Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse


After a climate apocalypse that causes the ocean levels to rise quickly, most of the world is destroyed. In the Southwest United States, Dinétah, a former Navajo reservation, remains standing thanks to the help of mythological gods who have returned to Earth. The residents of Dinétah are scared, distrustful, and plagued by monsters that were unleashed when the waters rose. Maggie Hoskie is not your typical hero; she is a monster hunter with great and volatile clan powers and a difficult past. Her grandmother was killed by monsters when she was a teen, and now Neizghání, an immortal prince to whom she was apprenticed, has abandoned her. Adrift and heartbroken, Maggie sets off on her own on a job from the trickster god, Coyote. She’s not alone for long, though, as she grudgingly accepts the help of Kai, a medicine man with his own mysterious past. As Maggie and Kai set off on their mission, they discover that dark forces are gathering to oppose them and Coyote’s task is not nearly be as straightforward as he said it would be.

Trail of Lightning is Rebecca Roanhorse’s debut novel, and the first book in The Sixth World series. Her short story ‘‘Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience’’ (Apex, 2017) recently won the 2018 Hugo and Nebula awards. I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot more of her in the future, and I can’t wait.


-Portia

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