This might be my favorite book of the year so far!

Billed as "Mulan meets Song of Achilles," this is a fantastical, queer reimagining of the Zhu Chongba, who rose from poor peasant to first emperor of the Ming dynasty in the 14th century. In this version, Zhu Congba is actually a peasant girl. A fortune teller portends great things for her brother Zhu Chongba and nothing for her. When her brother dies, she adopts his identity in a desperate attempt to escape her fate.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I first opened the book, and I was instantly captivated. The world-building is phenomenal— the descriptions of Zhu's hunger at a time of famine felt so real. Character motivations are organically complex. The relationships between characters are exquisite, especially those between Zho and the eunuch general Ouyang as well as Ouyang and the Mongolian prince Esen. I was worried when the POV switched to Ouyang in the second part of the novel, but it added extra depth. Highly recommended.

4.75/5

"As long as I keep moving towards my great fate and keep doing what I need to do, one day I'll have it"

Brief synopsis:
In a famine-stricken village, two children are given two fates. A boy the destiny of greatness. A girl fated for nothingness. When a bandit attack orphans the two children, it is Zhu Chongba (the boy) 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.

Thoughts:
I loved this debut book by Shelley Parker-Chan. It reminded me so much of historical chinese dramas that I get obsessed with since I was a kid. It had the formula for greatness! She Who Became the Sun is a queer historical reimagining of the founding of the Ming Dynasty in 1368. I'm glad that I didnt know much about the historical event as reading through this first book in the duology gave me some surprises. I would highly recommend going into this book ignorant of the historical significance.

I need to also mention how well this book did in the english translations of chinese proverbs and curses, and the embodiment of the superstitions which is so true to the chinese culture. Such as the belief of doing good in this lifetime will grant a better life in the next; the not eating food offered up to the ancestors or for prayers; and the belief that each person has a pre-destined fate. All of these elements made this book so amazing and believable. Again historical chinese drama in book form!

This book delivers so much. There is a strong sense of gender and identify issues, the fates and destinies, with political back stabbings, war, enemies, desire, love, duty and betrayal. It was written so well and fast paced. I almost feel that this book could have been even longer to flesh out some more of the events.

She who became the Sun has its been promoted as a Mulan meets Achilles which may be a bit misleading. Whilst I havent read Achilles yet, the only likelihood to Mulan is that the main protagonist is a female dressed as a male and gets entangled in the war efforts. The character of Zhu Chongba is very different to Mulan.

Whilst we follow Zhu's POV through part one, part 2 and 3 followings multiple POVs including those of the Mongolian troops which added so much more depth to the storyline. My favorite character is the haunted eunuch general Ouyang, his story is gut wrenching and tragic. I had no problems transitioning from the one to multiple POV as it made so much sense.

I loved it. So much. I cant wait for the second book to see where Zhu's destiny will now take her.
Everyone needs to read this book!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Tor Books / publishers for an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

**Full review to be added to Goodreads, NetGalley, and Amazon upon publication!**

She Who Became the Sun is a stunning new epic fantasy inspired by Chinese history that is the start of a promising new trilogy. I was so impressed by the story that Parker-Chan was able to create and the many characters they created. I will admit that it took me a while to really get into the story and there were a few moments that I found myself feeling a bit lost, but in the end I finally found myself captivated and desperate to keep turning those pages and find out what would happen. The characters were so fascinating to explore and follow along on their unique journeys and I loved the world-building as well. I look forward to more from Shelley Parker-Chan!

A stunning, dazzling debut that reimagines the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu defies everything the world would pit against her, first defying her fate and then redefining it to be what she wants through sheer force of will. Pitted against her is the eunuch general Ouyang, who, like Zhu, has had his own destiny controlled by others. Intricately crafted, epic in scale and scope, and still with intimate meditations on identity, fate, and will.

“Nobody will ever end me. I’ll be so great that no one will be able to touch me, or come near me, for fear of becoming nothing.”

She Who Became the Sun is one of the most highly anticipated fantasy releases in 2021, so I was incredibly excited when I received an e-arc of this book. This book has received mostly glowing praises and is being marketed as: “Mulan meets The Song of Achilles”, which sounds fantastic! So does this book live up to the hype? Let’s talk about it.

