Staff Pick
Maggie is on a mission to be a better person, despite a world that wants her to be bad and her own aptitude for destruction, but a mysterious figure called The White Locust is really testing her dedication to this whole "no murder" thing. After Kai and Caleb Goodacre go missing, she takes off on an apocalyptic road trip to bring them home, introducing readers to the hellscape that remains outside of Dinétah, some strange new magic, and a host of lovable (and not-so-lovable) new characters. This is a great follow-up to Trail of Lightning, and it promises more thrills, betrayal, and supernatural meddling to come. Recommended By Ashleigh B., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Kai and Caleb Goodacre have been kidnapped just as rumors of a cult sweeping across the reservation leads Maggie and Hastiin to investigate an outpost, and what they find there will challenge everything they've come to know in this action-packed sequel to Trail of Lightning.
It's been four weeks since the bloody showdown at Black Mesa, and Maggie Hoskie, Diné monster hunter, is trying to make the best of things. Only her latest bounty hunt has gone sideways, she's lost her only friend, Kai Arviso, and she's somehow found herself responsible for a girl with a strange clan power.
Then the Goodacre twins show up at Maggie's door with the news that Kai and the youngest Goodacre, Caleb, have fallen in with a mysterious cult, led by a figure out of Navajo legend called the White Locust. The Goodacres are convinced that Kai's a true believer, but Maggie suspects there's more to Kai's new faith than meets the eye. She vows to track down the White Locust, then rescue Kai and make things right between them.
Her search leads her beyond the Walls of Dinétah and straight into the horrors of the Big Water world outside. With the aid of a motley collection of allies, Maggie must battle body harvesters, newborn casino gods and, ultimately, the White Locust himself. But the cult leader is nothing like she suspected, and Kai might not need rescuing after all. When the full scope of the White Locust's plans are revealed, Maggie's burgeoning trust in her friends, and herself, will be pushed to the breaking point, and not everyone will survive.
Review
"There's plenty of tension. Readers who enjoyed Roanhorse's first book will eagerly blaze through her second." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review
"A must-read for anyone interested in own-voices or speculative fiction." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"Sharp, exciting, dramatic." NPR Books
Review
"A purely joyous reading experience. Roanhorse's latest is a killer." Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Rebecca Roanhorse is speculative fiction writer and Nebula, Hugo, and Sturgeon Award Finalist. She is also a 2017 Campbell Award Finalist for Best New Science Fiction and Fantasy writer. Her novel Trail of Lightning is the first book in the Sixth World series, followed by Storm of Locusts in 2019. She lives in northern New Mexico with her husband, daughter, and pug. Find more at RebeccaRoanhorse.com and follow her on Twitter at @RoanhorseBex.
Rebecca Roanhorse on PowellsBooks.Blog
Someone recently asked why I write science fiction and fantasy. I believe the question went something like,
For what? As if writing science fiction and fantasy was a degradation, a waste of time, or, at the very least, certainly not literature, definitely not art. So what was the point?...
Read More»