3.5 stars

CW: death, murder, war themes, starvation, gender dysphoria, misgendering, ableism, sexism/misogyny, internalized homophobia

Honestly, I went into this book expecting to fall head over heels in love with it and have this be my new all-time favourite, but this wasn't quite that. It was very good, don't get me wrong, and there was a lot that I loved about it, but there were also a few significant things that just for me personally, didn't work quite as well.

Let's start with my favourite thing about this book - the characters. If there's one thing Shelley Parker-Chan can do, it's to bring characters to life. Every single one of these characters were so interesting, and I feel like for the most part, they were very nuanced and well-developed. My one exception to this is actually our main character, Zhu, but I will touch on this later in the review.

Ouyang and Wang Baoxiang were by far my favourite characters, and I definitely wish we could've gotten a bit more of Wang Baoxiang in particular. I'm not sure what it says about me that my favourite characters in this book are the Eunuch General and a bastard son who is basically the chief accountant for the Yuan empire, but here we are. They are both such intriguing characters who are incredibly flawed, and I love how we got to see both of their relationships to Esen.

Another thing that I loved about the characters were how Parker-Chan mirrored the two main pairs of characters. I've seen a few reviews talking about how Zhu and Ouyang are essentially two sides of the same coin, and they are, but I also love how we got to see the similarities of the way they affect the people closest to them - Ma and Esen - and the parallels between their character arcs as well. Honestly, it was so beautifully executed, and just *chefs kiss*.

My main gripe with this book was the excessive hammering of this theme of greatness, and not fading into nothingness. This happens to actually be one of my favourite themes in general, so I do love that this book, and Zhu in particular, was so motivated by this idea of wanting to control her fate and not fade into nothingness, but for me, the execution was not the best. Pretty much every few pages, you'll be hit with one of the following words: greatness, nothingness, fate, ambition. I personally prefer my books to be a little more subtle and hands-off in its theming, but even if I didn't, I still felt like it was overkill. At first, I thought it was just a small thing that I could get over, but I got to a point where after about a hundred pages of seeing this every few pages, it built up to something that really detracted from my enjoyment every time it was brought up. It even took me out of the story at times, which was frustrating.

Also, because of this, I feel like it really affected my enjoyment of Zhu as a character overall. I felt like it made her seem more one-dimensional than the other characters - you could argue that it just shows that she's just a one-track-mind kind of character, but again, I feel like there's a way to portray that without using the same words over and over.

This is not to say that Parker-Chan is not capable of delivering a theme/message in a very impactful, but subtle way. They can, and do, in this book, which is what makes the above point extra frustrating. I absolutely loved the exploration of gender identity and queerness in this book. I thought this was so well done - the way that we get to see both Ouyang and Zhu grapple with their gender identity was literally perfect. Once again, I loved this mirroring of these two characters, and seeing both how different and how incredibly similar they both are. In terms of execution, it was so subtly done, and seamlessly woven into the narrative.

On the writing - I think for me, there was just something that didn't quite click with me, but I recognize that this is a very personal thing. I definitely understand why Parker-Chan made certain choices, and I think they worked for the story. In a lot of ways, the prose is very reminiscent of translated Chinese historical fiction, and although this book isn't sold as wuxia inspired, there are definitely quite a few classic wuxia tropes incorporated throughout the story, which I loved. I really liked the sprinkling of more colloquial Chinese phrases (translated directly into English) - I thought it added a nice touch as someone who understood the meaning, but I do wonder how it will be received by a non-Chinese-speaking reader (despite there being fairly adequate context clues).

Overall, I still really enjoyed this book. The last 100 pages packed a lot of punch, and I am dying to know what happens next. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Chinese historical fiction, or c-dramas, as well as anyone who likes very politics-heavy historical fantasy in general. I'd also say this book is less plot-focused, but if you're someone who enjoys good character work, I think you'd really love this book. All in all, a stunning debut from Shelley Parker-Chan, and a) I would like to see a c-drama or donghua adaptation of this book please, and b) am definitely going to be keeping an eye out for anything else that she comes out with in the future.

This was an excellent debut and start to a new epic fantasy series. As someone who loves Asian inspired fantasy, I loved the historical Chinese setting. The setup of a young girl taking on a male identity is certainly one I have read before, but it is still one I love. 

The main character was a resilient young woman who showed bravery and strength in the face of hardship. My favourite aspects of this novel involved her coming of age narrative as she completed her warrior training. The focus on battles in the later half of the book were less compelling for me, but I am still interested to see where the story goes from here. I would be interested to read the next installment in this series. 

I would recommend this one to any fantasy reader looking for a new epic series to begin.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

A beautifully written, incisive debut with one of the biggest character arcs I've ever read. This book delivered on my craving for a slower, nuanced literary fantasy, and I read it straight through over the course of two days.

What a truly epic debut, and thank you so much to the publisher for approving me for this title. I can't wait to recommend this to to readers!

Wow! It's so hard to write a review of a book that encompasses all that a book should be. Dazzling descriptions o countryside, war and people all without being too long winded. Characters that become so real to you that you want to be part of their stories. The story of an impoverished girl who takes on the identity of her dead brother and joins the monastery in his place. She defies her fate and becomes one of the most celebrated generals in 14th century China. It is a must read for anyone even slightly interested in this period of history, any fantasy lover and anyone interested in gender identity. Thank you to Net Galley and Tor Books for the arc.
#NetGalley#TorBooks#SheWhoBecameTheSun

I LOVED THIS!!!!

This book is an amazing debut and I just need more from this author. Yes this book has the mulan links but it became completely its own and so much more than just a girl dressing as a boy. This is about a girl who wants to control her own fate and not leave it to others. Zhu has become an unforgettable characters and one of my favourite female characters. I loved the development of Zhu and cant wait for the next book in the duology.

She Who Became The Sun is a clever reimagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the the Ming dynasty, starting with girl who is destined for nothing seizing her brother’s destiny of greatness, and following her clawing for every opportunity to ascend further into power.

The high-stakes, brutal high fantasy is heavy with the themes of war, duty, power, betrayal, and revenge. Zhu Chongba is a compelling lead to follow - resilient, ambitious, an opportunist, and willing to sacrifice everything to achieve the destiny she took for herself, regardless of the cost or consequences. It was particularly clever to offer Ouyang as a foil to Zhu, as both find themselves in similar predicaments with their perception of gender clashing with society’s norms, and represent two sides of the same coin. The exploration of gender, gender identity, and sexuality was so seamlessly integrated into a story already so full of politics, war, and underhandedness.

While some of the characters, including Zhu, who was so guarded even to the reader, felt distant, they became animated through their relationships. For example, Xu Da and Zhu with a childhood innocence that has become undying loyalty, and Ma Xiuying who helps the reader locate their moral compass again amongst all the personal agendas. Baoxing and Esen’s complicated sibling bond was also a highlight for me, as well as Ouyang’s similarly complex relationship with both of them.

The writing was everything that was promised, gorgeous and evocative, as a perfect compliment to the 14th century setting. I did have some problems with the pacing of the novel and sacrifice of description on the page for action in the second, war-heavy part, but for the most part, it did an excellent job creating an immersive atmosphere and keeping the reader engaged through dynamic dialogue.

Forget ‘The Song of Achilles’ comparison you just read in the synopsis/publisher pitch. Just pretend you never saw it because it will be doing you a disservice. This is not that kind of book.

This is more similar to ‘The Poppy War.’ It's a dark, brutal, unforgiving tale about characters who will do whatever they can in order the achieve what they believe is their fate.

There is no soft, wholesome love in these pages. There are antiheroes who use people and connections in order to serve their purposes.

Go into this ready for well-written war-heavy descriptions, dense strategic and political maneuvering, unexplainable ghosts, complex characters, interesting motives, and an emotionally charged plot.

This is the kind of book it truly is. It's one of history and magic and destiny.

A magical alternate history, combining a Mulan retelling and The Song of Achilles? How could I not?

So first, I want to make a quick comment on the cover design, because it grabbed me immediately. The layout is so clean, but striking. Before I knew anything about the plot or the author, I wanted to know the story behind that cover.

Zhu Chongba was an absolute masterclass in a character that I immensely disliked. But I was constantly invested in her machinations, her triumphs, and her betrayals. Her relationship with gender after she assumes the identity of her dead brother was absolutely fascinating.

Parker-Chan is a deft hand at setting the scene. I could feel the stones of the monastery, and the wind on the fields as she described her settings.

I would have liked it if the magical part of the alternate history had had more of an effect on the story. The ghosts were interesting but not very present.

