She Who Became the Sun Book Review

She Who Became the Sun is the Radiant Empire series by Shelley Parker-Chan. I would like to thank Pan Macmillian Australia for the review copy.

BLURB

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

“I refuse to be nothing…”

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

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

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

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

REVIEW

She Who Became the Sun is a Mulan meets The Song of Achilles in 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.

It is a history fiction with fantasy aspects in a time period I haven’t read before so I enjoyed diving into the unknown.

The way in which we are introduced to all the characters and see how each one impacts the story was beautifully told.

I loved the characters and the relationships they have. Zhou Chongba was such an strong character who did everything she could to live. Her story arc was incredible.

I’m looking forward to the next book.

4/5 stars