She Who Became the Sun is the first book in the Radiant Emperor duology and is inspired by the Ming Dynasty. This story starts in 1345, in a village struck by severe famine, where a father and two siblings struggle to survive. According to a foretelling, the brother, Zhu Chongba, has a great future ahead of him, while the sister has no future. However, when the village is attacked by bandits, the brother, Zhu Chongba, dies of despair, leaving the sister all alone. The girl’s determination to survive and overcome her destiny decides to steal her brother name, Zhu Chongba, in an attempt to steal her brother’s fate.

The main character, Zhu Chongba, is a fascinating character with an immense determination to survive. The introduction to Zhu Chongba is fantastic, making readers invested in her storyline from the first chapter. Zhu Congba resilience and spirit will inspire readers, as she repeatedly faces impossible odds. This book also follows three other characters, Ma, Esen, and Ouyang, all with complex motivations and backgrounds. Although I enjoyed following Zhu the most, all the other characters are incredibly fascinating.

One of the best aspects of this book are the themes. Shelley Parker-Chan masterfully challenges the notion of gender, gender roles and sexuality through the character Zhu, demonstrating the complexity of human nature. Who would have thought that you could have a thought-provoking discussion about gender identity and sexual orientation in a fantasy book set in 1345, China? Moreover, the themes of defying fate, survival and power are handled incredibly well.

I was surprised by the lack of ‘fantastical elements’. She Who Became the Sun reads like historical fiction, with very minor supernatural elements. Yes, this is a historical fantasy, but I wonder if marketing this book as ‘fantasy’ might disappoint readers. Since this is marketed as a historical fantasy, I was hoping to see some kind of magic system or supernatural beings being more prevalent in this book. However, not having any of these elements did disappoint me a bit.

Moreover, I thought the transition between part 1 and 2 could have been handled better. Part 1 is very much focused on Zhu, while Part 2 suddenly switches POVs and location. While the overall story improved by having a wider cast, this sudden change confused me a bit. Moreover, there were a bit too many ‘information dumps’ in part 2. However, the plot does pick up in part 3, so I will encourage readers to keep going!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I have no doubt that this book will be successful!

4 / 5 stars

Thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

» 4.5 stars

Zhu Chongba was left alone by her father after the bandits attacked her village, but she was the only one who survived the attack, taking this as a signal from the heaven she took on the identity of a person who she never was, but from on will be. Zhu Chongba destined for greatness. General Ouyang had seen his family get killed and erased out of existence, he lived and breathed for a single purpose, revenge. These two are my favourite characters out of the story, they have so much complex emotions, so many layers in their characters, the moment you think you've figured them out, you get to see another layer of them, it was unpredictable and kept me on the edge for the entirety of the story. There is magic too but not like the whole world governing, it plays a small yet very important part in the story. Rather than magic I should say it's fate that plays a very important role in the story.

Zhu is not your pure, happy, righteous protagonist that you're used to in every book. She is not a saint, she will not save the world on the cost of risking her life. She will use her connections and people to achieve her goal, no matter what the stakes are. She is cunning, ambitious, and a fighter against her predestined fate. She will keep working for the top until she reaches a position where only heaven is above her. She is not scared of betraying people, all that matters to her is she does not wants to end as nothing. She is working so that even after ten thousand years, people remember her name. I repeat she is a grey character, neither white nor black, believable and real.

The book is brutal and blood soaked, there is no kind covering of words or sugar coating, it's raw and real. This book is not a young adult fantasy/fiction, it's an adult book and that means, there are adult themes like gore, blood, war, violence, war. It kept me screaming inside until the edge and I'm definitely going into a book hangover, y'all I'm not going to get over this book soon. She Who Became The Sun will definitely going to stay with you for a long time.

Thank you NetGalley and to Macmillan-TOR/Forge for the e-arc.

