This week we are discussing Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse, Ch. 26-End.
Content Warning!!! This book contains situations and subjects related to: alcohol and drug use, domestic abuse, eye injury, homophobia, murder, ritual scarring, poison, sexual abuse, suicide, and violence.
Spoiler Warning!!! This post is full of spoilers for Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse.
Discussion:
Jacilyn: Hello friends and welcome to our final discussion of Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. This section had me on edge the entire time. Everything was leading up to the day of the Convergence, and as we got closer - and as Xiala and Serapio got closer to each other - I found that I didn't really know what to expect from the end.
Denaochi has me a bit on edge. It seems like he cares for his sister still, but there's a lot of resentment - which I can't say I blame him for. But on the other hand, I don't blame Naranpa for leaving when she could. Should she have tried to make contact? Probably, but it was clearly a part of Watcher culture to cast off any other connections. That's something we still see in a lot of religions today.
Michaela: I also had no idea where the ending was going, anything could have happened. I really felt for all the main characters at the end though, everyone was trying to solve their own problems that were actually all related to each other and I wanted each main character to get what they wanted even though that wasn’t possible. I am stressed and sad but also amazed at the writing in this book all the way through.
Denaochi has been through a lot clearly, I don’t blame him for resenting the life Naranpa ended up with but I don’t think it’s fair that at times he seems to blame her for how his life ended up. If she hadn't left doesn’t automatically mean his life would have been better, their parents would most likely still have died, especially considering it was an illness. They still would have had to pay for food, meds, etc. Maybe he wouldn’t have ended up in a brothel type place but if he hadn’t maybe Narnapa would have. There’s so many factors that he is pointing directly at Narnapa’s choice to leave. I think he does see that he’s doing that but it’s also a feeling that's hard to let go. They’re definitely a family! If he didn’t love her anymore I don’t think he would have let her in the building in the first place. In the end he not only gives aid to her with Zataya but also follows through with delivering a message to Okoa for her. I think his actions speak a lot louder than his angry words towards Naranpa. He may be angry at her but he still really loves her, just as she feels towards him I think.
Denaochi is far more involved in things than I imagined he was. He said he has people close to every matron, which is crazy powerful in a city like this especially. I think he must be a major player behind the scenes at some point if not already. His alliance with someone like Zataya is also really interesting to me, Tova is a much more accepting place than seemingly most places in this world but Denaochi seems to be an extremely open person when it comes to magic and culture.
Jacilyn: I want to learn more about Zataya’s family and her education in magic, plus all the different kinds of magic systems across this world. One part of this whole story that’s really intrigued me is the fact that the Watchers were supposed to represent scientific enlightenment, even though they’re a religious organization at heart. They have prayers, ceremonies, have Priests for god's sake. They decry the supposed old gods, but look to the sun and stars as gods themselves - how is it any different?
I wasn’t exactly expecting Naranpa to go back to the tower, honestly. It seemed foolish to do that - especially after Zataya divines her death. But, maybe if she hadn’t gone back, Iktan wouldn’t have had the opportunity to get away - which xe DEFINITELY did. The supposed Priest of Knives at Sun Rock wasn’t Iktan - Okoa knew what xe looked like, and he said they were different. It has me wondering if maybe Iktan wasn’t as involved in the plot against Naranpa as we thought.
Xiala and Serapio. Friends. My heart aches for these two so much. They’re like two twin souls, both seen with suspicion for the power they possess. The bond that’s grown between them throughout this journey is beautiful and I just wanted them to be able to stay in that room with the hot spring, to be able to have the family that Serapio imagined at Sun Rock. Their last day together in Tova, with Xiala describing everything to Serapio, was probably the most wholesome bit of this entire book. I really do respect Xiala for not using her Song to force Serapio to stay, though - I don’t think she’d have been able to live with herself for doing that against his will, even if it did keep him alive.
Michaela: I felt the same way about the Watchers. But at this same time, this is exactly how I would expect a religious group like this to behave and think. They denounce the gods' existence at all or say they’ve been long gone but then expect people to treat them in a godly way and hold them higher than others. In the Manual of the Sun Priest it says, “No subterfuge shall be tolerated, for the Waters are a body of Reason and Science and beyond the petty squabbles of humankind”. But here we are, the Watchers full of secrets, treason, and priests working to their own end goal. Sounds pretty normal for a religion in my book.
I really wanted Naranpa to go to Carrion Crow after going to the Maw. I think Narnapa going back to the tower was indeed foolish and I think it reflects this kind of naivety she has about people. I think she is a good Sun Priest in that she wants light, happiness, and trust to be built in this city but she doesn’t see the deceit under her nose until it’s too late. I hope Iktan is still alive. The way Abah was talking, xe was next on the list of people to get out of her way. I think Iktan has a similar but different problem from Naranpa, where xe seems to often think xe’s the smartest or the most all knowing in the room and I think that came back to bite xir in the butt.
I thought it was interesting that Xiala said she was essentially cast out of the Teek community and that some of the women were trying to cast curses on her after whatever happened happened, still unsure on that one. Then at the beginning of one of the chapters there’s an old Teek saying that involved cursing someone with one of those curses being to fall in love with a man. Makes me think maybe she really was cursed out by her people, to then fall in love with a doomed man. It makes it feel like her and Serapio’s relationship can’t be over yet, I think Xiala’s Song will be a key point in either stopping Odo Sedoh or helping Serapio or both.
All I can say is I am so glad I already bought the sequel, Fevered Star, because I desperately need to know what happens to everyone. I care about each of these characters so much but especially Xiala, Serapio, and Okoa.
Jacilyn: That’s a really good point about the curse. It seems like Xiala’s mother was a part of her banishment, and the way Xiala referred to it almost made it seem like her mother conspired to get her banished from the island.
I think that the destruction Odo Sedoh wrought on Sun Rock is going to be hard on Serapio. He knew what was going to happen, but he didn’t expect to survive it, to have to deal with the consequences. I don’t blame the Odo Sedoh for wanting to kill the Watchers, and especially the Sun Priest, for the role they played in the Night of Knives. But all the innocents? That’s a catastrophic loss. I am really curious to see how Serapio is going to heal - will the Crow god use his body as a vessel periodically? Are they truly two separate beings, or are they more combined than expected? Something tells me that Benundah and the other crows, both Great and regular, don’t just feel drawn and affectionate towards Serapio because of the presence of the Odo Sedoh. I think they recognize something in him, too. The imagery of Benundah shielding Serapio from the storm on Sun Rock was really beautiful, and I’m excited to learn more about the Great Crows with Serapio and Okoa in the next book. The last line, where Okoa tells Serapio that they’re going home to the rook - where no other human has been before - gave me actual goosebumps, and I immediately bought the next book.
From chapter 3, it seems like Naranpa thinks that Zataya thinks she’s dead - but I don’t think that’s the case at all. Now, does Zataya realize Naranpa is actually conscious and just unable to interact? That I doubt. I have to imagine that Nara will make some sort of recovery with the help of Zataya and Denaochi, and hopefully meet up with Iktan again.
I have to say, I am sad that we’re done with this book. Rebecca Roanhorse is one of the authors we’ve read that has become a must-buy for the both of us. We’re really glad that we read Trail of Lightning back in the day to introduce us to her. And, we both definitely understand why she paused that series to continue the Between Earth and Sky series. Thank you friends, as always, for reading, and we’ll see you next time!
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