Welcome back to Go/No-Go, Tosche Station’s regular feature where we offer our spoiler-free opinion as to whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on a book, film, or other entertainment. Today on the launch pad: Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse. To mission control for the verdict!
Bria: Trail of Lightning is one of those books that I find difficult to review properly because what I really want to do is take a stack of them, run around to all my friends, shove one in their face, and yell ‘READ THIS BOOK PLEASE’. Because seriously: read this book. It’s a Native American spin on post-apocalyptic fantasy where the world has gone to hell. Or, in author Rebecca Roanhorse’s own words, it’s “Indigenous Mad Max: Fury Road.” Maggie Hoskie is a protagonist who doesn’t really want to be a hero but when she takes a job to try and save a child, it leads to so much more. The plot is engaging enough but it’s really the characters and world that make this book special. Dinétah is an incredibly well fleshed out world and Roanhorse gradually doles out more details as the story progresses instead of info dumping at the start. I like my heroes little less shiny and perfect than most people which makes Maggie exactly the sort of character I latch on to. She’s a survivor and always finds a way to keep fighting. It’s hard to pick a favorite from the supporting cast but if I had to, it would probably be Tah, an older, mentor to Maggie who’s one of the only people in the world to truly care about her without reservation. (I am a sucker for the psuedo grandfather-granddaughter type relationships so sue me.) More importantly though, Trail of Lightning is an excellent example of why more diverse voices need to be given the chance to make themselves heard. This story couldn’t exist without someone like Roanhorse writing it and it is all the stronger for it. I eagerly look forward to the next book (that cover!) and definitely think you should read this one. Trail of Lightning gets a GO from me.
Kate: I’m a notoriously slow reader, so the fact that I binge-read the first half of Trail of Lightning in three hours (when I was maybe supposed to be sleeping…) is high praise from me. The plot moves fast enough to make the book addictive–it’s almost impossible to put down–but it never feels jam-packed, because Roanhorse is so good at letting her characters lead the way. The book is centered on relationships: the ones that we’re trying to build, the ones that are our foundations, and the ones that are irreparably broken. And amidst all the wonderful action sequences in this book, it’s the human element that will keep you engaged. Roanhorse also manages one of the most deft uses of the first person perspective that I’ve seen in ages. This much-maligned point of view works incredibly well here, allowing the reader to get into Maggie’s head and fully understand her motivations, even when she struggles with difficult moral choices and makes rash decisions that stem from past traumas. Maggie is sympathetic because Roanhorse allows us to fully understand her, and more than that, the author refuses to allow her main character to be defined only by pain and loss. It’s a story that women of color will be familiar with: how pain mixes with joy, how hurt mingles with pride. A little bit Witcher, a little bit Mad Max, with a heavy sprinkling of elements from my favorite Holly Black-authored urban fantasies, Roanhorse mixes all these ingredients with a heavy dollop of Navajo culture that makes the genre fresh and new. If you haven’t read it yet, GO and pick up Trail of Lightning ASAP.
Flight Director’s Ruling: Trail of Lightning is a GO for launch!
