Series Info/Source: This is the first book in The Radian Emperor Duology. I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley to review.

Story (5/5): This was very, very well done. I really enjoyed this epic historical novel and it was an intriguing look into an alternate Chinese history. I know a bit about this time period but really would have enjoyed an afterword talking about the true history. It's always intriguing to know how a book differs from historical fact and how much is more or less true. The description of this being a story of “Mulan” meets “The Song of Achilles” is very apt.

Characters (5/5): All of the characters that fill these pages are very complex. Zhu takes on her brother’s name and hopes that she will gain the prophecy of greatness that was supposed to be his (this is where the Mulan vibe comes from). We also read a lot from Ouyang’s POV; Ouyang is the eunuch general of the Mongol army. Zhu tried to temper her ambitions by surrounding herself with people who can make up for her lack of compassion. Ouyang is determined to get revenge for his family name even if it hurts the person he loves the most. These characters are selfish and self-serving, but also incredibly driven and they have people in their lives that greatly influence them.

Setting (5/5): The book starts out in the mid-1340’s in the Central Plains and follows only Zhu for the first part of the book, then moves to a monastery on the mountain side. From there we move more into Chinese politics and are switched between the headquarters of the Red Turban rebellion and the main palace of the Mongols. Settings are incredibly well described and really come alive for the reader. I enjoyed the variety of locations as well.

Writing Style (5/5): This was incredibly easy to read and very hard to put down. The writing flows well and, even though a lot of names are thrown at you early on, they aren’t too hard to keep track of. The first part of the book is from Zhu’s POV but then we switch to multiple POVs and hear a lot from Ouyang and Ma. This was very well written and I really enjoyed it a ton. My only complaint is that I would have really enjoyed a commentary on how this compares to the actual known history of the time (since most of my knowledge of this time in history comes from playing various Dynasty Warriors and Romance of the Three Kingdoms video games).

My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an amazing read. If you are at all interested in Chinese history or historical fiction, I would recommend this book. This does an excellent job of incorporating the history of the time into an entertaining story with complex characters and an engaging storyline. It’s impossible to put down and I can’t wait to see what the final book of this duology has in store for us.

Mulan retelling inspired by the song of achilles
I don't usually go for historical fantasy but oh my, I could not put this book down.
It's dark, gritty and terribly cruel in a way that disturbs yet entrances you
The characters are strong willed and all so fascinating

I feel really bad about not finishing an ARC, but I was so bored that I just could not get into this. I struggled with a lot of my recent ARCs and I just didn't have it in me to keep pushing myself to read. This was boring and the main character (Zhu) is supposed to be "Mulan" and I just did not get it myself. I thought a book trumpeted as Mulan with a "Son of Achilles" spin would be intriguing to read, but it really does not work.

"She Who Became the Sun" is the first in a planned series called "The Radiant Emperor". Taking place in the 1300s in China, the book follows a family with multiple children. However, the 8th brother is destined for greatness. Things change when the children are left orphaned and then the boy, dies. His sister takes his name (Zhu) and enters as a novice into a monastery.

So Zhu wasn't even enough of a Mary Sue for me to get worked up about the character. I read up to the 25 percent mark, and I still didn't see it. Maybe the later books will show that more. I just didn't think that the book was that creative in the end for me to continue with it. I get it, a young woman is hiding her identity. I just went ehhh for the parts that I read.

Also, the multiple POVs that I read through also made this book confusing. And since I was reading this in tandem with Wendig's newest book, I just could not put up with two books having so many POVs. It was just jarring and I couldn't get back into things.

The flow of the book up to the point I read was not working for me either. There were things happening either very fast or very slow.

I received an ARC of She Who Became the Sun from Macmillan-Tor/Forge in exchange for an honest review.

If this review were a car, I would equip it with sirens and flashing lights and then crash it into your social feeds like Vin Diesel in a Fast & Furious film. “Oh no!” you might say, spotting me wide-eyed and white-knuckled behind the wheel of this review. “Are you okay?” At which point I would stumble out of the metaphorical car, blood trickling down my face, and ask if you’ve heard about She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan.

“I’ve seen some buzz online,” you say, shrugging. You offer me a drink. “Have you read it?”

