Series Review: Between the Earth & Sky

After finishing “Mirrored Heavens” by Rebecca Roanhorse it only felt appropriate to actually review the entire series as I chose to reread the series in its entirety this January. Overall, I am a huge fan of Roanhorse’s work, the worlds she builds, the characters she creates and the challenges they encounter always feel authentic to their lives. 

Between the Earth & Sky Trilogy offers all of that and more as Roanhorse takes the reader through a pre-Columbus America inspired cultural array. She mentions this in the acknowledgements of the first novel, “Black Sun” but it wasn’t until this year, when I was reading this series alongside “5th Sun: A New History of the Aztecs” by Camilla Townsend, that I truly understood the research Roanhorse put into these cultures to form such an imaginative yet inspired world. There is much to love and gravitate towards throughout this trilogy, but what I find amazing is how much I root for all of Roanhorse’s characters. They each have a rich, complex and sorted existence that allows the reader to see them in a fullness not always possible in fantasy novels. Roanhorse doesn’t rely on tired tropes for her characters and when she does employ them, they feel intentional.

The various cultures explored in this trilogy from warrior women to merchant oligarchs, to academic hierarchy, feel fully realized and offer details to shape this world and the various characters’ actions and relationships within it. The majority of the story is seen through the perspective of four characters. In the last book especially, this expands a bit, but that expansion feels acceptable as it expands into characters you have already been introduced to and emotional connection. 

This will be a series I keep on my shelf and reread from time to time. It is a thought provoking epic about belonging, love and what we sacrifice to experience and fight for both. Roanhorse doesn’t shy away from the intense wrestling this requires and the effect it has along the generations of people experiencing or not, love and belonging. Roanhorse leaves the ending of the trilogy open to explore and write more from this world, but as a reader, I feel satisfied with what has been offered.

Happy Reading!
Hannah

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