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ishouldreadthat 's review for:
She Who Became the Sun
by Shelley Parker-Chan
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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.
Ever since I caught wind of She Who Became the Sun, I have been dying to get my hands on it. I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of this book from the publisher and I devoured it in the spring, but have been totally unable to put my adoration of this book into thoughts. As the publication date creeps closer, I'm going to try my best because you all need this book.
This book is filled with morally grey, ambitious characters living in political instability. We get perspectives from characters on both sides of the conflict, giving us a well-rounded story that helps explain and define character decisions and interactions. We have two main points of view — Zhu the monk who takes on her brother's identity, and Ouyang, the eunuch general leading the troops of a Mongolian prince. While they are wildly different characters, they are both flawed and morally grey in fascinating ways. I totally fell in love with Zhu's storyline and voice from page one, but it took me longer to get attached to Ouyang. However when his storyline began unfolding about halfway through the book, the book was unstoppable and I could not put She Who Became the Sun down.
The gender politics in this book are absolutely fascinating. Sexuality, gender identity and conformity, and gender roles are all twisted, examined, or critiqued through each character's storyline. As a straight, cis woman, I'm definitely not the best person to provide in depth commentary on these facets of the book, but WOW they absolutely blew me away. I can't think of another book that has tackled these issues as well as Parker-Chan, and I highly encourage you to seek out reviews from LGBTQIA+ reviewers, especially non-binary and non-gender conforming readers.
She Who Became the Sun is a gorgeous work of historical fantasy that absolutely must be on your TBR. It's morally grey, casually gay, and absolutely brilliant piece of fantasy writing and I am in total awe. Also, that ENDING. Please give me the second book...now.
Content warnings: Battlefield gore
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.
Ever since I caught wind of She Who Became the Sun, I have been dying to get my hands on it. I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of this book from the publisher and I devoured it in the spring, but have been totally unable to put my adoration of this book into thoughts. As the publication date creeps closer, I'm going to try my best because you all need this book.
This book is filled with morally grey, ambitious characters living in political instability. We get perspectives from characters on both sides of the conflict, giving us a well-rounded story that helps explain and define character decisions and interactions. We have two main points of view — Zhu the monk who takes on her brother's identity, and Ouyang, the eunuch general leading the troops of a Mongolian prince. While they are wildly different characters, they are both flawed and morally grey in fascinating ways. I totally fell in love with Zhu's storyline and voice from page one, but it took me longer to get attached to Ouyang. However when his storyline began unfolding about halfway through the book, the book was unstoppable and I could not put She Who Became the Sun down.
The gender politics in this book are absolutely fascinating. Sexuality, gender identity and conformity, and gender roles are all twisted, examined, or critiqued through each character's storyline. As a straight, cis woman, I'm definitely not the best person to provide in depth commentary on these facets of the book, but WOW they absolutely blew me away. I can't think of another book that has tackled these issues as well as Parker-Chan, and I highly encourage you to seek out reviews from LGBTQIA+ reviewers, especially non-binary and non-gender conforming readers.
She Who Became the Sun is a gorgeous work of historical fantasy that absolutely must be on your TBR. It's morally grey, casually gay, and absolutely brilliant piece of fantasy writing and I am in total awe. Also, that ENDING. Please give me the second book...now.
Content warnings: Battlefield gore
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars