Mirrored Heavens (Between Earth and Sky # 3) by Rebecca Roanhorse
With Mirrored Heavens, Rebecca Roanhorse takes us to the nail biting climax of this series Between Earth and Sky - one of the finest examples of epic fantasies done right, where prophecies come alive, Gods pit themselves against each other through their human avatars, and the humans themselves, fall prey to their baser instincts, fighting for power in this brutal bloody game where backstabbing, deceptions and in-fighting are the rules, not exceptions.
The merchant lords are gunning for the city of Tova. Tova itself, has fallen under the Crow God's eclipse and now the city is smarting under the new tyrant Serrapio, the chosen Carrion King, the God's instrument of bloody reckoning. While the Sky Made clans are conspiring against him, Serrapio has to decide on what alliances to trust and what to avoid or eliminate. And then there is this new prophecy by the trickster God Coyote that has him confused and scrambling, looking for ways to save his lover's life.
But as Serrapio himself knows well, prophecies are tricky things. And interpreting this one wrong, could mean that the war is lost and his lover's life in danger. Meanwhile, Xiala, Serrapio's one true love, excommunicated sea-captain and exiled princess, is back on the island of Teek, trying to save her people from the greedy eyes of the Merchant Lords who have invaded her shores, looking for ships for the larger war. Then there is Naranpa, the exiled Sun God's chosen, who has retired to the northern wastelands, looking for sorcery and magic, to aid her in getting back to Tova and exact her Sun God's revenge against the crows. Iktaan, the ex-priest of Knives, is looking for redemption after having failed to save his beloved 'Nara'. And then, Akoa, the carrion crow, looking for a purpose in life, torn between his duty to the sky-made clans and his burgeoning loyalty for the Odo Sedo. And then there is the white Jaguar, merchant-lord Balaam, steadfast in his long-term plan to conquer the city of Tovo, pulling different strings, manipulating one and all.
Being the finale of one of my all-time favorite epic fantasy series, this book had sky-high expectations riding on it. And boy, did Rebecca Roanhorse blow them out of the water. As it stands, Mirrored Heavens goes straight to one my top books of 2024. Roanhorse had set up the events of Mirrored Heavens brilliantly with the first two books in the series ( Black Sun is still my top book of the series though!) – and things come to a feverish climax as Serrapio is struggling to come to his own, grow beyond the cloying black shadow of his blood-thirsty Crow God. For one, he’s got to save the city of Tova from the greedy ambitious merchant lords of Cuecola while unravelling the knotty prophecies of a trickster God that places the Xiala, his one true love’s life in danger. But the standout for the third book isn’t this earnest, young man caught up in this web of prophecies and intrigue, a pawn to his mother’s ambitions of revenge, riding on the greed and power politics of Gods and their acolytes. While Serrapio is no longer the naïve earnest youngster ( indeed, as we are introduced to him, the young man is stalking through the corridors of his palace, with knives in both hands, exacting a terrible terrible revenge against the traitorous sky made clans who don’t align to his vision! We wonder whatever happened to the sensitive intelligent man riddled with self-doubts, guilt?) He is still plagued with guilt for having to manipulate those closest to him but Serrapio is older, worn down with his terrible life-experiences for sure, but a lot more world-aware and calculating. But my favorite character from this book is easily Xiala, the exiled Sea Captain/ Teek Princess who discovers her true powers, gifts from the Mother. The chapters of her struggle against the merchant lord Toon and her murderous soldiers are absolutely terrifying, hitting just the right spots for me as a reader. Xiala retains the golden core of what endears us to her, remaining that foul-mouthed sea maiden, who truly loves and cherishes all the bonds she’s made in life. Her struggles to make it back to Serrapio and those last chapters with the only man she’s truly loved are epic and humane at the same time.
A lot of book three is dedicated to the antagonist of the piece, the White Jaguar/ one who fashions himself to be the new Jaguar Prince – Lord Balaam. With frequent flashbacks, we finally understand what drives the man. But frankly, for all his “hurting at the hands of one you love” – his greed and black ambitions knows no bounds and is just reasonless, bottomless pit that drags him down and down. Despite misgivings, and misplaced hopes about him realizing the folly of his ways, there is no redemption. But to note here, is that not all lead characters are likable. Like Serrapio or Naranpa, the human vessels of their respective Gods, but at least they finally come out of the shadows of their Godly patronage. Iktaan and Akoa get lesser page-counts and are a bit short-changed in their character-arcs.
The world building has been the strongest forte about Rebecca’s writing and it continues to shine, taking us to newer places in the continent of Meridien. Like the northern wastelands – the graveyard of Gods – and fleshing out the cities of Meridien even more. We are immersed in the sights, colours and sounds of all three cities, a lived-in experience that is novel and exciting, building on the research of all meso-American cultures that have been lost or forgotten. A place I missed was the Coyote’s Maw and the dingy crime-ridden clusters inside. Sadly, even those characters from last book are missing.
But these are minor quibbles, this third book clearly establishes Between Earth and Sky as a spell-binding series that has been pushing the boundaries of epic fantasy. Rebecca gives us an intricately plotted, superbly developed new world with raw real characters who are hurting, are resisting and even rewriting their own fates, fighting against Gods, prophecies and power-hungry men. It’s a world full of magic that spills over into the people’s lives, resulting in chaos, as power-hungry mad men pit against others in epic battles for survival. It’s well written, paced to perfection and builds up to a wonderful climax that leaves one bereft, and bittersweet. If you haven’t met the Gods - Crow, the Sun or the Coyote and the clans like Carrion Crow, Winged Serpents yet, you are in for an amazing experience. One of my top reads for this year, this series is highly recommended!
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