One of the most powerful reads I’ve had for 2021. It was a fascinating journey that mirror’s China’s history under the Mongolian rule. The constant plotting and scheming to advance into the political ladder and gain more power was prevalent throughout. It depicts the wickedness and greediness of a human heart and the lengths to which a person is willing to go in order to fulfill or change his/her destiny. Also, this book significantly highlights gender flexibility and women's empowerment. Zhu Chongba, the primary character, is the epitome of a strong-willed and gender-fluid figure. From being an orphan, she rose to being a learned monk, to a level headed commander and to the influential person she currently is. She empowers not only marginalized women but also men. She had rouse people’s longings and enabled them to take actions towards it. Ultimately, she had moved heaven and earth to pursue her goals and was favored to see her heart’s desires materialized.

TL;DR: Super compelling historical-fantasy about two complicated AF genderqueer military commanders fated to play important roles on opposite sides of the peasant uprising that toppled the Yuan dynasty and Mongol rule of China. My rating: 5 of 5 stars

She Who Became the Sun has been at the tippy top of my most anticipated list since I heard about it. A child of the 90s, I loved the Disney adaptation of Mulan, and combined with a love of history, queer and POC authors, and fantasy, the description of this book just simply spoke to me. And I was not disappointed.

The story is told largely told through alternating POV of two genderqueer characters: Zhu, an assigned female at birth (AFAB) peasant-turned-monk-turned-military commander who largely identifies as male and Ouyang, an assigned male at birth (AMAB) general in the Yuan dynasty army who was made a eunuch as a child in punishment for his executed family’s traitorous deeds against the royal family he now serves. While they fight on opposite political and military sides, these protagonists have much in common. Both transcend the gender binary, Zhu by choice and Ouyang through trauma, and grapple with the restrictions that gender nonconformity and femininity imply in the historical-fantastical moment of this setting. Fair warning, the pronouns for Zhu can get a tad confusing as some characters use he/him and others she/her, but honestly, I kinda loved it even when I was briefly confused.

The character development in this book is superb. Zhu is a complicated hero. They are ambitious, perhaps to a flaw. They are calculating and occasionally callous. They prioritize power over love.

Alternating POV narratives can sometimes give short shrift to supporting characters, but Parker-Chan avoids this by weaving shorter sections from the POV of other characters in Zhu and Ouyang’s lives into their respective chapters. Love interests and political rivals have just as much depth and character development as the two protagonists. In particular, I thought the romance between Zhu and Ma was exceptionally well done. When they first meet Ma is engaged to one of Zhu’s rivals and captures Zhu’s attention through her kindness and compassion. Their relationship is unrushed and never feels inevitable. There is also a very sexy sex scene that I enjoyed both for the prose and the inclusion of fisting. Popular media is awash in depictions of heterosexual PIV sex, so I was glad of the representation of non-normative sexual expression (and admittedly the opportunity to grapple with some of my own squeemishness about it).

Thematically, this book is all about fate. Zhu is supposed to die of starvation during a famine that claims her family’s lives. She is supposed to die so that her brother can live and claim his fate--greatness. But Zhu’s will proves stronger and she claims her brother’s name and his foretold fate. Zhu is careful, even in their most private thoughts, to conceal their true identity from fate, lest it be stripped away. At every turn, Zhu looks for opportunities to plot and maneuver not just to ensure their survival, but to inch ever closer to greatness. Zhu and Ouyang’s stories raise many questions about fate--is it inevitable or do you have to actively pursue it? Is it innate to an individual or can it be stolen or transferred? Why pursue a fate certain to end in harm or disaster? Get ready to feel challenged by these questions and these characters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for giving me advance access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is simply a masterpiece.

Tragedy came in the form of Bandits. The girl (the only name she goes by at this point) was soon completely alone after the murder of her father and the death of her brother. Soon after burying their bodies she learns that she can see ghosts. Taking on her brothers name, Zhu Chongba, she travels to a monastery and begs admittance. This is her final hope for survival and it is also where her true story begins.

This story is so meaningful for various reasons: gender dysphoria, feelings of not belonging, complex characters, and dark and brutal themes of war.

I highly recommend this read and I don't think I'll ever forget these characters or this harrowing tale.

When I read “Mulan meets The Song of Achilles,” I thought that was an intriguing way to sell a book, combining two works I devastatingly adore. However, the comparison feels a little too overstated for me, especially on The Song of Achilles front, because the romance in She Who Became the Sun doesn’t have the power either the same impact.