“Yes! It’s the best book of the year.”

“But the year isn’t over yet. Maybe you should hold off on hyperbolic proclamations until—”

“It’s the best book of the year!” I shriek, passionate but clearly delirious.

“Okay.” You gesture to a plush armchair; I sit down gratefully, sipping my drink. “Tell me why. The description says it’s like Mulan meets The Song of Achilles?”

“Yes and no. That’s not technically inaccurate, but I’d say it’s something closer to ‘The Poppy War as written by Frank Herbert with input from Steven Erikson.’”

“Oh?” You arch an eyebrow.

“Yeah! She Who Became the Sun reimagines the rise to power of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty in the 14th century—but in this version of the story, Zhu Chongba is a young woman who has taken the place of her deceased older brother and masquerades as a man, first as a monk and then as a military leader during a bloody rebellion against Mongol rule. Zhu brings to mind Rin from The Poppy War or Kvothe from The Name of the Wind; she is ruthless and hypercompetent, unwilling to tolerate anyone who impedes her ascension to greatness, which makes her sometimes (and with increasing frequency) unsympathetic but always compelling to witness. She is like, well, the sun—a force of nature, impossible to look at directly but equally impossible to ignore. The book exists wholly in her gravity.

“But Zhu is not the only celestial object in this sky of similes. The novel intersects the orbits of several other characters, the most prominent of which being Ouyang, a eunuch general for the Mongols who frequently comes into conflict with Zhu. He is the Joker to her Batman; although her enemy, she is drawn to him as a kindred spirit (we’re moving past the Batman metaphor now) in the liminal spaces of gender—not a man but not a woman either, an outcast and an outsider, uniquely equipped to see the world in ways that others cannot but also unable to fully be a part of that world. Ouyang is a rich and textured character, cruel and savage like Zhu yet imbued with so much humanity he’ll make your heart ache. I would describe them as yin and yang, but that comparison is built into the text of She Who Became the Sun; the book quite explicitly pushes back against it and arguably deconstructs it outright.”

“All right,” you say as I pause to take a drink. “I understand why you thought of The Poppy War. Why Frank Herbert?”

“The transparency of information. Zhu and Ouyang occupy the core of the novel, but it flits between several other characters, including Ma, a woman who becomes tangled up with Zhu, Esen, a Mongol who has spent many years campaigning with Ouyang, and Esen’s adopted brother, Wang Baoxiang. At no point was I uncertain as to the motivations of these characters—even when I was disappointed, exasperated, or frustrated by their actions, I always knew exactly why they did what they did and could understand what drove them to make those choices. Parker-Chan (wisely) trusts the conflict between the characters to push the story forward rather than relying on withheld information to generate tension. It’s the same type of storytelling Herbert used to great effect in Dune, and it works wonders here.

“When multiple POVs are in play, there is also always the risk of one (or more) being less interesting than the others; we’ve all read books in which we get to the perspective of That Character™ and feel a twinge of disappoint before trudging through their section. Not so here! I was genuinely thrilled to read about every character in this novel, and I can say with complete confidence that any one of them could have carried the story on their own. I would happily read an entire book from the perspective of Ma, or Esen, or Baoxiang—they are truly that engaging.”

“Makes sense! What about Erikson?”

“I bring up Erikson because of the writing, primarily in regard to Parker-Chan’s ability to establish a sense of place (something Erikson particularly excelled at in the early novels of The Malazan Book of the Fallen). There’s a real sense of weight to the physical environments in She Who Became the Sun; I always felt like I was fully present in the world of the story, and that’s important to me as a reader.

“The Erikson comparison also applies to the density of the text, which is packed to the gills with story. So much happens in every sentence. This is a book best savored slowly, absorbed rather than inhaled. Once I started reading, I don’t think I breathed until the end of the first chapter—it’s raw and relentless, almost a self-contained short story that functions as a prelude to the sweeping epic that follows. And it doesn’t stop there. The first quarter of She Who Became the Sun feels like the equivalent of an entire novel, and I’m exaggerating only slightly when I say that I’ve read entire series in which less happens than in this one book.” (This is the part where I surreptitiously side-eye The Wheel of Time.)

