She Who Became the Sun: The Radiant Emperor, Book 1

‘She Who Became the Sun’ by Shelley Parker-Chan. It is Book One in the author’s Radiant Emperor Duology, which is a reimagining of the rise to power of Zhu Yuanzhang, the peasant rebel who expelled the Mongols, unified China under native rule, and became the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.I did a combined read/listen with its unabridged audiobook edition for an immersive experience.In the novel’s opening in 1345 China is under harsh Mongol rule. In a famine ridden village, the Zhu family are barely surviving. At the request of their father a fortune teller shows two children their fates. For the boy, Zhu Chongba the eighth-born son, there will be greatness yet for his sister - nothing.
When a bandit raid wipes out their home and family, the children must find a way to survive. When her brother gives into despair and dies, his sister resolves to overcome her destiny. So she takes on her dead brother’s identity and begins an journey in which she hopes to claim her brother’s greatness and rise as high as she can dream. As it’s an epic covering Zhu’s life from 1345 to 1356 quite a lot happens, so no more details to avoid spoilers.I understood that this was a reimagining of this period of Chinese history, though I began reading with no knowledge of Zhu Yuanzhang and the Ming Dynasty. Still, I was pleased that the author provided on their website some material about the historical figures that feature in the Radiant Emperor Duology.Once I started my read/listen of this novel, I was quickly drawn into the narrative and quite captivated by it. There are elements of fantasy in the story such as an awareness of the presence of ghosts and the like.Shelley Parker-Chan is a gifted storyteller and I could appreciate why ‘She Who Became the Sun’ has been so highly praised. The sequel, ‘He Who Drowned the World’, is due to be published in August.4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Enjoyed this, character development is really good. Overall story was good however some war scenes and discussions on strategy bit poor/dull.

This book did disappoint me I'll be honest. After seeing all the hype and the buzz around this I really thought it was going to blow me out of the water, but it just kinda left me thinking meh 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ I always gage how much I like a book by how mad my imagination runs with imagery in my head and the whole time reading this it was just so colourless and monochrome. The main character was just so bland and one note and I just really couldnt connect with her at all. The only time I ever felt anything towards her was when she was with Ma, a character I actually kind of enjoyed. I felt like the MC had an absolute personality changed come the end of the book totally out of the blue and not really for the better in my opinion. She got more and more unlikable as she went along. I did prefer the other side characters a lot me more and was more intrigued and involved on their side. Ouyang was definitely more intriguing and so conflicted.The love interests on both sides I did like. Ma is such a sweet character and I liked how she brought a little something out of Zhu that I couldnt find anytime else. Although I was not expecting the spice that was just thrust upon me so out of the blue. My jaw literally hit the floor with what was being described to me. Again out of the blue hahahhaaI did enjoy the multiple POVs and the jumps in time. I know others found them very spontaneous and chaotic but I really dosnt mind. For it being a historical war fiction and wars are long.I was more disappointed at the lack of fantasy elements it really was more just historical fiction for me. I did pick this up as it was made out to me to be a fantasy.My interest would peek up and then just disappear but it did keep me picking it back up. I did want to see how it all faired in the end. I didnt originally know that it was a trilogy I believe in the making. I do think I will still pick up the next but maybe wont be in a massive rush to do so.

Wow...I cannot believe this is the end. It was only 400 pages but I feel like I have grown up with Zhu Chongba and experienced every moment and emotion of theirs.I am hesitant to even leave a review because it would be like recreating the Painting of Adam with a piece of chalk. Nothing I say can even come close to describing the beauty of this story.So, I will keep this short and sweet.Shelley Parker-Chan doesn't just describe people well. It's like she has gone inside the readers mind and pulled out secret feelings/wants/desires that they have never even admitted to themselves.Particularly with the character of Ma - although I do not claim to relate to a 13th century Chinese woman - her feelings throughout the book directly reflected my own. It was frightening how similar we were.The depth of the characters was immense. Every single person was grey - nobody was universally good or bad. The exploration of gender and sexuality is the best I have ever read.Every author aims to do this, but Parker-Chan has excelled.I never read about romance, or Asia, or war. Yet this is my favourite book of all time. It is incomparable - it will win many awards.I will stop my review now, so you can start reading this incredible book.Just one more thing,I will never forget you Zhu Chongba.

I am a sucker for long, drawn out stories so would have personally preferred a slower storyline, but understand this is an establishment of the saga of the radiant emperor so it makes sense! Regardless of that, I am absolutely hooked and off to read the next in the series immediately. The intrigue, history, and fantasy elements are all well integrated and exciting. Some characters you love to hate, others you hate to love.

Avaliação dos aspectos físicos do livro.Comprei essa edição no prime day por estar bem mais barato do que uma edição em inglês estaria em um dia comum e também bem mais barato do que a edição brasileira.Por ser paperback, a edição britânica tem uma pobre qualidade gráfica. Como esperado, o livro não tem orelha, as páginas não são costuradas à lombadas como estou acostumada nas edições brasileira e o papel tem qualidade de papel de jornal. Manuseando um pouco, é perceptível que a lombada é bem frágil e, por mais que eu tenho o máximo de cuidado na hora da leitura, vai ser inevitável quebrá-la ou, do contrário, não será possível abrir o livro pra ler.Considerando o preço que paguei e os valores atuação do mercado de livros, uma edição de baixa qualidade gráfica já era esperado.Dito isso, a entrega foi perfeita e chegou antes do prazo.

