Sacrifice of Darkness

by Roxane Gay, Tracy Lynne Oliver, Rebecca Kirby (Illustrator)

Overview

New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay (World of Wakanda, Difficult Women) adapts her short story “We Are the Sacrifice of Darkness” as a full-length graphic novel with writer Tracy Lynne Oliver (This Weekend), and artist Rebecca Kirby (Biopsy.) Expanding an unforgettable world where a tragic event forever bathes the world in darkness, The Sacrifice of Darkness follows one woman’s powerful journey through this new landscape as she discovers love, family, and the true light in a world seemingly robbed of any. This young adult drama challenges notions of identity, guilt, and survival in a graphic novel for fans of On A Sunbeam and Are You Listening?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781646680368
Publisher:	Archaia
Publication date:	11/04/2020
Series:	Sacrifice of Darkness
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	63 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	13 Years

Editorial Reviews

08/24/2020

Based on a short story by Gay (Hunger), this graphic adaptation, co-scripted with Oliver and illustrated with Kirby’s gorgeously hued art, spins an Afrofuturistic fable and a flexible allegory that echoes multiple oppression narratives. Joshua Hightower is the son of Hiram Hightower, a third-generation Flareon miner, whose double shifts underground left him so desperate for light that he flew an airship into the sun, extinguishing it for years. As a result, Joshua and his mother are shunned by society, except for the open-minded young Claire. Joshua and Claire’s schoolyard friendship and eventual love story unfolds alongside flashbacks to Hiram’s courting of Mara, a girl from a wealthy, disapproving family. The town’s governing body tries in vain to restore sunlight, growing increasingly thirsty for Hightower sacrifice. Joshua and Claire, meanwhile, hope for a dual miracle: a baby and a return to light. With help from a few discoveries of their own using “precious” Flareon dust, they begin to build a more equitable world. Kirby’s sublime drawings of clapboard buildings and wide streets give the town a Wild West feel. And though the narrative achieves a mythical vibe, the parable quality occasionally slips into vagueness. Even so, the glowing hope within this tale will be welcome to readers in dark times. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

11/01/2020

Hiram Hightower craves the sun so much that he flies an aircraft into it, plunging the earth into 24-hour darkness. Later, son Joshua overcomes prejudice and blame to begin repairing his father's tragedy. Alongside the men stand courageous women Mara and Claire, whose partnerships carve a future for the now-brightening world. Adapted from Gay's short story, "We Are the Sacrifice of Darkness" in art contrasting rosy brights with darks. (LJ 10/20)

Library Journal

10/30/2020

GR 8 UP-Emotionally broken miner Hiram Hightower escapes the darkness underground to touch the sun, sending the world, and family, he left behind into darkness. In this Black-centered fantasy, Hiram's son, Joshua, becomes the town pariah, mocked and scorned by all, the blood red crease left behind by the sun reminding the world of what it has lost. Scientists work tirelessly for a solution that would return the sun to the sky while the local governing Corona Council realizes that the rapacious mining of a fictional substance called flareon has come as a detriment to humanity. Joshua is befriended by Claire, a young woman whose kind heart cuts through the incessant public shaming that Joshua endures. With each passing year, mounting hatred against the Hightowers forces the Corona Council to demand a blood payment for his father's actions. When Joshua refuses, he sets off with Claire, now his wife, to search for an answer in the sky. Love, culpability, and family bonds converge in this graphic adaptation of Gay's short story "We are the Sacrifice of Darkness." The comic's pacing uniquely reads like a graphic short story, moving fluidly between Hiram's early life and that of Joshua's life after his father's death. Kirby swathes Hiram's pages in the colors of a sunset, visually connoting the impending end of his life, while Joshua's reminds the reader of a sunrise. Bold orange hues combine with warm colors foreshadow hope in a new day. VERDICT The quest for love, identity, and the power of family carries Gay's adaptation. Perfect for readers who enjoyed Kevin Panetta's Bloom or Tillie Walden's Are You Listening?.—Elise Martinez, Racine, WI

School Library Journal