“I’m not sure that’s a positive,” you say. “The pacing might be too fast. Does it give the characters a chance to develop?”

“Yes! I was concerned about that too. The pacing is certainly unconventional, stretching some scenes out across pages and then breezing by seemingly major moments in a paragraph. But it works. Parker-Chan is concerned only with what is best for this story; if it’s important, it gets the time it needs. There is no filler in this book. It’s lean, it’s mean, and it has precisely zero interest in wasting your time—there are veteran authors who could learn a thing or two from She Who Became the Sun. This is a debut novel, by the way, a fact which I find mildly frightening.”

“This seems too good to be true. There must be something you didn’t like.”

“Okay, fine; it’s not perfect. The final chapter feels slightly rushed. There’s one relationship that develops and escalates a bit too quickly, especially given the culture in which it takes place and the characters involved. Apart from those, my only other complaint lies with the occasional clumsy sentence. Perhaps once every chapter or two I ran into a line in which I had difficulty deciphering who was speaking or which character was being referenced, and I was annoyed at having to pause and reread several times just to figure out what the sentence was actually saying. It’s a minor problem and I wouldn’t bring it up in almost any other review, but this book is so good I’m searching for nitpicks under a microscope (and since I read an ARC, I should point out that these lines may have been edited for clarity prior to publication). This novel has been polished to near-perfection. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I can’t find much to criticize.” I shrug.

“Wow! What else can you tell me?”

“Well, I could go on at length about how this book explores the nuances of gender, how it portrays culture and religion, and how the exceedingly light touch of its speculative fiction elements give it an enjoyably ambiguous flavor (I spent a significant portion of the novel convinced that it was historical fiction and didn’t even qualify as fantasy), but I believe those conversations are best saved for discussions amongst readers who have finished the book.”

“That sounds great! In that case, I’ll be sure to pick up a copy of She Who Became the Sun when it comes out on July 20th, 2021. I can’t wait to read it!”

“Fantastic,” I say, standing up. “I’ve got some other books to review, so I have to head out. Sorry for barging in like this—I normally knock or slide my reviews under the door, so I don’t know if you saw them, but Shelley Parker-Chan may have written the best debut novel I’ve ever read. She Who Became the Sun heralds the arrival of an astounding talent in the world of literature, and I wanted to make sure you knew about it.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” You indicate the dried blood which now crusts my face.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine.” I wave negligently as I get back in the car, then screech away down the street with the sirens screaming. I call back: “Hope you enjoy the book!”

“Huh,” you say.

A girl seen as nothing seeks greatness in this fantasy retelling of the founding of the Ming Dynasty in ancient China (previously under Mongol rule).

It is an extraordinary read, showing one born the lowest of the low, who yet rises to win the Mandate of Heaven.

The first thing to say about this book is that the writing is absolutely beautiful - I had to stop a fair few times to admire the way different sections were written.
I really enjoyed the first part of the book with the mc’s childhood and time at the monastery, and thought it set up the story well. My only criticism is in part 2, which got confusing with the shifting POV, meaning I didn’t really understand the plot until the end. As soon as it clicked, though, the story was incredible.
The ending of this book was particularly good, using clever character development with a morally grey mc letting us down rather than becoming ‘good’.
This book is a tough read, but so so worth it. I would definitely recommend it.

It's only as I write this that I realize that I am a complete idiot and the title of this book, She Who Became The Sun by Parker-Chan, is the mother of all puns. It’s about a woman who rose to fame and fortune by shining brighter than the sun, by pretending to be the son in her family. Apparently, I am super dense. This book was billed to me as a Disney’s Mulan retelling, but it's actually much more closely related to the original Chinese fable. The only thing it really shares with the Disney version is it features a female protagonist that hides her gender to blend into a man’s world. It's less fun training montages and more doing anything possible to crawl out of abject poverty.

She Who Became The Sun is about fate. Early in the story, we meet a sad daughter of a poor family. She is given a fortune that she will be nothing, while her brother Chongba is fated to have a grand destiny. When Chongba and the rest of the family are struck down, the daughter believes that if she assumes Chongba’s identity, she can steal his fate. As long as she doesn’t get discovered, she can trick the gods and claw her way up from nothing to greatness.

