most of the book revolved around her struggling to control her power and keep its blood lust from consuming her.
I loved a lot of the other characters in the story like Kai, Tah, and Clive but I really enjoyed seeing Coyote show up. The trickster god is one of my favorite characters in urban fantasy because no two authors will ever write him alike because the stories and the interpretations about him vary so much from culture to culture. Roanhorse’s version of his character really fascinated me though and I can't directly pin down why.
As for the things I didn't like, it's been hard to pinpoint what exactly irked me about it. This book is definitely a road trip story that feels episodic. The characters are always running into trouble and only get to react to it instead of preparing for things. It was entertaining to read but the big climax felt abrupt and was wrapped up way too quickly for my liking. Honestly, I'm not exactly sure how we got to the big showdown. It kind of just popped out of nowhere after one of the events and didn't have a smooth build up to it.
There's a twist at the end that was rather ingenious but made me so angry and I think that's where a lot of my ire with this book lies. I'm not going to say what it was but if you've read the book you know the twist I'm talking about. It does say a lot about Roanhorse's writing that I'm upset about what happened but I can see why she did it.
Overall, I really liked Trail of Lightning. It caught my attention and I was hooked before I knew what happened. I’m super intrigued to see where this story goes. I'll definitely be reading the next book when it comes out next year.
ARC provide by the publisher via Edelweiss.
Top reviews from other countries
Recomendo demais
You know me and mythology! I jumped at the chance to review this book so fast as soon as I found out it was focused around Native American folklore. Part dystopian, part urban fantasy this book had me hooked from the first few lines and I found myself flying through the pages. The world has been taken over by ‘Big Water’ and after the floods there are certain areas that managed to survive. Maggies world is safe only by the grace of four large walls that encircle the reservation, each made of a different material and the only thing standing between them and sure death. When big water happened, something changed within the reservation that allowed the creatures of old to walk the earth again, which is where Maggie comes in, because though some of them are God’s and relatively harmless to humans there are those, monsters, who seek to destroy. Maggie isn’t the only special one though, each Dine has powers passed down from their clans, Maggie’s are speed and a lust for the kill, but there are others and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about all the different clans powers. I found the whole premise really intriguing and was swept away learning all about Native American culture and mythology.
Maggie is a really intriguing character. Slow to trust, and who can blame her after the tragedy she lived through. After the horiffic death of her grandmother, her only remaining family, she is taken in by Neizghani, the Monsterslayer himself. He see’s promise in Maggie, especially when her clan powers give her exceptional speed and blood lust, and takes her under his wing. However, a god is not the kind of person who should be raising a child, the only love he shows is through praising her ability to kill. Neizghani, left when he started to believe that Maggie was becoming more monster than human and left her with some major trust and self esteem problems. She has amazing character growth in this book, and I loved seeing her build relationships, tenuous as some of them where. Headstrong, powerful and fully able to look after herself, even if she jumps into fights not realising the consequences.
Maggie’s relationships was a part of the book I found myself really invested in. We see this girl at the beginning, putting on a brave face while inside she feels dead, and her progression through the book is hugely based on the bonds she forms. Not just romantic relationships, but familial and friendships. Kai is a massive part of her journey, and you just knew you were in for a ride when he called her ‘mags’ on their first meeting. I loved seeing their relationship progress from timid partners to friends and then to the potential for something more.
The world-building in the book is minimal, though we do get to see a large part of the reservation through Maggie and Kai’s journey. The writing style and plot had me hooked from the very beginning, and I loved playing the guessing game the author gives us, who should we trust? Who is looking out for Maggie? And who is playing her? There were plenty of twists and turns, and the book ends on a heart breaking and yet promising cliff-hanger that had me eager to get my hands on the sequel. An easy 4/5.
The main character is a strong female that stays relatable even within her inner fights and concerns.
Kudos for the authentic Navajo stories to bring all this together.
I immediately ordered the 2nd book
Je conseille fortement.