Monday, October 14, 2019

Book Review: Trail of Lightning

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the tale of two books. The first half is mediocre at best. Very repetitive, cliche and just all around boring. Yet the second half of Trail of Lightning is wonderful! It has spunk, excitement, and intrigue (Coyote is sooo interesting!).

Native American Representation
Without a doubt the best part of Trail of Lightning is Rebecca Roanhorse's use of her Indigenous culture to give us a look at what a dystopian society, based in (what was) the USA which has since been taken back by the Navajo, might look like. Roanhorse gives us a truly unique and wonderful insight into Indigenous stories and beliefs. It feels natural and cyclical that in 'the end' of society as we know it the Indigenous return to the land, protect themselves and ultimately survive. Certainly no one else in North America is likely to be able to return to the land the way someone who has grown up learning about the land could.
I loved the use of myth, magic and story here to populate the Navajo land with elements and entities that currently aren't known to the world. For this reason alone I will definitely read book 2!

Writing
While the second half is much better than the first half; the one thing that doesn't change is the writing style. Unfortunately Roanhorse's writing feels a little like an early-on, amateur writer. That's not to say that she can't improve; it's only to say that this story comes off as simple in it's use of language. I know it's strange to say anything critical of the writing from someone who has been nominated for a World Fantasy Award; but to me it just lacked the depth I'm used to from fantasy writers.
For example:
""I know you never gave me an answer on that ‘being friends’ thing, but after everything that’s happened . . . ?" He leaves it hanging."
Did we really need the "he lives it hanging" comment? I feel like other authors would have left that out and allowed the ellipses to do the work of letting the reader know our character trailed off.

Overall
Here's the thing; amazing writing or not, reading Roanhorse's own voice and having her relate Indigenous culture, tellings and lore via her characters is well worth reading book 2, Storm of Locusts. While you may find many typical or cliche dystopian pieces in Trail of Lightning; what you won't find is any deities, myths or lore you've likely encountered before. And you may pick-up some Navajo words along the way! I love when authors use another language just enough to give the book a flavour and culture that helps build the setting and characters. That is one thing Roanhorse has done perfectly, in my opinion, is incorporate a level of Indigenous culture that allowed me to learn new things but also follow along (and feel fairly comfortable) in this clever dystopian world.
If nothing else read this to learn more about Coyote. I won't say anything more as I fear spoiling even a tiny portion of the magic.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

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1 comment:

Leonore Winterer said...

Oh, this book sounds awesome. I love learning about other cultures, and having native Americans re-emerge in a dystopian setting is such a great idea!