It’s been four weeks since the bloody showdown at Black Mesa, and Maggie Hoskie, Diné monster hunter, is trying to make the best of things. Only her latest bounty hunt has gone sideways, she’s lost her only friend, Kai Arviso, and she’s somehow found herself responsible for a girl with a strange clan power.

Then the Goodacre twins show up at Maggie’s door with the news that Kai and the youngest Goodacre, Caleb, have fallen in with a mysterious cult, led by a figure out of Navajo legend called the White Locust. The Goodacres are convinced that Kai’s a true believer, but Maggie suspects there’s more to Kai’s new faith than meets the eye. She vows to track down the White Locust, then rescue Kai and make things right between them.

Her search leads her beyond the Walls of Dinétah and straight into the horrors of the Big Water world outside. With the aid of a motley collection of allies, Maggie must battle body harvesters, newborn casino gods and, ultimately, the White Locust himself. But the cult leader is nothing like she suspected, and Kai might not need rescuing after all. When the full scope of the White Locust’s plans are revealed, Maggie’s burgeoning trust in her friends, and herself, will be pushed to the breaking point, and not everyone will survive.

Rebecca Roanhorse’s debut novel, Trail of Lightning, is a great example of a book that, for a variety of reasons, found me at exactly the right time. I had decided I really wanted to incorporate more urban fantasy into my reading schedule (and I’ve seen some folks saying The Sixth World is apocalyptic & not UF and WHY CAN’T IT BE BOTH), and I was also taking a good look at what I was reading & felt I could certainly make more of an effort to read from a more diverse group of authors. And Trail of Lightning ended up being one of my favorite reads of 2018, and sort of took on that amazing “comfort read” quality for me when I read it. I was hooked.

This is probably a good bail-out point if you haven’t read Trail of Lightning and plan to, fair warning!!!

Then that fucking glorious Tommy Arnold cover for Storm of Locusts was revealed, and I was beyond excited! I really think this is a sequel that does everything right…we get to know Maggie Hoskie a little bit better, and we get to explore a bit more of this apocalyptic hellscape as the story takes us outside the walls of Dinétah.

Things pick up pretty close to the end of Trail of Lightning, just a few weeks later. Maggie is still kind of reeling & missing Kai. But it’s right back at it for the Monsterslayer when a baddie known as the White Locust starts to shake things up. Maggie quickly learns that this might be the way to find Kai, and the hunt is on.

This book introduces us to a great new character named Ben. She’s young, in trouble, and in need of a friend. So Maggie somewhat reluctantly takes on the role, becoming a sort of protector for Ben. But also the relationship has a playful quality, and it was definitely giving me a Buffy & Dawn vibe! Rissa Goodacre also has a much bigger role in Storm of Locusts…she helps form that badass trio that we see on the cover!

This is such unique series, and I can’t help but cross my fingers & hope this is something that gets adapted in some form or another. Maggie strangely feels like a character I’ve known for years, and one I’m dying to get to know a little better! Rebecca Roanhorse is a fantastic storyteller (she’s got a Star Wars book coming out that sounds AMAZING!!!), and I think she has created something that feels personal, exciting, unique, and important. The world is full of monsters & we need monster hunters like Maggie Hoskie!! Don’t sleep on this series…The Sixth World is dangerous, violent, and bleak…yet hopeful & beautiful as well.