She Who Became the Sun is a very strong debut, one of the best Dark Horses I have reviewed in my years on this site. It’s got beautiful poetic prose, a wonderful blending of classic Chinese and modern epic fantasy storytelling, a great cast, and an engrossing plot that keeps the reader heavily invested. Parker-Chan does a wonderful job blending history with fiction as they cover Zhu Yuanzhang’s ascent to power and the rise of the Ming Dynasty in 14th century China. It has deep and complex characters as well as some of the best political machinations I have read this year. Chongba is always trading up, stabbing his/her way to the top, and seizing every opportunity to advance their destiny while balancing on a knife-edge between success and ruin. Chongba is constantly switching sides, double-crossing people, and clawing their way ever upwards.

All of this is coupled with a layer of magical mystery that expands the worldbuilding beyond just a piece of historical fiction. The story is also helped by the supporting cast all being likable and memorable. Every person Chongba discards on their way to their fate is someone you care about and it paints them as this morally grey character that you both love and hate. The prose is super dense, but also poetic. It paints a vibrant picture of a war-torn period and pairs nicely with the grim and awful world that it is describing. 

The major theme of the book is self-reflection and self-realization, a topic that is wonderfully examined through Chongba’s messy identity and the surrounding supporting cast. There are conversations around personal identity, familial identity, gender identity, and societal identity. To top it all off there are actually some pretty good action sequences.

The one drawback of She Who Became the Sun is the pacing, which can be erratic. Some sections feel super exciting and fast while others are a very slow burn. Couple this with the fact that the prose is dense as concrete and you get some sections that really can drag. However, they are few and far between and an easy issue to overlook with all the great other things the book has to offer.

If you are looking for a Chinese-inspired fantasy, She Who Became the Sun has been my favorite so far. It feels distinctly culturally different from everything else I have read lately, yet not so foreign to me that I struggled to understand the context. The prose was beautiful, the themes were meaningful, and watching the character arcs was extremely satisfying. To top it all off, the plot was great and ended on a cliffhanger. Now I am just sitting here impatiently waiting for the next book. Go check this one out.

Rating: She Who Became the Sun  8.5/10
-Andrew

This book has been extremely hyped since news of it began circulating a few months ago. Comparisons to “Mulan” and “Song of Achilles” only helped a plot that sounded dark, tragic, and full of explorations into the themes such as personhood and the tragedies of war. I don’t have a ton of knowledge of about the real historical period of time and place being referenced (1300s China), but that was just another appeal of the book. And for once, the hype seems pretty well-founded!

Zhu’s fate is one of nothing. Neither tragic nor heroic, her life is predicted to fade from thought almost as soon as it arrives. Perhaps, for an impoverished family, this fate is not so extraordinary. However, her brother’s destiny of greatness very much is. After tragedy strikes, Zhu’s own prediction comes true as she sheds her identity, leaving it behind like so much nothing, and takes up the mantle of her deceased brother. Is this truly what fate had in mind? Can she rise to the greatness that had been assigned to another identity? Or has she simply become who she was always meant to be.

I really enjoyed this book. I’m always in for books that are compared to “Mulan” and, while I haven’t read “Song of Achilles” I know that it’s well-regarded. However, now having read this book, I’d say that a better marketing campaign would have directed readers to “The Poppy War” as the best comparison. Many of the themes are similar, and the dark, grim tone of a war-focused novel is very much the same in each of these books. Like “The Poppy War,” “She Who Became the Sun” doesn’t shy away from the bleak and challenging aspects of war. Many “Mulan” stories are so focused on the heroism of the main character, that war itself fades into the background, almost only a stagnant tool used to elevate the hero into her role. Not so here. Instead, greatness is shown to be perhaps its own burden, not any easier to carry than the nothingness that Zhu left behind.

The writing was incredibly strong, and I particularly enjoyed the well-blended mix of historical China with the fantastical elements. The story also managed to not get lost under its action-packed plot, instead giving ample time to exploring its themes of identity. Zhu’ own journey of self-exploration and acceptance is very powerful. The story doesn’t simply whip out the well-trodden lines, but instead dives into a very nuanced discussion, subtly exploring the many angles involved.

