“And I am happy to see your language is still more drunken sailor than Teek queen.”
“Love me. And let fate do its damnedest to get around that.”
Rebecca Roanhorse’s epic trilogy, Between Earth & Sky, has come to a close with Mirrored Heavens (SAGA PRESS 2024), and it is one of the more satisfying conclusions to a series I’ve read. The series was inspired by pre-Columbus American cultures and is chock full of strong female characters, gender fluidity, magic, politics, and prophecies. Fate. Ambition. Love. Ruin. And the storytelling is of the “gather round” oral tradition that holds my heart. I loved this series.
Read my reviews here: (BLACK SUN – Rebecca Roanhorse – A Girl Named Tommi) (FEVERED STAR – Rebecca Roanhorse – A Girl Named Tommi)
I anticipated after Fevered Star that the third and final installment would focus more on Xiala and the Teeks, and how happy I was to be exactly right. This whole series is really Xiala’s story, and what a marvelous story it is.
Mirrored Heavens opens not long after the events of Fevered Star. Serapio, the Carrion King, rules with a cold and apparent bloodlust, but he is still Serapio, kind and curious and madly in love with Xiala. Xiala has returned home where she soon learns the Teeks have lost their songs. Stripped of their power, they are vulnerable to attack. But Xiala hasn’t lost her song. Not only does she retain that power, but she’s also realized a connection to the Mother only talked about in stories and whispers. Much like Serapio has a connection with the Crow god, she has been god touched. After an attack on her islands, Xiala channels this newly discovered power (she can control the kraken!) and sets on a quest for vengeance. Her body count will rival Serapio’s. Driven by vengeance and anger and love, not ambition, her quest will thrust her right in the midst of a political struggle, a planned coup, and some shadow magic soaked in blood that will take her to Tova- that will take her to Serapio.
The final installment is full of blood and heartbreak. Loyalties are tested. Lines are drawn and crossed out and redrawn. Lies are uncovered. And prophecies are met, despite the attempts to thwart them. But there’s an overwhelming heartbeat that shows love will prevail if given the chance. There’s a lot of heart in this one, and it’s near perfect.
Read this trilogy.
A Girl Named Tommi 