She Who Became the Sun

Shelley Parker-Chan

Jul 2021 · The Radiant Emperor Duology Book 1 · Sold by Tor Books

About this ebook

Two-time British Fantasy Award Winner
Astounding Award Winner
Lambda Literary Award Finalist
Hugo Award Finalist
Locus Award Finalist
A Dragon Award Finalist
Otherwise Award Finalist

"Magnificent in every way."—Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree

"A dazzling new world of fate, war, love and betrayal."—Zen Cho, author of Black Water Sister

She Who Became the Sun reimagines the rise to power of the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor.

To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the female monk Zhu will do anything

“I refuse to be nothing...”

In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness...

In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.

When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.

After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ratings and reviews

A rebel with no future learns to seize the future that she wants and deserves. A warrior who loses his lineage learns to exact his revenge, and justice befell him. Sacrifices. Honor. Pride. Love. She Who Became The Sun is an intriguing and mesmerizing take on Asian fantasy history and how far a person will go for survival. A gender-bending, role-reversal protagonist realizes that her limitation is only up to how far her imagination, creativity, and ingenuity can take her. This book is, as advertised, "historical fantasy reimagining of the rise to power of Zhu Yuanzhang," and I was "so IN" with this! In summary, although She Who Became The Sun was a challenging read for me than some other retelling fantasy book I've encountered, I thoroughly enjoyed the retelling and characters. I admit that it wasn't a full-on fascinating read until 2/3rds of the way - but I believe this is just because of the reading gaps. Once I could continue for a more extended read, I enjoyed the journey better. I appreciate the author's writing style, storytelling, especially the portrayal of the characters as a whole - ambition, motivations, and turn of events at the end. The characters were deeply explored and made me think even after finishing the book. I commend the author for exploring many controversial topics that is current and relevant. This book will test the reader's boundaries on tradition and start breaking gender borders, questioning hierarchical patriarchy, and challenging archaic stereotyping. To avoid spoilers, I can say that the book will not have exact answers to readers at the end, aside from the obvious. It will resolve the premise of the book, but it's the "what comes next" for Ouyang and Zhu at the end that will make readers anticipate Book 2. PROS: resilience, patriotism, familial duties and responsibilities, self-determination, focused character development, world-building, and passion CONS: slower pace can seem documentary-like (good and bad in this), not a CON but saddened about the eradication of a lineage Tropes: historical retelling, strong protagonists, non-binary heroes, broken heroes

Such great characters, a great adventure beautifully written. Worth it.

Garbage.

About the author

Shelley Parker-Chan is an Asian-Australian former international development adviser who worked on human rights, gender equality and LGBTQ rights in Southeast Asia. Their debut historical fantasy novel She Who Became the Sun was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller and has been translated into 12 languages. Parker-Chan is a winner of the Astounding Award, and the British Fantasy Awards for Best Fantasy Novel and Best Newcomer. They have also been a finalist for the Lambda, Locus, Aurealis, Ditmar, and British Book Awards. They live in Melbourne, Australia.