TRAIL OF LIGHTNING by Rebecca Roanhorse – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
Series: The Sixth World #1
Published by Saga Press on June 26 2018
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 287
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Full of delectable characters and unique world-building based on Native American culture and mythology, this is an exciting debut you absolutely must read.

I knew from the moment I laid eyes on this gorgeous cover that I would have to read Rebecca Roanhorse’s debut. And I’m so glad I got the chance to get in on the ground floor of this richly imagined world. Most reviewers are talking about the Native American rep in this story, which is not only fascinating and adds wonderful layers to the story, but is in fact written by a Native American, which makes it all the more important these days. I found the world building in Trail of Lightning to be one of my favorite aspects of the story, from Roanhorse’s eerily plausible post apocalyptic setting to the Native American mythology that brings this story to life, to all the small details of this world that make it stand out from other urban fantasies. Add in some complex characters and relationships and you have an engaging story with plenty to love.

Roanhorse’s story takes place several years after a cataclysmic event called the Big Water, the effects of climate change that created flooding in some parts of the United States and drought in others. Maggie Hoskie lives in Dinétah, which used to be Navajo land until the Big Water changed everything. Now Maggie is a monster hunter, gifted with supernatural powers and tasked with tracking down the monsters of legend who have been reborn after the apocalypse.

When Maggie is hired to kill a monster who has taken off with a young girl, she soon finds out that a powerful Diné witch may be behind its appearance. Maggie’s Grandpa Tah sends her on a quest to discover the identity of the witch, aided by a medicine man named Kai who can not only heal but can see the dead. But not everyone wants to help Maggie on her journey. Coyote, a Navajo trickster named Ma’ii, is clearly up to something, and when Maggie’s old flame and mentor Neizghání makes an appearance, Maggie must decide who she can trust, and who she cannot.

It’s the characters who really make this story special. Maggie is my favorite type of character. She’s been given a “gift,” in this case supernatural powers that give her the strength and speed to hunt and kill monsters, but she’s not all that likable, especially in the beginning. She keeps people at arm’s length and tends to make enemies wherever she goes. Add to that the fact that she’s been ditched by the man she loves and is trying to come to grips with why Neizghání has left her. At the same time, she meets Kai and can’t help but notice what a hunk he is, even if she pretends to herself that she isn’t interested. And then, a third male character makes an appearance, and it becomes clear how complicated her life is about to become.

We also get to meet Grace Goodacre, a battle-weary woman who owns a bar and will go to any lengths to keep her children safe. Grace was tough-as-nails and her relationship with Maggie was complicated. This is a dangerous world where trusting people can get you killed and friendships are hard-won, so most of the relationships reflect that fact. I’m hoping for a lot more of Grace in the next book, especially since I think she’s one of the women on the cover of Storm of Locusts.

And the male characters? I loved the hell out of them. My favorite was Coyote, or Ma’ii as he’s called, the trickster of legend who seems fascinated with Maggie and just won’t leave her alone. He tries to set up Maggie and Kai and embarrasses everyone in the process, and his trouble-making ways inject a delightful sexual tension among the three of them. This is by no means a love triangle, but I loved the idea that the possibility is there. Kai also grew on me, and although at first I thought he’d be the obvious love interest, let’s just say the author has some tricks up her sleeves too!

And I can’t write this review without talking about the world-building. Roanhorse infuses her story with all kinds of cool examples of Navajo mythology, and even though I’m certainly no expert on the subject, I loved reading about how people meeting for the first time introduce themselves by mentioning the tribes they come from, for example. We’ve all read stories about Coyote, who may be the best-known god of Native American myth, but I loved how Roanhorse gave this Coyote interesting quirks, like the crazy but stylish outfits he wears.

Probably my favorite world-building element was the Wall that was magically created after the Energy Wars, as a way of keeping enemies and strangers out of Dinétah. It’s made of different elements, like alabaster, turquoise and obsidian, and I had to laugh at the author’s sly reference to the wall a certain U.S. president is trying to build (he he).

While the world-building and characterizations were stunning, the weakest part of Trail of Lightning for me was the plot. Maggie is given a quest in the beginning of the story, but from there things get a little overstuffed and convoluted. Several characters task Maggie with finding certain objects, or she’s given an object and has to figure out what it’s for, but as interesting as these story lines were by themselves, they never really came together into a cohesive plot. It was almost as if the author couldn’t quite rein in all her ideas, which made for a slightly confusing story. I also felt that this book was too short, something I don’t complain about that often. It’s under three hundred pages, and by adding another fifty pages or so I think some of these plot points could have been more deeply developed.

But that small complaint aside—and truly it’s small because you can see from my rating that I loved this story!—Trail of Lightning is a fresh and exciting take on urban fantasy and a thrilling start of a new series, one I’m so excited to continue. And after that ending (!!) I am literally going to be on pins and needles until next April. Thanks a lot, Rebecca!

Big thanks to Wunderkind PR and the publisher for supplying a review copy.