I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

Great, epic fantasy, an especially good recommendation for those who enjoy detailed worldbuilding and strong settings.

3.75 Stars. Based on the description of She Who Became the Sun, I expected to LOVE it but actually struggled to not just pick up a different book instead. It felt so much longer than it's modest 400 pages despite a lot of important events happening off page. I love the unshakeable pursuit of greatness and the ending tempted me to read the sequel but I'm still undecided. I usually found myself caring less about Zhu and more about Ouyang and Xu Da. Overall, I enjoyed the first and last 25% but that middle 50% was rough.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc!

What a wonderfully rich, lushly-imagined new fantasy. This is a masterpiece, and a great addition to the canon. More by Parker-Chan, please!

I like that this book is set during a period of history I rarely read about (I would love to read more!), but the pacing was really slow. The suspense wasn't there for me. I only cared about one of the characters. It dragged on for me even during scenes that should have been exciting.
Full review on YouTube.

Phenomenal, atmospheric book that kept me turning pages long into the night. Impressively complex characters and I can't wait to learn what happens next, because it is clear that the cast of characters has much more in store.

You all might hate me for this review. I know so many people who LOVE this book and I guess I was intrigued by the story enough to keep reading, but I don't love it. For a fantasy book, this is just an okay book for me.

The parts I loved is the setting of the book, which is mid-1300s China during the last years of the Yuan Dynasty under Mongol rule. I liked seeing what roads the characters take that'll eventually lead to the Ming Dynasty. This is not biographical by any means, but the historical foundation is there? It’s the first time I’ve read a story based on that time period, and I enjoyed reading that aspect of it and going into deep dives online to find out more as I was reading. I guess it's a bit of my Chinese diaspora talking, but I don't know much about Chinese history and books like this really makes me wonder what my ancestors might have been doing back in the day.

This story is very loosely based on characters of that time period, including a monk who will one day become emperor. At the core, this story is about ambition and what people will do to get what they want. And what we find out is that these characters will do ANYTHING to get it.

Content notes include deaths, murdering children, starvation, famine, mentions of possible cannibalism, misogyny, animal cruelty and deaths, very graphic deaths (including dismemberment by horses and being skimmed alive), a plague, mentions of foot binding, dismemberment (a hand), bombings, and war.

We should address the comps the publisher has for this book because they keep doing it for He Who Drowned the World too. I don’t understand why the publisher is so set on promoting this book with Mulan and The Song of Achilles as comps when The Poppy War literally exists, and is a more recent work. Many people initially were under the impression this was a Mulan retelling and that’s definitely on the publisher in the early promo for marketing it wrong But it’s not a retelling. Mulan maybe makes sense in that our main character, a nameless girl, takes her brother’s name and tries to BE him in an effort to achieve the fate that was foretold about him. And I guess the war between the Mongols and the Chinese are a prominent aspect of this book which kind of fits Mulan. The Song of Achilles though leaves me confused. This should be comped with The Poppy War because these books certainly have more in common with the war and destruction aspect as part of Chinese history during their timelines than whatever the publisher thought this had in common with The Song of Achilles.

This book is told in a linear fashion, jumping between multiple POVs. It's not straightforward in that the POVs don't alternate predictably, but more at random. The first part of this book though starts with a girl. She has no name and lives in a village that has seen famine probably for as long as she's been alive. Of the family members still alive (which include her father and an older brother), she alone has the most drive to keep living. We see what sets her on her path that'll drive her to become a monk in her brother’s place.

I’ll admit this first part of the book is tough to get through. It’s sad, it’s depressing, and it’s told in third person where the girl has no name. Is this because girls are not seeing as useful in those times, or that she was not expected to live so her father had no use naming her? Or maybe it’s both. I almost wish the author included footnotes because I am fascinated and online searches (in English) do not provide many answers. But whatever the case may be, the first part of this book is very tough to read and I think I only made it through because I was listening to the audiobook. I would've put this book down if we relied on me starting out in text.

