‘Trail of Lightning’ Brings Readers A Different Apocalypse

In Rebecca Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning the world has been forever changed. There was probably a big war. There was most certainly a traumatic experience. The Big Water has risen, drowning much of the Earth’s population and separating those remaining. The Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) had a Big Wall, yet troubles came in the form of all manner of supernatural creatures with their own agendas. These beings see the locals as prey at times, pawns at other times. This fascinating premise made me think of a tweet from a friend. Back in 2017 she attended Indigenous Comic Con and live-tweeted the Indigenous Futurism panel.

In the indigenous futurisms panel @IndigenousCon it starts with the idea that for indigenous folks the apocalypse has already happened — Paulina the PhD Candidate (now w/ more characters) (@punuckish) November 11, 2017

“…for indigenous folks the apocalypse has already happened.” These words ring so true. Persevering through tragedy and injustice, living as a marginalized person — these aren’t new and novel events for Indigenous folks in this country. And here in Trail of Lightning, the world again has forever changed. Straddling the line of woman and something entirely else is the main character: Maggie aka Maddalena Hoskins. She is an outsider with a specialized skill set: killing the monsters that threaten the peace. She was brought up under the tutelage of an immortal, ancient being named Neizghani, known to the locals as Monster slayer. Magg…