Audiobook Review – Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World, Book 1) by Rebecca Roanhorse, Narrated by Tanis Parenteau (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 8 hours and 58 minutes
Publisher: Audible Studios
Release Date: August 07, 2018
ASIN: B07FSNZWFV
Stand Alone or Series: 1st volume in the Sixth World series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

“The sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse have destroyed most of the planet…yet out of these waters, Dinétah, a former Navajo reservation, has been miraculously reborn. Listen along as Tanis Parenteau’s impeccable narration, capturing the rhythms of Navajo speech, fully envelopes you into the Sixth World.

When Dinétah needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie – a monster hunter and supernatural killer – is its last, best hope. Trail of Lightning follows our heroine as she walks the land alongside gods, heroes of legend, and monsters alike. Reluctantly, she enlists the aid of an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel Dinétah, unraveling clues from ancient legends and trading favors with tricksters. As Maggie discovers the truth behind the killings, she will have to confront her past if she wants to survive – for what she uncovers about the monster she is sent to find is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine.”

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Sixth World series. I bought this as an audiobook through Audible. There are four books planned in this series with the second book already released.

Audiobook Quality (4/5): The audiobook was good quality and easy to listen to. No complaints.

Story (3/5): This was a well done post-apocalyptic urban fantasy. The story features Maggie, who is a monster hunter with supernatural powers, who is tasked with finding a missing girl. I enjoyed all the Navajo references and mythology . Despite the post-apocalyptic setting the story had a very urban fantasy feel to it. There is some magic and fighting against gods. I ended up listening to this over a rather long period of time (since I am not commuting right now) and that might be part of the reason I never really felt drawn into the story. It was okay but not great.

Characters (3/5): I liked the characters well enough but never felt really engaged with them. Maggie has a huge issue with her former mentor that I kind of just didn’t understand and, since this drove a lot of her personality, I never really “got” her. Kai was kind of a mystery throughout, he obviously has some mysterious powers but he is kept somewhat distant from the reader throughout. There aren’t many side characters and they really aren’t well developed.

Setting (4/5): I enjoyed the post-apocalyptic Navajo region setting. The events that ended life as humanity knew it were very much part of the background and not a feature of the story. I enjoyed the Navajo reservation setting a lot and really loved learning more about both Navajo mythology and about the strange magic that is part of this world.

Writing Style (4/5): The book was decently written and easy to follow. No complaints but it didn’t really stand out for me either.

My Summary (3.5/5): Overall this was a decent post-apocalyptic read that had a very urban fantasy feel to it. I enjoyed the setting and the Navajo mythology throughout, there were also some very well done fight scenes. I thought the characters and plot were pretty mediocre. To be fair I ended up reading this over a very long time, so that may have dampened some of the urgency for me. I don’t plan on continuing the series.