I think the prime aspect I need to mention is how much I thought of The Poppy War while reading this book. From the early pages, it popped into my mind, and at first, I thought I should try to let it go and just absorb the story, but it only got worse and worse. There were characters with the same name, and from 70% on there were certain events that were way too similar to The Poppy War. This bothered me immensely, and alongside so many aspects that were bothering me about the book they made what could’ve been maybe a passable 3-star rating book became a 2-star.

We follow the journey of Zhu, who despite not being destined for greatness, strives for it all costs. I found her characterization to be weak. I feel like I don’t actually know her, and that she becomes repetitive after a certain point. Also, I don’t really feel that her ambition or personality is that shaped up and strong, she just feels like…. A less impressive version of Rin (The Poppy War’s protagonist). We keep hearing how great she is and how power-hungry she is but I just don’t see her acting that way, I don’t see her doing impressive things, or having satisfactory growth and development. She seems like a shell. So many of her problems are solved quickly and in a too easy manner and that got wearisome after a while. As a reader, it is frustrating to read a statement over and over on the page but not actually see the character to be and act like it.

This book is a historical fantasy, but both aspects for me felt underdeveloped. I note that the author has done good research on the historical aspects to write the book, but she just hasn’t been able to convey all the necessary information understandably. I found myself confused multiple times, to the point that I went to google to search for a few pieces of information about the Ming dynasty, which made me realize that Zhu is inspired by Zhu Yuanzhang (and that’s cool!). The overall aesthetic of the period of time is beautiful, but if the setting isn’t thoroughly explained then what’s the point. The fantasy is just a little pinch in the book, and honestly, I think it would have done better without it. If you’re not gonna bother to shape up the fantasy in the world you’re creating why add that at all? Also again inevitable comparisons to The Poppy War.

The point of view switches between multiple characters but I feel like that also worked against the novel. The first part, my favorite one, was entirely narrated by Zhu, and from the second part, other POV’s were added. I couldn’t connect with any character or care deeply about any of them. There was excessive use of “telling” instead of “showing” and that annoyed me a lot. Also, these transitions between POV’s felt too abrupt, and the novel had a seem of being too chopped up. I think that if the novel had been narrated only by Zhu (and perhaps Ma) it would’ve worked so much better in creating more solid characters. In addition, Ouyang’s chapters were tiresome for me.

The gender and sexuality aspects discussed in the book, however, was probably my favorite point about it and the one that was done best.

The pacing was terrible, whole chapters seemed to drag where nothing happened and the battles or action parts were too scattered and poorly described to the point I caught myself trying too hard to picture something reading it over and over again. The writing in this book just really wasn’t for me. You rarely see the battles, you’re just told of their outcomes afterward. There are a lot of elements of the worldbuilding and plot that were taken for granted and not explained.

I kept expecting it to be either a lyrical overjoy (again The Song of Achilles comparison) or an incredible dive in deep into the character’s minds and feels but I felt nothing. It was fairly easy to read, even though the story deserved writing that could convey all the greatness, grandioseness, and radiance this book was supposed to have. A disappointment.

A book about female empowerment not typically found in China at this time. A coming of age and into power for the main character. While I enjoy the story, I struggled with unfamiliar names of people and locales due to my being of a different culture. As such it was hard to remember who is who and where was where.. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

She Who Became the Sun was a difficult book to read and is a difficult book to review.

It's beautiful. It's densely written, rich, powerful, with incredibly written characters whose motivations drive every single action. It develops an incredible and intense world and a powerful story or anger, revenge, grief, and desire.

It's also not a kind book. It's not a book that IGNORES kindness within the narrative -- one of the key theses that the book constantly considers and revisits is whether there is room for empathy, or morality, or kindness, while pursuing one's desires, or if there is only room for the sheer force of will and selfish desire. It's just that the answer to that question is not an obvious one.There's a genre of book that is, to be a bit reductive, "unpleasant people doing unpleasant things". And those are books that are often incredibly written and powerful and stick with us. The Count of Monte Cristo is an example and something I think could act as a bit of a comp to this book. (Or Hamlet. Or Utena, for a different type of media that also falls pretty close). It's a genre where the characters who DO have empathy are often those that suffer the most, and the protagonists, if not the ones who are empathetic and suffering, are often hard to like (or sometimes both suffering AND hard to like) because they are thoughtlessly or deliberately cruel in their selfish pursuit of their wants.

