Audiobook Review: Fevered Star (Between Earth and Sky #2)

Author: Rebecca Roanhorse

Narrators: Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, Kaipo Schwab, Darrell Dennis & Shaun Taylor-Corbett

Audiobook Length: 12 hours 50 minutes

Return to The Meridian with New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse’s sequel to the most critically hailed epic fantasy of 2020 Black Sun—finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, Lambda, and Locus awards.

There are no tides more treacherous than those of the heart. —Teek saying

The great city of Tova is shattered. The sun is held within the smothering grip of the Crow God’s eclipse, but a comet that marks the death of a ruler and heralds the rise of a new order is imminent.

The Meridian: a land where magic has been codified and the worship of gods suppressed. How do you live when legends come to life, and the faith you had is rewarded?

As sea captain Xiala is swept up in the chaos and currents of change, she finds an unexpected ally in the former Priest of Knives. For the Clan Matriarchs of Tova, tense alliances form as far-flung enemies gather and the war in the heavens is reflected upon the earth.

And for Serapio and Naranpa, both now living avatars, the struggle for free will and personhood in the face of destiny rages. How will Serapio stay human when he is steeped in prophecy and surrounded by those who desire only his power? Is there a future for Naranpa in a transformed Tova without her total destruction?

Fevered Star is the second novel in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy and is the follow-up to Black Sun.  The story continues to follow the main four: Serapio, Naranpa (Sun Priest of Tova), Xiala (sailing Captain), and Oaka (Carrion Crow warrior). Now that the city of Tova has fallen, the four characters are trying to figure out their own next steps. In the previous story, all the characters had the Convergence driving them, so this one was more chaotic by comparison. As this story is building up to the finale, some elements do not feel as organic as the first novel, but it still read well.

As with most stories featuring multiple main characters, there are moments where one shines more than the others. In the first novel, I found myself more drawn to Serapio and Xiala. In this one, I did not connect with either as much and, this time, I favored Naranpa. It will be interesting to see how the third novel plays out, but it is disappointing that I cannot connect to all of them at any given moment. It is great, though, that with multiple main characters that there is someone for every reader. Unlike some other novels where I dislike a character or two from the ensemble, I enjoy all the characters, so it makes it more disappointing, for me, when I can’t connect to all of them at the same time.

The novel itself as not as action packed compared to the first novel, but it does build up to an ending that will lead to the final novel. The character dynamics are a little disjointed as there is not a lot of connection for me, as the reader. There is a lot going on in some moments and others felt a little like filler, so I wish the pacing was a little better. The political schemes, betrayals, and other pieces are all well done, but it does fell more like set-up rather than standing on their own. Some resolutions in this story were provided while others were left open-ended, so it did hold my interest. Overall, this novel did not quite measure up to the first one, but it was interesting and seems to fit well in the trilogy. I cannot wait to read the epic conclusion soon!