It wasn’t a perfect read, however. The book starts out with only Zhu’s POV and is very much a coming-of-age story. I really enjoyed this portion of the book, which perhaps is why I found it hard to readjust halfway through when the story suddenly expands outwards and adds in other POV characters. It was definitely a gutsy call on the author’s part, as it must has been suspected that readers would be fairly invested in Zhu by that point in the story and might struggle becoming attached to others later in the game. Luckily, the writing is strong enough to largely pull it off. But I did find myself thrown out of the book for a bit and needed some extra time to re-establish myself. This, then, threw off the pacing of the story as well, overall.

I really liked this book. The writing was confident and lyrical, truly impressive from a debut author. The themes were also well-explored and Zhu was a fantastic main character. I was a bit put-off by the sudden switch from one POV to two, but I think it ultimately did help create a more nuanced look at the overall conflict.

Rating 8: While “Mulan” is an adequate comparison, I think this is a better read-alike for fans of “The Poppy War” who are looking for a darker war-focused story.

This is a story of power, desire, identity, and the things people do to reach the fates they are bound for. It’s stunning, it’s beautiful, it’s lyrical and violent and radiant and I loved it so much. Zhu is such a fierce character and I loved her journey, both internal and external, so much as she grew into herself and into something great. Ouyang was the perfect foil to her, his own journey setting him on a path of revenge. She Who Became the Sun is just so good on so many levels. Its commentary on gender and identity were also breathtakingly brilliant and the queer themes subtlety woven throughout the book are incredible. I was honestly so impressed with this story. I highly recommend!

This is more of a historical fiction, which is fine, but then it shouldn’t be classified as a fantasy as well. because I had to DNF as I lost interest in the story, the coming of age story in the beginning was really great though but I expected a little more fantasy and I struggled to connect with the characters in this historical time period.

My thanks to the publisher for granting me advanced access through Netgalley.

I absolutely loved every second of this read. Zhu is the type of character I love reading about. Clearly a hero, though she is fueled by an internal desire rather than a wish to do right by others. She is a survivor and she knows what she wants. I kept rooting for her throughout even though her actions at times were definitely morally grey and turned more and more questionable throughout. On the whole she is just a real character. Someone shaped by her early experience, someone with real desires and passions but also full of flaws and weaknesses.
I loved the exploration of gender that was presented in this book. A lot of this exploration is done in Zhu's character arc. We never learn the name that Zhu was given at birth, as she rejects the faith of that young girl that she was born as. Instead she passes through life using her brother's name: Zhu ChongDa. She strives to think and act like him as much as possible in order to cheat the fate that the gods had bestowed on her. As a result, we see her struggling with her gender identity, as she fears her old self taking control. She walks the line between her masculine and feminine self, struggling to find her real true self.
However, Zhu is not the only character through which we will explore gender. And gender isn't the only theme filled with complexity and nuanced. Most of the characters have conflicting loyalties, wants, needs,...
Aside from the intricacies of the plot, I also greatly enjoyed the level of intricacy in the portrayal of mongol and chinese culture. I also greatly appreciated the balance between explaining some cultural elements and leaving others unexplained.


My only quelm just has to do with the fact that I know some Mandarin Chinese and always want english books to add the sign for the tone on the names so I know how to pronounce them :p or give the chinese characters. I know the ones for the last names and can imagine some of the first names as well. But I want more :)

She Who Became the Sun was everything I could have wanted and more. Set in 14th-century China, this story follows an excellent cast of characters who captivated me from the first page. They were morally grey and complex, and I loved that I couldn’t always guess what actions they would take. The character relationships were also spot-on. For example, the romantic sub-plots never overshadowed the main story but were still something I thoroughly enjoyed.

The writing was also fantastic. It was incredibly atmospheric, and the descriptions were so vivid that I could picture all the scenes clearly and could get fully immersed in the story. The pace was quite slow in parts, which may not work for everyone, but personally I loved how this story slowly unfolded and built, and how the separate plotlines gradually intertwined with each other. I also enjoyed exploring the magic system, which was quite subtle, but definitely added another dimension to an already remarkable read.

