Rebecca Roanhorse is an author to watch. She knows her stuff, how to twist the knife to make it hurt so good and how to turn the screw to make it almost too stressful to handle ... Roanhorse takes the time to show the repercussions of Maggie’s experiences. What grounds her, what makes her a relatable character isn’t just what she goes through, but how she faces it and how it haunts her anyway. In the real world we can’t wave a magic wand over our pain, and neither can Maggie. In Maggie we see the vast extent of damage trauma inflicts on survivors ... While Roanhorse doesn’t hold your hand through the culturally-specific bits, she does offer the reader enough context to figure it out on their own ... It’s rural fantasy at its finest ... a frakking awesome novel and a fantastic prelude to what is sure to be a thrilling series.
Maggie is a monster hunter who emerges from isolation to help find a missing girl—but the creature that stole her is rooted in parts of Maggie’s past she’d rather not confront...Since Maggie needs help investigating this new threat, her adopted grandfather suggests she work with his smooth-talking grandson Kai. Short on friends and long on enemies, Maggie lets him tag along.But problems of plot and motivation nagged me throughout. In the book’s opening encounter, Maggie takes grotesque action on a flawed premise — but that first action is never revisited or questioned once Maggie learns better. Nor was the plot’s resolution as satisfying as it could have been, though it neatly sets up a sequel.
After a sudden climate apocalypse, one of the only places left intact was Dinétah, a former Navajo reservation that has become a land where gods and supernatural heroes walk among humans. Preternaturally deadly monster hunter Maggie Hoskie is one of the byproducts of the supernatural rebirth of Dinétah. When her search for a missing girl and her monstrous captor goes south, Maggie is left with questions. Who created the monster that abducted the girl, and why? Maggie’s investigation leads her to reluctantly team up with Kai Arviso, an overly charismatic young medicine man with powers of his own. The further they dig to find the truth behind the monster, the more Maggie is forced to recognize that confronting her past may be the key to solving the mystery ... Trail of Lightning, the first in the Sixth World series by debut novelist Rebecca Roanhorse, is one of those books that grabs you by the hand and makes you listen.
All too often, science fiction and fantasy novels feature a world created entirely for and by white authors and readers. But in recent years, there’s been a push for greater visibility for authors of color, like Rebecca Roanhorse ... Trail of Lightning delivers a fast-paced urban fantasy adventure with an exciting set of characters and an enticing world that begs for further exploration.
It takes a special talent to devise an apocalypse that feels original ... Trail of Lightning offers a detailed portrait of Dine culture, enjoyably accessible to non-Navajo readers. The fantastic elements of the plot are attention-grabbers ... smartly paced, with character development and action sequences expertly interspersed ... Roanhorse possesses a sure hand and a singular vision, and she establishes her credentials as a novelist with this ambitious, exciting and well-executed first book.
Roanhorse unspools a fascinating narrative of colorful magic in a world made otherwise bleak by both natural and man-made circumstances. The monster-hunting plot nearly takes a back seat to Maggie’s challenging journey of working through personal and cultural trauma, including the violent deaths of loved ones and an abusive relationship ... Their story is a fresh take on the tale of the emotionally and spiritually wounded hero who faces down increasing evil to make the world better.
After the Big Water, Maggie Hoskie’s monster-slaying clan powers have woken up. She’s going to need them on a journey culminating in the kind of battle fantasy readers will relish ... In Roanhorse’s hard-hitting debut novel, most of the world has perished, and Dinétah has risen. A wall has been built to keep the Diné safe from what remains, but little can keep them safe from the monsters that have woken up inside those borders and the witches who work to destroy what life is left ... Propelled by the Coyote god Ma’ii, Maggie confronts her past, her love, and her own power in a war where the stakes are higher than she ever imagined.