Now, the pacing was a bit odd for me. The first half was very slow, providing a lot of set up for the people, the politics, and the places. I found myself drifting away from this story, but I was intrigued enough to come back every time. And it felt like everything came together very quickly in the last 10%.

But I would unreservedly recommend this book to anyone looking for an intense Mulan retelling, or enjoyed The Poppy War.

Everything you heard about this book, every squee and praise worthy post you've seen- trust me, it's real. She who Became the Sun is sublime.
I've seen all the ways people describe this story by comparison and here is the thing: The Song of Achilles? Yes, it does have strong echoes of that particular heartbreak. Mulan? Sure, cross-dressing is right there in the blurb. The Poppy War? Yup, just like TPW, this story is a heavily pulling from Chinese history.
But.
Those comparisons simply don't give this book a justice. Focusing on single parts of the story is NOT the story. It's not this story. It's the emotional resonance of all of those coupled with some fascinating storytelling and sombre characterization, but with all the exuberance of C-dramas. Quite frankly, this book owned all my time and all my thoughts since I started reading.
First in a planned duology, She Who Became the Sun is a fantasy reimagining of the rise of the Ming dynasty, focusing specifically on its founder, Zhu Yuanzhang. If you are or aren't familiar with that part of the Chinese history, the main events, bullet points if you please, does happen in the book: there is a decline of Mongol-led empire, there is a rebellion led by unlikely person and there are the beginnings of the legendary emperor. Shelley Parker-Chen is using the characters and events history recorded by putting a twist to them.
Like an ode to resilience and goal-oriented decision making, Zhu's character is simply impossible to forget. The book is very low on magic elements, but she is so determined to survive and claim the great destiny I came to think of it as a type of magic in itself. Her metaphorical hunger, born from really well described real hunger in first chapter, was so intricately developed. I mean, I love her to bits exactly because her path is not a heroic one- noble heroes don't start from where Zhu started and end up where she ended up.
But, if one of your thoughts is "oh, it's just another gender-swapped story with a queer twist" I have some things to say.
I'd say that the recurring theme of She Who Became the Sun is actually a question of identity. Bigger chunk of the story is dedicated to Zhu who is a girl, but decides to take her brother's identity and, thus, his fate. At the middle, the story brings more povs, and the other, very important part of the story belongs to Ouyang, the Nanren-born male who is the main general of Mongol army. Their arcs are separate, but they keep intersecting as the story progresses.
Here is the kicker: both of their arcs are so tied up with their identity it becomes the integral element of this entire book. Of course that all the questioning of who and what they are and aren't is constantly running through their heads. And of course emotions get big and dangerous and complicated when they feel differently about someone else. Of course it colours their every choice. Inner struggle always makes for the best characterization. In their own parts of the empire they are mirroring in one and only way: they are in so unique of a position nobody else can understand and they have a destiny to fulfil. I was so taken with them and completely obsessed and the best way I can describe why I want to shout my love for Chen for giving me this book is this: If you take this part, the part that makes it queer, of these characters out of the story or change it in any way, there wouldn't be a story. It's the bones, the crux of every conflict and it's what makes this reimagining so compelling. Now think about how many fantasy books you read lately you can tell the same for.
The writing! That lyrical part of the blurb is certainly true because Chen has a way with words. I was entirely emotionally invested in these characters so I devoured the words to see what will happen, but there were parts I reread just because they sounded very pretty. The saddest parts were the prettiest, which seems oddly fitting, especially in Ouyang's (that precious spitfire of selfhate and loathing) scenes.

I don't win many arcs, but somehow I had a luck to win this one. It's nothing short of spectacular. Can wait to see Zhu Yuanzhang dance with Madam Zhang in the next book. :)

An in-depth exploration of gender identity, human ambition and the inevitability of revenge.


She Who Became The Sun introduces us to a sweeping historical fantasy world through a re-imagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.



We meet Zhu who refuses to bow to her fate of nothingness and whose ambition will shape the lives of everyone she meets on her journey to greatness.
Our cast also allows us a glimpse inside the mind of a delightfully dark and vengeful villain, a pure hearted prince and a wise and uncowed general’s wife who discovers there is more to life than others have decreed for her.

I really loved the way relationships developed between the characters, it felt very nuanced and realistic and more often than not, heartbreaking too.