Overall, I loved this book and I cannot wait to read what the author brings out next!

Content Warnings: misogyny, drought and starvation, death of loved ones, violence, war, mention of castration, burning, execution (mentioned but not shown in detail), plague, vomiting, explosion, detailed description of injury, consensual sex, mutilation, animal death, poisoning, betrayal

This is going to be an incredibly hard book review to write because I’m not sure I’m up to the task of reducing this sweeping, incredibly complex, yet all-consuming tale into a mere thousand words. But I’ll try my best.

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

This quote from the blurb is where this story starts, with a young girl having grown up in a small village and known only hunger and desperation. She also knows she holds no value to her father and that her brother is who he has placed all his hopes into. Especially after the village fortune-teller announces that he, Zhu Chongba, will live a life of extreme greatness, and she will become nothing. So when bandits raid their home and kill her father and her brother dies in despair, she decides to seize his name and future for herself.

And then Zhu Chongba begins a journey that will take her from desperation onto a stern monastery, and eventually becoming a military leader in a group of resistance fighters against the Mongol rule and the great Khan. Zhu will learn about herself and just how far she will go in her ambition to reach the pinnacles of power.

There is so much depth to the world and character building that I couldn’t look away and didn’t want to put this book down even for a minute, although I did have to eat and go to work. I feel like I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there is a lot of content that might be triggering to some people: scenes of war, torture, gore, starvation, and depression. It’s an incredibly heavy and dark read, but there are moments of light and so many deeply thought-provoking scenes.

This story is actually told from more than one POV. While Zhu is the main protagonist, there is also another character whose backstory and stoic, yet heartbreaking decisions about his future play a perfect foil for Zhu’s ambition. They are like two sides of the same coin, on opposite sides of the war, natural enemies and as the main conflict drew closer and closer I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation for what was to come. I was not disappointed.

She Who Became the Sun is a compelling, character-driven story about believing in your greatness and seizing your destiny in a society that doesn’t see your worth. There are frank discussions of gender identity and gender roles, moments of inner turmoil justifying the lengths one will go in order to get what they want, and so many twists and turns I couldn’t even begin to explain the overall plot. Just know that this book is beautifully crafted, intensely emotional, and I look forward to seeing where this series goes next,

Final grade- A

A fortune teller once gave two siblings very different fortunes: the son was destined for greatness and the daughter was destined for … nothingness. However, when a bandit attack leaves both their father and the son dead, his sister steals his name—Zhu Chongba—along with his fate.

She then flees to a monastery and trains to become a monk. Years pass and as a rebel group rises against the Mongol empire, Zhu must use her wit (and either a pinch of luck or Heaven’s divine blessing) to overcome insurmountable odds. She must decide what lengths she’s filling to go to and what sacrifices she’s willing to make to fulfill her stolen destiny.

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan is a gripping fantasy reimagining of the founder of the Ming Dynasty’s rise to power—pitched as Mulan meets Song of Achilles. I’m not so sure about the Song of Achilles comparison, but The Poppy War comes more to mind to me.

Brace yourself. This story is a brutal one, filled with backstabbing, betrayal, and heartbreak. The characters here are complex and mostly morally grey. I even found it hard to figure out who to root for in parts because, from part two onwards, the story is told from alternating perspectives—including the enemy’s general: Ouyang.

All in all, this is a stunning debut. Parker-Chan paints a richly-layered world and well-written characters, and I cannot recommend this book enough if you’re looking to sink into a good historical fantasy filled with conniving political machinations and evocative prose.

I enjoyed this book which is about two children with two fates where the boy is destined to greatness but the girl isn't though when Zhu dies, the girl decides to take his name and greatness. I really enjoyed this reimagining of the Ming Dynasty's emperor rising. Usually, I'm not a huge fan of historical books like seeing the year was 1345 but I had to pick this book up when I heard it was perfect for fans of Mulan and had a queer character! This book was well written and I loved how the story flowed perfectly from the starting to the finish but I have to say that pacing was a little slow in my opinion. There was a lot of world-building in this book but I had a lot of problems getting into the heavy war descriptions and political movements. I felt those parts weren't for me. For the character part of the writing, I thought it was unique to see how the first half of the book was mostly about Zhu's story in her PoV and then the second half was in multiple PoVs.

