Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

The Sixth World, Book 1

Synopsis: While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters.

Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last—and best—hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much larger and more terrifying than anything she could imagine.

Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel to the rez to unravel clues from ancient legends, trade favors with tricksters, and battle dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.

As Maggie discovers the truth behind the disappearances, she will have to confront her past—if she wants to survive.

Welcome to the Sixth World.

Review: Here is a novel that I was very curious to read and, if I expected a more urban fantasy novel, I was not disappointed to have something fantasy-like.

The author offers us a very different story from what is usually expected and I really liked the idea of focusing on a different mythology from the Indians in the United States. How can we resist it, right?

Maggie was abandoned by her mentor. She waited a long time for him to realize that she was there, that he would come back, but 9 months passed and no news. So when a family comes to her for help in finding their little girl who has been kidnapped by a monster, she is forced to launch herself into a story that is beyond her control. Fortunately for her, she will very quickly be accompanied by a man who seems to be willing to help her, but who also hides many secrets.

No romance here, if that’s what you’re expecting, or at least not really, but I thought it was nice enough. The universe is complex and rich and I loved discovering what the author had in store for us. Maggie is a tormented person, by who she is and where she comes from, but she is determined, and tries to relearn to act alone. Kai is more difficult to identify and you can feel that he hides something under her casual attitude, but how much?

There is a lot going on in this novel and I have to say that after this end, I am curious to see what happens.