The writing is lyrical and often sharply humorous in unexpected ways and paints a rich historical landscape of the world our characters traverse.
Plot wise this story flows along smoothly, encompassing a vast expanse of years across our character’s lives.
She Who Became The Sun reads like a historical recount of events rather than a moment by moment story which prevented me from connecting with the characters as much as I’d have liked too. But this is not a fault so much as a personal preference.

Overall this is a thoroughly enjoyable foray into ancient China, survive the epic battles, angst and heartache, political maneuverings and assassination plots alongside a richly diverse cast of characters whose every desire and motive drives them further into the morally grey landscape of their chosen fates.

She Who became the Sun is what a expect of The Song of Achilles when mixed with Mulan.

The main character Zhu, does everything she can to survive even disguising herself as her brother and is well fleshed out like the majority of the characters (even the Villains). However each character has some type of underlying issue/s. Not a bad thing but it is always there.

The writing itself was very good, but just as a general sort of warning some of the topics are heavy in the sense of the intensity of murder, sex etc. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a new voice of the historical fantasy genre.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book.

MY REVIEW: 4.5 Stars ⭐️

I loved the main character, Zhu! She does whatever she has to do, disguising herself as her brother, to survive and make her claim to fame so to speak. (Turns out the seerer was correct, read the book)

There are other wonderful characters in the book, even the villains are fleshed out nicely. And everyone in the the book has some kind of underlying issues.

Some would say Zhu is a villain of sorts but she just does whatever she has to in this world and to me, I just can’t not like her!

There are battles, I mean obviously. I would just recommend reading this book so you can meet some great characters for yourself. You just might find your next gem!

*I would like to thank Tor for offering me to read this book through, Netgalley. I’ve never been offered to read a book from Tor so I greatly appreciate it and that you to Netgalley.

Mel

Absolutely remarkable. One of my top books of all time now, not just in SFF. I loved Shelley's way with words, the utterly compelling emotional through-lines of the two main characters, and the rich historical landscape the story is set in. This book is a must-read for anyone who is craving something truly epic.

Review for She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

A huge thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy!

Summary:
“Mulan meets The Song of Achilles in Shelley Parker-Chan's She Who Became the Sun, a bold, queer, and lyrical reimagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty from an amazing new voice in literary fantasy.

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

My Thoughts
This book starts off with a bang. We follow a girl in the middle of a famine, along with her dad and brother, at what appears to be a mealtime. We are told that the boy will become great, while the girl is fated to be nothing.
I was instantly glued to the page.
When the village is attacked by bandits, the girl’s brother and father are killed, so she decides to grasp onto her brother’s destiny and takes it as her own.

”Zhongli village lay flattened under the sun like a defeated dog that has given up on finding shade.”

For me, this book piqued in the first part, following Zhu as she struggles to survive so that she can achieve her stolen destiny to become great, as she impersonates her brother.
I absolutely loved watching her time in the monastery and seeing her friendship with Xu Da develop. We’re also shown just how ruthless she can be in order to keep her station in the world while she is there.

However, when we switched to a multi-perspective in part 2, I began to feel myself losing touch with the character development that we got in part one. Don’t get me wrong, I really do enjoy Ouyang and Ma’s perspective. We get to see Ouyang, who is a eunuch general, struggle with his body image, and we get to see the flip side to the same coin in Zhu, who was assigned female at birth but seems to be grappling with her gender identity throughout the book. I really loved this aspect, we get these two characters with their similar struggle, and they’re on opposite sides of the war fated to loathe each other, what could possibly go wrong?

”Destroying what someone else cherished never brought back what you yourself had lost.”

We also get Ma’s perspective, as she grapples with the fact that she is soon to be married to a man she really doesn’t care about and is coming to terms with accepting her lot in life and what is expected of a wife at that time. However, we get into spoiler territory here so here is your warning…(view spoiler)

This book is steeped in politics and military moves, as it is based in the middle of a war, and I really enjoyed how the author developed the mounting struggles throughout. Where this book lost me was after showing just how well done the character development for Zhu was done in the first part, we immediately lost that personal touch for the rest of the book. I say this often, but I’m an incredibly character driven reader, and if I can’t come to truly care about the characters, the plot cannot save it for me. I desperately wanted that level of care and attention to fleshing out Ouyang, Ma, and others and would have happily read a 700-page book with that added character development.