Again -- I cannot say that this makes it bad in any way, and I don't want anyone to take this review that way. It's a GREAT book and I hope that it goes far and gets widely read. It's more of just -- a head's up, because the comps that ARE given (Mulan and Song of Achilles) tell you that it's a rollicking adventure story with a hidden heroine and a tragic queer love story. And both are... technically true, but that's not what it feels like. It's a revenge story and a political thriller. It's an incredible read. It's just also heavy -- it took me a month to get through, because real life right now is also very difficult and I had to take it in bite-sized portions. So just prepare for what you're going into.

But please do read anyway.

Reading "She Who Became the Sun" was an exciting ride and I did not want it to end. The hardest part to read was probably the drought-induced famine-suffering village in the beginning. I think this book has two main characters; while Zhu is the hero of the story, General Ouyang is the anti-hero (not exactly the villain, I thought) and his story is just as compelling. "She Who Became the Sun" has a very strong plot led by two great characters surrounded by fascinating supporting characters (my favorites were the Yangzhou side characters) living in very interesting times and demonstrating that desire, even if it is simply for survival, is the very much the cause of suffering. An added bonus is the subtle romantic subplot for Zhu, balanced out by General Ouyang's complicated relationship with Esen, who has his own complicated relationship with his brother. There is a lot going on, but it manages to work like an orchestra. (I received a free ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

This book is perfect for anyone who appreciates military strategy and the humble beginnings to famed warrior arc. Zhu is a strategist who doesn't have the answers beforehand, but does take full advantage of the opportunities presented along the way. While parts of the story felt very rushed, it is certainly a full story--no cliffhangers awaiting in the next book.

I am 53 pages in and I already know that this book is one of my favorites of 2021. The adult fantasy genre has a lot of variety these days and I am glad to see more Asian authors writing in this genre. Zhu takes on the position her dead brother would have in a monastery. Zhu wants to posess the Mandate of Heaven. During her time at the monastery, Zhu faces many trials, and I love how much time Shelley Parker-Chan takes to introduce us to this amazing and evocative story.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

She Who Became the Sun is a very military-based fantasy set in Asia. It's a really character driven story, and in the beginning I really struggled to be able to relate all the characters to each other and who they were. But when I got more into the story, the struggle disappeared and I could enjoy this fantastic and really good debut novel. I loved that we got to follow a few of the characters perspective, as I tend to feel that a story gets more depth if you have more voices in it.

Zhu is such a fantastic character to follow with her will and power to take what she wants and to earn it in her own way. I love the relationship between Zhu and the love interest, which I found even from the beginning to be very layered and real. Often I can feel that love is a set up for the story, but this really felt genuine. And my heart ache for Esen and Ouyng and their terrible fate.

I did really enjoy how easy Shelley Parker-Chan introduced and discussed gender and LGBTQ+-rep in this book. We have two relationships that is queer and I LOVE IT! Can we please get more of that in fantasy!?

This was just a delight to read and I'm already so excited for the nest installment in this series.

Major POPPY WAR vibes. An epic with incredible exploration of gender, sexuality, and war. Highly recommend for anyone who loves historical fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing me with this ARC to read and review!

She Who Became the Sun is astonishingly, a debut novel, written by Shelley Parker-Chan, which feels like a Chinese historical drama, complete with all the political scheming and social climbing, and combined with interesting fantasy elements. But the real beauty of She Who Became the Sun is the characters. My god, are these characters developed, nuanced, and complex. The pain these characters feel emotionally is absolutely palpable, touching, and makes for a heart wrenching read that hurts (in a good way). She Who became the Sun is marketed as a mix between Mulan and Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles, but I have seen the former, and read the latter, and I have to say that She Who Became the Sun blows both out of the water easily with its beautiful prose, heartfelt characters, and representation.

