Storm of Locusts might be the rare sequel that’s even better than the first. Roanhorse spends as much time building out the physical world as much as she does the characters ... It’s clear Roanhorse spent a lot of time thinking about how the west and southwest would function in the aftermath of the apocalypse, the collision between Indigenous cultural attitudes, religious fervor, and the lawless wild wild west of Hollywood myth ... Rebecca Roanhorse delivers another tense tale of betrayal and revenge set against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic American southwest. Maggie Hoskie is everything I’ve ever wanted in a protagonist, and watching her grow as a person is thoroughly enjoyable. There’s nothing else quite like the Sixth World series and I never want it to end.
Widening is a characteristic feature of Storm of Locusts. There is a widening of scope ... Roanhorse also accomplishes a widening of emotional range ... It pushes the reader to think about the struggles of being not quite of one people and not quite of another, the problems of not ever really being able to come home to a home that was stolen from you as a child. In this exploration, Storm of Locusts is a triumphant book—one which weaves fundamental questions of assimilation and diaspora into a fast-paced, action-filled adventure that puts a completely Indigenous spin on the post-apocalyptic Wild West narrative ... Sharp, exciting, dramatic, and entirely rooted in a Navajo sensibility which is both strikingly new to the genre and should have been with us all along.
For some series, a second installment can be a 'set-up' book that slowly introduces new characters and new places as it builds toward a final conclusion. Rebecca Roanhorse’s Storm of Locusts is not that sort of second book. It’s the kind that makes a fantastic first book pale in comparison, that captivates readers from the first page to the last. Storm of Locusts introduces new characters who captivate ... Storm of Locusts careens from scene to scene with the same frenetic energy and electrifying prose that set Roanhorse’s debut apart ... Storm of Locusts will delight and captivate fans of speculative fiction and mythology. Your only complaint will be that the next book isn’t out yet for you to devour.
Roanhorse excels at connecting readers with the land itself as a character. Her prose is not sappy or overwrought, but it nevertheless captures the smell, heat, and sights surrounding Maggie with a tension and flow that feels completely alive ... The novel is full of fresh, fascinating human and preternatural characters, each drawing readers further into Maggie’s world. Roanhorse’s depiction of Diné 'trickster' Coyote as a shapeshifting human, for instance, is spellbinding, as we’re struck by their calming presence, yet never sure of their intentions, and consistently curious about Maggie’s casual (if guarded) rapport with them.
Roanhorse deepens our appreciation for the postapocalyptic landscape while enriching our understanding of the indigenous customs and legends that have come alive within it. Maggie Hoskie is as complex a heroine as you could wish for, and everything about this installment sings. A must-read for anyone interested in own-voices or speculative fiction.
Roanhorse’s second Sixth World apocalyptic fantasy novel is less emotionally charged than its predecessor, Trail of Lightning, but dives deeply into the characters, introduces a great new one, and continues weaving Navajo beliefs overtly and subtly into the story ... The depiction of North America in ruins is a dark treat, including vivid scenes of women saving enslaved women and supernatural locust swarms descending. Readers who enjoyed Roanhorse’s first book will eagerly blaze through her second.
Roanhorse is ... a groundbreaking writer, weaving Diné language and culture throughout her work in innovative and deeply important ways while at the same time providing a purely joyous reading experience.Roanhorse’s latest is a killer.
