Rebecca Roanhorse on wrapping up her fantasy trilogy Between Earth and Sky
Author photo by Emily Blasquez Photography
“Readers, give your authors a chance to build a character arc,” Roanhorse says, laughing. “Don’t expect everything in book one.”
Rebecca Roanhorse is proclaimed as one of the “Indigenous novelists reshaping North American science fiction, horror and fantasy” (New York Times).
In this article:
We talk about author Rebecca Roanhorse and her new fantasy book Mirrored Heavens
We share all the books in the Between Earth and Sky series
Roanhorse talks about her writing
Award-winning author Rebecca Roanhorse wraps up her Between Earth and Sky trilogy with Mirrored Heavens (affiliate link). The trilogy is inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic.
The New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Resistance Reborn (affiliate link), science fiction, horror, and fantasy writer Roanhorse has won multiple awards for her fiction including the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Awards. She has also written for Marvel and Lucasfilm, and for hit TV series including A Murder At the End of the World and Echo.
Her Between Earth & Sky trilogy began with Black Sun, which won the “Best Book” at the Alex Awards in 2021. The new book, Mirrored Heavens, is an Amazon Editor’s pick in the Sci-Fi & Fantasy category.
IGN says of Mirrored Heavens:
“This final book in the trilogy is a wonderful ending to the series. If you’re unfamiliar with the trilogy, Roanhorse bases them on pre-Colombian mythology and culture. It’s a complex, intriguing series, one of my favorites in the last few years. If you’re looking for an epic fantasy series outside the more typical medieval European fantasy setting, you should definitely pick up these books.” (SOURCE)
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The Between Earth & Sky trilogy by Rebecca Roanhorse
#1 Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky Book 1)
From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Resistance Reborn comes the “engrossing and vibrant” (Tochi Onyebuchi, author of Riot Baby) first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic.
A god will return
When the earth and sky converge
Under the black sun
In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial even proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world.
Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.
Crafted with unforgettable characters, Rebecca Roanhorse has created a “brilliant world that shows the full panoply of human grace and depravity” (Ken Liu, award-winning author of The Grace of Kings). This epic adventure explores the decadence of power amidst the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts in this “absolutely tremendous” (S.A. Chakraborty, nationally bestselling author of The City of Brass) and most original series debut of the decade.
#2 Fevered Star (Between Earth and Sky Book 2)
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 of 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?
Welcome back to the fantasy series of the decade in Fevered Star—book two of Between Earth and Sky from one of the “Indigenous novelists reshaping North American science fiction, horror, and fantasy” (The New York Times) and the “epic voice of our continent and time” (Ken Liu, award-winning author of The Grace of Kings).
#3 Mirrored Heavens (Between Earth and Sky Book 3)
The interwoven destinies of the people of Meridian will finally be determined in this stunning conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky trilogy.
Even the sea cannot stay calm before the storm. —Teek saying
Serapio, avatar of the Crow God Reborn and the newly crowned Carrion King, rules Tova. But his enemies gather both on distant shores and within his own city as the matrons of the clans scheme to destroy him. And deep in the alleys of the Maw, a new prophecy is whispered, this one from the Coyote God. It promises Serapio certain doom if its terrible dictates are not fulfilled.
Meanwhile, Xiala is thrust back amongst her people as war comes first to the island of Teek. With their way of life and their magic under threat, she is their last best hope. But the sea won’t talk to her the way it used to, and doubts riddle her mind. She will have to sacrifice the things that matter most to unleash her powers and become the queen they were promised.
And in the far northern wastelands, Naranpa, avatar of the Sun God, seeks a way to save Tova from the visions of fire that engulf her dreams. But another presence has begun stalking her nightmares, and the Jaguar God is on the hunt.
Nominated for the Nebula, Lambda, Locus, and Hugo Awards, winner of the Alex Award from the American Library Association and the Ignyte Award from Fiyah magazine, the Between Earth and Sky trilogy is amongst our most lauded modern fantasy series from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA TODAY bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse.
Rebecca Roanhorse talks about her writing
Rebecca Roanhorse talks Mirrored Heavens, Mesoamerica, Epic Fantasy & More | SFF Addicts Ep. 107
Join host Adrian M. Gibson as he chats with bestselling, award-winning author Rebecca Roanhorse about her new novel Mirrored Heavens, the Between Earth and Sky trilogy, Mesoamerican history, Native American representation, writing memorable characters, finishing an epic fantasy trilogy, writing for television and much more.
“Readers, give your authors a chance to build a character arc,” Roanhorse says, laughing. “Don’t expect everything in book one.”
More Rebecca Roanhorse interview quotes:
Q: What came first, the world or the characters? And how did the story take shape in your head?
A: “I knew my general setting, but it’s really character that is the engine of inspiration for the story. I’d written an early draft that my editor was lukewarm on, so I took that back and tore it down to its bones. From those bones I saved some of the essential elements of the worldbuilding, like the clans, the emphasis on trade, the city of Tova, but it was really the character Xiala that began to speak to me. I knew I wanted that hard-drinking disaster of a sea captain with powers that she doesn't quite understand and a home she had lost, and then all the other characters started to come together, like variations on a theme.” (SOURCE: NPR)
Q: What were the books that were significant for you when you were younger, and do they still hold up? Do you see their influence your writing?
A: “I was a huge fantasy reader, so my childhood was The Dragonlance Chronicles, The Belgariad, and very much Dune. I haven’t revisited Dragonlance or the Belgariad, but I recently reread Dune. While it’s certainly problematic, I think it held up pretty well. I loved the recent movie adaptation. It ran for two and a half hours but I could have watched another three easily.” (SOURCE: Fantasy Magazine)
Q: Were there particular books or other sources of inspiration that guided the overall storyline, characters, and writing style?
A: “My love of Urban Fantasy was definitely my template, and I consciously incorporated a lot of those familiar tropes. As for the style, I wanted it to feel post-apocalyptic. I joke that there are no semi-colons in the apocalypse, but I think that gets to the idea that I wanted the prose to be short, choppy, and feel sort of sharp-edged and unfinished, like the main character herself. No flowery descriptions allowed. It’s also just the style that I gravitate to, generally.” (SOURCE: Lightspeed)
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