She Who Became the Sun follows a main character on the rise, disguised as a man, and later identifying as nonbinary, who seeks the greatness of fate. (Reviewer's Note: I refer to the main character with pronoun 'she', as that is the pronoun she uses in regards to herself consistently throughout the novel. Other characters, who believe she is a man, refer to her with the pronoun 'he.') Growing up as the unwanted and unappreciated daughter of a starving family, she watches as her father is killed by bandits and her brother, who a fortune teller announced had the fate of greatness bestowed upon him by Heaven, succumbs to despair and also dies. Determined to survive, "the girl" takes her brother’s name, Zhu Chongba, as well as his gender, and strives to achieve the fate of greatness that he was supposed to have. Her ambition is her only driving force throughout the entire novel, and as time goes on, Zhu becomes more and more ruthless in order to accomplish her goals of greatness. 

"'Clever people know when to give in,' Ma said bitterly...."

From the get-go, I really admired Zhu’s calculations, scheming, and sheer bravery to accomplish everything that she did. There were times when I wished she would’ve turned back or made different decisions, but the entire time, Zhu single-mindedly kept sight of her goal. Author Parker-Chan does a splendid job of detailing her motivations and her transformation to a character less bothered by morals as She Who Became the Sun progresses. Definitely towards the end of the novel I liked Zhu a lot less than I had in the beginning. This was due to many of her decisions, but I can still really appreciate how deftly the author wove this transformation and how much sense the development made for the character.

"'But you're going to fail...'

She said, hardening, 'Heaven doesn't will my failure.'"

I think my main issue with Zhu and her journey towards greatness was how smoothly things went for her at times. While this can be chalked up to her fate of greatness or even the Mandate of Heaven, I struggled with watching someone with no military strategy training or political training becoming an important leader of a rebellion. I also struggled with what I will deem her “entitlement” to her fate, which she constantly uses to justify many of her abhorrent behaviors and decisions near the end of She Who Became the Sun. As I said though, even with my personal dislike for who Zhu grew into, I felt that that development was a purposeful choice by Parker-Chan and was one that was built up incredibly well throughout the novel.

'She couldn't understand how someone could want anything so much that he would face the impossible for it. It wasn't that [Zhu Chongba] thought himself infallible, she thought. That would take stupidity and for all [Zhu Chongba] pretended naivete, he wasn't stupid. It was almost as if his desire were so fundamental to him that the thought of letting it go was more dreadful than any risk to pursue it. Ma found it unsettling. If your desire was the most important thing in the world, what wouldn't you do to achieve it?"

I also really enjoyed the portrayal of Zhu as a non-binary character and reading all of her thoughts involving her gender identity. It made so much sense that someone who was hated for her birth gender would grow up to identify as neither male or female, as Zhu grows to feel she’s not the woman she was born as or the man she disguised herself as either. Her lesbian relationship with her future wife was really empowering as well, as Zhu taught the woman that she didn't have to be held back by the yoke of being a woman in times where women could only be wives and mothers. Zhu told her wife to want things for herself, and not to just accept what society expected. I really liked that the character Zhu entered a relationship with is not only such a clever woman herself, but also an incredibly empathetic woman. This made her wife a great foil to Zhu, who becomes more and more callous as time goes on.

Though I really enjoyed their relationship, which was developed on the grounds of mutual respect and support, as well as their individual characterizations, the standout of the novel for me by far was everything pertaining to the eunuch Ouyang. God, I just loved this character so much. The constant torment and pain he feels over his forced castration and the ableist society he lives in that views his mutilation as an abomination was so palpable that it leapt straight from the page. His anger, resentment, and conflicting feelings over his relationship with the son of the man who castrated him and killed his family is just incredibly poignant.  I was really rooting for Ouyang to deepen this relationship with the son, called Esen, throughout the whole novel, despite the emotional turmoil and guilt I knew it would cause Ouyang. I felt guilty as a result, but I also couldn't help but to root for this relationship anyways.

"Esen never meant to hurt, and Ouyang had always taken care to pretend matter-of-fact acceptance about his exclusion from family life. Why should he blame Esen for not reading his mind to see the anger and pain there? But the truth was: he did blame Esen. Blamed him even more than he would a stranger, because it hurt more that someone so beloved should not see the truth of him. And he blamed and hated himself, for hiding that truth."

