Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1), by Rebecca Roanhorse

Black Sun is the first excellent novel in the dark fantasy series Between Earth and Sky, written by Rebecca Roanhorse, published by Solaris. A truly remarkable story of vengeance, religious corruption, childhood trauma and politics, while giving the readers a well-fleshed group of characters as the primary driving forces of the story, all enveloped in a quite unique setting, inspired by Mesoamerican cultures.

Serapio was raised and chiseled to become the vessel of the Grandfather Crow from childhood, with just one task: ending the Sun Priest's reign in Tova. He needs to get to the city of Tova before the solar eclipse; a journey that would be impossible for almost everybody. Here's where Xiala enters, a disgraced Teek captain whose song and magic makes crossing the sea and reaching Tova in time possible.
On the other side of the story, we have Naranpa, current Sun Priest, the highest religious authority of the city of Tova, caught in political and religious machinations. Her low origins are a source of conflict, and her goal of making the priests more accessible to Tova's people is just creating her more enemies; with the eclipse near, tension is rising.

Characterization is one of the major strengths of this novel, starting with its three main characters. We could define the three as outsiders in comparison with their origins, and while their journeys are different from each other, Roanhorse manages to coat all of them with many layers of complexity. Taking Serapio as the main example, while he has been raised and carved to be a god vessel, we can also appreciate how under his appearance, there's also somebody that cared about his crows; trauma is a big part of why he's the reserved person he is, and his mission and outcome definitely doesn't help. However, even in those circumstances, we can see how his contact with Xiala humanizes him, makes him feel more than just a chosen one on a mission, even a human that could have had dreams instead of just walking the path others prepared for him. 
Naranpa is basically fighting against her low origins; in desperation, she is forced to acknowledge that maybe the only help she can count to stop everything is in that place she fled to ascend as Sun Priest. We can see her overwhelmed by how many things are escaping from her control, desperate to avoid a war between the clans.
The rest of the cast is outshined by the strength of our trio, but still we get to appreciate how nuanced and complex they are, being more than simple actors playing a role, feeling as part of an alive world.

Roanhorse's worldbuilding is really refreshing, starting from the Mesoamerican inspiration that permeates every single aspect of this world: from the religion and its symbols to the own places we get to visit. The writing is crude, so be warned about certain gory moments, but I felt they suited really well the dark tone the story wanted to follow; in terms of pacing, it is simply excellent, making this a book that you will want to devour.

Black Sun is an excellent novel, one that I'm seriously sad to haven't picked it before; if you are looking for a dark fantasy with a really unique setting and an enthralling plot, this one is the perfect choice. Can't wait to see how Between Earth and Sky continues in the following books!