I enjoyed Zhu's character in this book who is brave, cunning, and would do anything to get what she wants. She is the morally grey character you will fall in love with and kind of reminded me of the main character from Nevernight whenever someone would be telling me about her. Also, Zhu had amazing character development in this book along with the side characters. And for the side characters, I love how they were very involved in the story and how their povs got involved in the second part of the book. It was nice to see the side characters being involved in a different way in the book. For my romance lovers, in this book, there is forbidden romance which is one of my favorite tropes.

The ending was well done with this book and after finishing the book, I can see why the hype was huge for this book. It's totally worth the read. I just loved how this book was a compelling coming-of-age novel with some amazing jaw-dropping movements. I'm super excited to read the next book and will most likely read this one again just to familiarize myself more with the world. There were some problems with the book like the pacing and the world but overall this book is totally worth the read. This book is perfect for fans of The Poppy Wars and Mulan.I enjoyed this book which is about two children with two fates where the boy is destined to greatness but the girl isn't though when Zhu dies, the girl decides to take his name and greatness. I really enjoyed this reimagining of the Ming Dynasty's emperor rising. Usually, I'm not a huge fan of historical books like seeing the year was 1345 but I had to pick this book up when I heard it was perfect for fans of Mulan and had a queer character! This book was well written and I loved how the story flowed perfectly from the starting to the finish but I have to say that pacing was a little slow in my opinion. There was a lot of world-building in this book but I had a lot of problems getting into the heavy war descriptions and political movements. I felt those parts weren't for me. For the character part of the writing, I thought it was unique to see how the first half of the book was mostly about Zhu's story in her PoV and then the second half was in multiple PoVs.

I enjoyed Zhu's character in this book who is brave, cunning, and would do anything to get what she wants. She is the morally grey character you will fall in love with and kind of reminded me of the main character from Nevernight whenever someone would be telling me about her. Also, Zhu had amazing character development in this book along with the side characters. And for the side characters, I love how they were very involved in the story and how their povs got involved in the second part of the book. It was nice to see the side characters being involved in a different way in the book. For my romance lovers, in this book, there is forbidden romance which is one of my favorite tropes.

The ending was well done with this book and after finishing the book, I can see why the hype was huge for this book. It's totally worth the read. I just loved how this book was a compelling coming-of-age novel with some amazing jaw-dropping movements. I'm super excited to read the next book and will most likely read this one again just to familiarize myself more with the world. There were some problems with the book like the pacing and the world but overall this book is totally worth the read. This book is perfect for fans of The Poppy Wars and Mulan.

Holllly smokes, the way this book ends has left me just gobsmacked and unsure what to do with my life now!

I had been hearing about She Who Became the Sun as both part of the golden sapphic trifecta and because it’s Mulan crossed with Song of Achilles, and I needed this book in my life. This book? Superseded all my expectations!!

I think the thing I most appreciated is Zhu’s journey with their identity, particularly around gender. In an effort to escape their nothing fate, when their brother Zhu Chongba dies they decide to “steal” his fate of greatness by taking his identity. They spend years doing everything to be Chongba so Heaven won’t look upon them and see the lie. There is a point, though, where Zhu says they are not a woman, but nor are they Chongba, so what are they, and that really resonated for me as a nonbinary person. There’s also lots of cultural elements at play for Zhu that influence how they express and view themself, and I really loved seeing that develop.

I adore how nobody in this entire book is really a “good” person and all the ways ambition can manifest. Like, this is a book of people making choices to further their goals and ambitions, even at the expense of others. Zhu is constantly working towards their fate of Greatness, and Ouyang is working towards his vengeance for the way his family was killed and he was “cut.” (Using euphemistic language here.) The way these two people are inextricably linked is so nuanced and complicated, and I adore that exploration of “like” while in other ways these two are so vastly different.

The best person is probably Ma Xiuying, but even she is making hard choices that are going to have major ripple effects - and I cannot wait to see what’s next for all these characters! But Ma, she tries to be good and right and she has so much empathy and care. I love how her strength expresses itself, especially in contrast with Zhu.