Llegó antes de lo esperado y en buena condición.

A fire-brushed journey of one person desperate for survival and one person desperate for revenge - neither of whom fit into their society’s definition of man or woman, each desiring a singular goal that they will pay any price to achieve.Parker-Chan immediately pulls you into Zhu and Ouyang's journeys as they both struggle withtheir individual assigned fates - one struggles to defy it, and the other struggles to accept it. It's hard tonot be invested in these characters - dismissed and rejected from their society, you find yourselfrooting for them as they navigate the traditional masculine powers of their world. And the Chinesecultural and historical elements of this book!!! There is glorious Asian and queer representation hereand I. AM. HERE. FOR. IT.To read this novelization of the end of the Yuan dynasty was a personal journey of revelations. As an Asian American child, I grew up reading plenty of wonderful fantasy and fiction that was unfortunately lacking in diversity. Recently I’ve come across new fantasy releases written by Asian authors, each heavily inspired and influenced by Asian culture –but never to the degree that She Who Became theSun is. Perhaps it’s by dint of the book being a historical fantasy – but I came to love that the book farfrom shies away from the pure Asian-ness of its content, refusing for the most part to Anglicize place,people, and object names, or choose names more receptive to English audiences. Anyone who haspaid attention to how Asian-ness is portrayed in fiction will know that most media mention jade and silk and emperors and concubines and call it a day. This book names MULTIPLE ethnic groups – theManji, the Nanren, the Hu – and mentions Jingdezhen porcelain and Piangjiang brocade! Not tomention the core tenets of Eastern thought threaded throughout – “The debt children owed to their parents was incalculable; it could never be repaid”, and “The mutilation of one’s precious, ancestor-given body […] it was nothing less than the complete destruction of the pride and honor that made a man’s life worth living.” There is so much rich Asian history and culture to explore with fiction – and yet even I have spent years recoiling from writing or referencing anything “too Asian” for fear of it being met with dismissal. For decades, Hollywood and publishers rejected Asian characters and narratives as undesirable, unmarketable, unsellable. To see the wave of Asian fantasy writers and to experiencethis particular book with its lush world that lives and BREATHES Chinese culture – I am struck with a feeling of immense pride and delight.The sequel, He Who Drowned the World, has just been released, and withhthe ending of She Who Became the Sun being a rather imperfect HEA, I'm beyond excited to see where these characters go in the secondand final book of this duology.Some of my Favorite Lines:“The heat as most unbearable in the late afternoon, when the sun slashed backhanded acrossthe village, as red as the last native emperor’s Mandate of Heaven.” (pg 17)“All that was left of the original city were ghosts and a handful of two-story mansions, theirglowing upper windows rising up in the blue gloom like river ships at night.” (pg 104)“The light from both camps reflected off the clouds and silvered the tips of the rushing blackwater beneath the bridge.” (pg 118)

🌰In a ShellnutZhu is born a girl in 14th century (in what we refer to as China) amidst war and famine, so it comes as no surprise to her that her fate holds, quite literally nothing. Her older brother, on the other hand, is the eighth-born son and his fate is great and radiant, destined to shake the world. But when tragedy strikes, Zhu finds herself with a desire to live like a pure white fire in her soul and the conviction to go and grasp greatness with her own two hands, even if it means forsaking her entire identity.Ouyang is a eunuch, unholy and despised by all but the man who was once his master; Now, they are brothers in arms. However, a fateful encounter turns his life upside down and the ancient wounds that were dealt to him in his childhood are exposed once more, forcing him to face himself and set down the path to his destiny -one to finally avenge his family and his honor as a man.One thing, however, is certain. The cause of all suffering is desire, and these two -who desire their futures more than anything- will find that following their fate will bring them much more pain and sadness than they had imagined.👍Strong PointsThis is a pretty long book (at the very least, it took me a while to read) but it never really dips in quality and provides consistent quality throughout.Both the story and the characters are interesting and compliment eachother very nicely. I found myself more than once rapidly skimming text just to find out what would happen next.There is a lot of Asian culture in this book. A lot of time and effort clearly went into portraying the culture of the time and region and the book is much more interesting for it.👎Weak PointsNothing remarkable.📚 Similar BooksThe Ancient Wound, by Hope C. Dixon,Also an epic fantasy with two plotlines and topics of gender, which I have reviewed already.🤔ElaborationThis is a book about ambition and what happens to the people who pursue it, but both protagonists face the hardships that come with not being able to conform to what a person expects of their gender. While the story itself follows the foremost point, I'd say that the latter is what truly sets this book apart from other similar fantasy books. It's a common theme that is dealt with in an interesting and thoughtful manner and is my personal takeaway from this read.I quite liked the setting. I've spent much time in Asia, so I had the chance to revisit some familiar bits of the cultures that I'm now apart from, but I've also learned a few things. Regardless, the approach to Chinese culture greatly compliments the excellent writing and story.The ending is a little vague. This book is designated as being part of a series, but the ending very much seems to want you to think that, and I'd be a little disappointed if there wasn't a sequel.I host reviews like these in an arguably prettier format on my website: israelkobi dot com

me gustaría que los libros llegaran mejor protegidos pero por lo demás todo perfecto