Book review: Trail of Lightning

Reviewed by Karl Hele

Trail of Lightning is Rebecca Roanhorse’s first novel and the first of a planned series known as the Sixth World. The setting is a post-apocalyptic world rife with poverty, crime, violence, betrayal, and hunger.  The novel takes place after most of the world is destroyed through a massive flood known as the Great Water. The Navajo Reservation, known as Dinétah, survives as an independent community surrounded by a massive wall built by humans and Diné gods. It is within this arena that Diné gods, heroes, tricksters, humans, witches, and monsters live, interact and die.

The main character, Maggie Hoskie, is a Navajo woman who is a monster slayer trained by a deity-hero figure called Neizgháni. Hoskie is abandoned by her tutor-trainer and possible lover shortly before the story begins. Through the novel, Hoskie and a medicine man call Kai travel the roads and communities of Dinétah in search of the witch who is creating monsters using a magic black flint drill.

The Diné people possess something Roanhorse has termed ‘clan powers’. Everyone has two powers that emanate from the mother’s and father’s clans. For instance, one of Hoskie’s clan powers is the speed of an arrow that gives her great advantage in fights. One of Kai’s powers is of great healing. Hoskie also has a relationship with Coyote the trickster, who assists and misleads them throughout the adventure up until its climatic fight. The novel is a good read and an exploration of self-healing and pride in being Indigenous.

I picked up the novel as a different read within the science-fiction/fantasy/post-apocalyptic genre. Trail of Lightning is unique within this genre since both its author and cast of characters are Indigenous. Her use of Navajo/Diné concepts and language is interesting and easily followed. Roanhorse’s setting in the Navajo reservation and use of Diné language, culture, and gods/heroes; however has come under criticism. Roanhorse is not Navajo; her heritage is Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. This has led some to wonder why she did not choose her own community and its traditions for the novel.

Roanhorse received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Author for the work in 2018 and many have praised the work for its central Indigenous characters, usage of culture and stories, as well as her position within the sci-fi/fantasy genre. The novel is also appealing based on its strong female character and its plot not being driven by colonial experiences/actions, albeit these elements are only referenced. Trail of Lightening is a decent quick and engaging read. Without knowing of the book’s controversy, I would recommend it without hesitations. Even with the knowledge of the appropriative nature of the book, I would still recommend the novel with the proviso that anyone planning on reading Trail of Lightning look at the critique of the book by the Diné Writers’ Collective.

Rebecca Roanhorse, Trail of Lightning. Saga Press: New York, New York, 2018. ISBN: 9781534413498