I sincerely wanted Ouyang to have some small piece of happiness for all he had suffered and hoped for some sort of salvation for his unbearable pain, yearning, and longing for vengeance.  Regardless of the outcome, Ouyang is an unbelievably complex character and I lived for any time the character appeared on the page. His contemptuous relationship with Zhu Chongba is similarly riveting. The two characters connect on a different level than the characters can with others, as they both see themselves as "other" or as outsiders. I enjoy all of their interactions, whether hostile or ones of uneasy comradery. 

"Destroying what someone else cherished never brought back what you yourself had lost. All it did was spread grief like a contagion. As he watched Esen, Ouyang felt their pain mingling. There seemed to be no beginning or end to it, as it were all they could ever be."

I honestly cannot say enough good things about the characterizations and relationships in She Who Became the Sun. I was so invested in all of the characters, down to the side ones, due to how well the author writes! I honestly cannot believe She Who Became the Sun is a debut novel, as Parker-Chan's work is so polished and beautiful, often especially when describing the agony of its own characters. Take this quote from the novel, which left me utterly speechless:

"All Ouyang's life he had believed he was suffering, but in that instant he knew the truth that every past moment had been a candle flame compared to this blaze of pain. It was suffering that was lit around without shadow, the purest thing under Heaven. He was no longer a thinking being that could curse the universe. or imagine how it could have gone differently, but a single point of blind agony that would go on unending. He had done what he had to do, and in doing so he had destroyed the world."

I found the prose of She Who Became the Sun to be poetic, and hauntingly beautiful, but also not too over the top. The author struck the perfect balance between this mesmerizing and atmospheric prose that effortlessly depicts the time period of 14th century China and beliefs as well, but never sunk into distracting and unnecessary purple prose. And just as the prose was often indicative of this time, with characters typically saying things, such as "this unworthy monk will not fail," etc., I do want to mention that the novel as a whole reads more like a work of historical fiction than anything else. She Who Became the Sun does have some fantasy elements, but they are truly not the focus of the novel. So if historical fiction isn’t your thing, you may not care for this novel as much. I personally love historical fiction as well as fantasy, so I really enjoyed this "historical fantasy" novel. 

The only other thing, beside Zhu's kind of uncanny success, (I still feel that the Mandate of Heaven and having iron will can only get you so far without proper military and strategy training, etc.,), that I did not care for in the novel is that She Who Became the Sun often switched names when referring to its characters. For example, sometimes the novel referred to characters only by their first names, and then switched to exclusively calling them by their last names. Other times, characters were called by their titles or positions rather than by their names, only to switch back to their names. Unfortunately, this made it really hard for me to keep track of who was whom and I often had to take moments out of reading to at least attempt to piece it together. There is also no appendix or list of characters in the back of She Who Became the Sun to help distinguish characters. I certainly wish there were!

She Who Became the Sun is definitely a book where the characters weren’t always likeable, were more antiheroes than anything, and go through a lot of personal devastation and leave even more in their wakes. So if you don’t like intense drama, you may want to steer clear of She Who Became the Sun. And I cannot help but wonder if the ruination will get even more painful for the characters in the sequel. Perhaps, now that we’ve seen the rise of Zhu Chongba, we will also see the fall of her in the next book.  Ultimately, if you love complex character development, queer representation, historical fiction, heart wrenching drama, and beautiful prose, She Who Became the Sun is, without a doubt, the novel for you.

A character driven, historical novel about desire, fate, and what one chooses to do with them. She Who Became The Sun was a satisfying read, though started out extremely slow and didn’t pick up too much pace from there. Fans of tough, character driven and introspective lead stories about war and gender identity will absolutely love this. It was also extremely fascinating to see a story set during Mongol controlled China. I rate it a rounded up 4 because while I enjoyed it, I never really fully engaged with it. Zhu felt not as fully their own person as I would have liked, and at times the story was too slow for my tastes. The discussion of gender, however, was extremely well done and by far the largest strength of this book.

4/5.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy of this book.