Objectively it is stunningly written, and I will definitely check out the sequel, because I know I am in the group with the less common opinion on this book. If we have similar tastes for other books, most of my friends will end up loving this book, and I think that is awesome!


Overall (TLDR)
I am so incredibly thankful to Tor and NetGalley for letting me read and review an early copy. I think that so many people are going to absolutely adore this book, and it just missed the mark on a few points for me personally. It lives up to the Mulan x Song of Achilles, which is definitely hard to do! I’ll definitely check out the sequel, and plan to keep up with this author as they publish new books, because this was a well-done debut!


All quotes are taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication!

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I received an arc of this book from netgalley and the publisher, but honestly I did not finish this book.
I was really excited to read this novel because so much of what is seems to be about is content I typically like and the book also has such high reviews!
Unfortunately, I really couldn’t connect with it. I had a hard time engaging with the characters and as soon as I started to get with the perspective of the first character (the first arc I guess when they are just monks) the perspective ended up switching and I had a hard time following everything it was trying to introduce. I also felt like I didn’t really see a lot of a fantasy aspect in the novel? Seemed more similar to historical fiction to me.
So yeah I stopped reading after about 150 pages, I couldn’t connect with the content and it was a bit too dense for me.
Reviewed at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3768955314?book_show_action=false

This is an absorbing, suspenseful and very well written novel - really more historical than fantasy, although there are some supernatural elements. I learned from the author's website that her characters are based on historical figures, and the story is a reimagining of the rise of the Ming dynasty in China. The one crucial change is the re-gendering of one main character, in a way that makes total sense within the context of the plot. Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in the period, in Chinese history, or who likes the novels of Guy Gavriel Kay.

This is definitely a case of this book being not for me, not it being a bad book. Some of the scenes from this will stick in my head for days, but I just found it lacking as a whole.

It's hard to put my problem with this into words. It wasn't the pacing, because there was almost always action or a plot going on. It wasn't the length, because this is a fairly short book. I wouldn't even say that it was the writing, because it didn't bother me. This book just felt <i>long</i>. I honestly thought it was 700 pages, not 400. Big plot points had very little impact on me, and it felt like too much time was spent on minor incidents.

I did love the way that parts of this wove together. Some of the betrayals and twists had me gasping, and immediately rereading the segment to try and understand. Other scenes had me highlighting and annotating.

I really wasn't a fan of the perspective changes in this. The first quarter was told solely from Zhu's perspective, and I loved it. My interest started waning once Ma, Oyoung, and Esen's perspectives were introduced. The ending of this definitely had me interested in Oyoung, but it wasn't enough to save the rest of the book.

This book will definitely make a splash in the publishing industry, it's an amazing novel. Sadly, it just wasn't for me.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Shelley Parker-Chan for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!</i>

Thank you to the publisher for both an e-galley and a physical ARC.

I love the comparison of this to Song of Achilles as it really talks about finding yourself and becoming the person you know is true to your heart.

Also love the characters in this. They feel heart-achingly real and left me wanting to slap some and hug others. Shelley Parker-Chan has a way of creating realistic characters and I'm blown away.

This is a fictionalized telling of the founding of the Ming Dynasty. I really enjoyed the history elements to it, in the same way I also enjoyed The Poppy War.

If you like fantasy based on history that shifts the narrative a little, pick this one up.

This was a great, thought-provoking read that reminded me a lot of The Poppy War by RF Kuang. I loved Zhu as a character. I loved her drive to escape her 'nothing' fate and become greater than her brother ever would have been. I loved seeing Zhu grow from an emaciated, silent, and unwanted child to a strong, intelligent adult. Zhu's gender identity is complicated and explored consistently throughout the novel, which I also really enjoyed.
However, my only complaint is that the book was not focused on Zhu the entire time. The first fourth of the book followed Zhu, and no one else, and that was my favorite part of the book. Once the perspective started shifting between Zhu and some other characters, I was less interested. The other characters had less interesting plotlines, in my opinion, and I just wanted to read about Zhu, The first fourth was amazing, and I would have been happy reading about Zhu's exploits at the monastery the entire book. I'm rating this book 3 stars, because I did enjoy it, but my interest waned a lot after the perspective started shifting to the point where I was speeding through the other chapters just to get back to Zhu's POV.