I was not familiar with the Yuan dynasty and the lead up to Ming dynasty, which is when this book takes place, and have since done some (minimal) googling to get a better idea of the actual figures and history, and the way Parker-Chan has developed that historical period into this epic fantasy, it’s wonderful. I really am at a loss for what to say about this book except it is excellent and everyone who loves historical fantasy needs to be jumping on this story ASAP!

This was such a satisfying read. The characters are so clearly defined and the story is so brilliantly constructed. A pure joy to read something so utterly good. I wish I had time to read it all over again. This book is perfect for fantasy or historical fiction readers.

My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for an advanced copy of this new fantasy novel.

In the new fantasy/historical novel She Who Became the Sun, Shelley Parker-Chan has created a sort of fantasy sort of historical novel, with real people from history mixing with her fictional characters in a China before the rise of the Ming Dynasty. The overall theme is not ruling nor power but survival, which all the characters try do, acting less black and white and more a grey, no matter the cost.

The story is told by focusing on four characters, who like I stated have their own reasons for their actions. Our lead character is not named, taking on the identity of her brother who dies early in the book, a boy who was promised that great things would come too. Great things did not, so the sister, who was always more able becomes someone else, and flees her village where nothing is left for her, nor to remember her.

The writing can be somewhat removed, but I think that could be because of the multiple POV's for the characters, and the sprawling storyline, but I found it very fun, well brutality aside, and interesting, with a lot of looking things up to see their place in history. Another theme are gender issues, which was intriguing, but I personally do not know enough about the subject matter so as not to hurt people with my lack of knowledge, or just write something stupid and obviously wrong.

A big saga, full of lots of plot, betrayals, characters, and intrigue. I really enjoyed this and can't wait to read the rest of the series.

Boldly ambitious and exquisitely crafted—this masterpiece of a book was every bit as lyrical and brutal and ripe with yearning as I hoped, and will no doubt stay with me for a long, long time.

In the waning days of the Yuan Empire, a girl whose original name we never learn takes her dead brother’s name and marches away from her famine-stricken village to claim her brother’s great fate, too. Using that starting point and a lot of real history, Shelley Parker-Chan weaves a story about the rise of the Ming Dynasty and the fall of Mongol rule in China in She Who Will Become the Sun. There are battles, miracles, lots of betrayals, and even more determination to rule whatever is left after the Mongols are driven back north.

Our protagonist is one of millions of peasants in rural China when bad luck kills her father and brother, her last surviving relatives. Before their deaths, the father took his son, Zhu Chongba, to a fortune-teller. The fortune-teller reveals that Zhu Chongba’s fate is to be great (no other details are provided). Our protagonist sneaks in a question about her own fate; he tells her that her fate is to be nothing. It’s little wonder that our protagonist—who has been doing her best to not starve to death—takes her brother’s name and heads off to one of the few places that has food: a monastery. Taking her brother’s name isn’t enough for Zhu (as she’s called for the rest of the book) to get into the monastery. She also has to hide her gender. Zhu ends up suppressing her female body and habits so much that she fools everyone.

Zhu has many good years at the monastery until a Yuan general shows up and burns it to the ground, in revenge for an insult delivered years ago. This general becomes Zhu’s sinister shadow for the rest of the book. General Ouyang is also masquerading as a man except, in his case, he’s doing his best to living up to the expectations of Mongol manhood after being forcibly castrated as a teenager. After Zhu winds up in the middle of the Red Turban army and a miracle occurs that makes it look like she’s divinely blessed, Ouyang is usually the one on the other side of the battlefield from her. Both of them want big things—so most of the plot revolves around both of them scheming among their supposed allies at the same time that they keep facing off against one another. This book was so much fun to read!

I didn’t know about the history when I started reading She Who Will Become the Sun. In fact, I didn’t know that this book was based on history until some names started to ping loose scraps of knowledge tucked away in my brain from something else I read. A little Googling and a little reading on Wikipedia taught me that Parker-Chan wrote her story in the gaps about what we know about the last decade or so of the Yuan dynasty’s rule. By the end of the book, I was in love with the story. Too bad I have to wait for the next installments to see how the author spins the facts into her absolutely gripping fiction.