The story gets more interesting (and or at less depressing) when the girl claims her brother’s name, Zhu Chongba, as her own. Zhu spends years learning to be a monk and hiding that she’s a girl. She becomes friends with a fellow novice called Xu Da. Zhu has more of a sibling relationship with Xu Da than she ever had with her actual brother. I think it’s refreshing to see these two characters be good friends, because you know what this book is lacking? FRIENDSHIPS. Zhu and Xu Da are the closest friends you will see in this book. I guess Zhu and her love interest (Ma Xiuying) can also be called friends, but everyone else? You know how queer books usually have the found family trope between lots of characters? Don't expect that here.

Our other POVs show us what's happening elsewhere in China. On the opposing side with the Mongol forces, we have Ouyang. He is a eunuch who is actually Chinese and was allowed to live when his entire family was not. He was made a slave companion for a Mongol prince’s son, Esen. Ouyang has risen in the ranks and is now a general who leads his own army. He holds a lot of anger and bitterness in him that has only festered with time. It makes sense, because how can you truly live in peace when you see your entire family executed? How can you not turn to hate when even your closest friend dismisses those actions and can't see your pain?

I feel like there could have been a time when Ouyang didn't set himself on such a brutal path of revenge. If Esen had listened and really saw Ouyang, and truly loved him, I think Ouyang could have a different outcome. It would have been a problematic romance for sure because Ouyang is still basically Esen's slave companion but things could have turned out differently at the end of this. Ouyang is an interesting character, but I think his bitterness really hampers his chapters and character development? I know people were taken by surprise by the end of this book, and I can't say I wasn't surprised? But the emotion behind all that was lacking to me for some reason. I cry over everything but not this. We do get Esen’s POV at some points, like maybe two or three times? His innocence and naivety is what makes Ouyang equal parts love him and despise him. I admit I liked Esen at the beginning, but I think he lost his way and his character just got a bit one note.

I honestly would have preferred Ouyang with Wang Baoxiang, Esen’s adopted brother. It would have been problematic in other ways, but there's a certain air about them whenever they're in the same room. Baoxiang knows his skills are not that of a warrior, so he throws himself into administrative work and essentially runs the estate for his family. But because he has no skills with weaponry and doesn’t lead armies, he is seen as “less than” compared to his warrior brother, Esen. Baoxiang might be the smartest one out of the entire family, but being a scholar is frowned upon in times of war and nothing will change that.

I think Baoxiang is the most interesting character of the lot, but it’s too bad the author didn't choose to lean harder into exploring the tension between him and Ouyang in earnest. There’s a non-canon explicit short story between him and Ouyang, but it’s too bad it’s not canon within these duology books. Ouyang is very gay, but I guess he’s just never getting a love interest. His ambition is revenge, so I get it. But I still long for a romance that can never be.

I like that we have two genderqueer main characters in this book in Zhu and Ouyang. The author plays with gender a lot in this book, which is interesting to read about from a historical perspective of when this story takes place. I think Zhu has much more development in the story with becoming comfortable in her own skin and identifying much more as Zhu, and male, even though the book shows that she refers to herself in she/her pronouns when literally no one else does. Ouyang's self reflection is a lot messier but I'll be interested to see where we go with him in the next book.

Another character we get POV chapters from is Ma Xiuying. We first meet her and her fiancé Guo Tianxu. Little Guo, as people call him, is too arrogant by half and doesn’t have the brains to back it up. Ma, however, is intelligent. But she is resigned to her fate as a woman and that her purpose in life is to be a wife and give birth to boys. And so it goes. Her chapters show the perspective of the Red Turban, the rebel forces who want to take China back from the Mongols.

I hate to say it, but I don’t particularly love Ma. She’s just there to be the love interest for Zhu. I mean, an ill fated enemies-to-loves romance between Zhu and Ouyang would’ve been more exciting because at least they’re DOING things in the story. For all of Ma's intelligence, we never really see her do things outside of Zhu and Guo's storylines. She is not independently trying to undermine people or plotting anything. Madam Zhang in the south who rules in her husband's place over a huge salt empire, is more intriguing. Ma is innocent and good but while those are good traits for a love interest to have, she is boring for a fantasy book.

I knew coming into this that there’s a sapphic romance, because people hypes it up a LOT. But what I never see is anyone talking about Ma. Zhu is obviously THE most important main character of all of the characters who get POV chapters, but still. I think it's nice that we see how Zhu and Ma meet and see their relationship grow, but I have problems with the sex scene. There's only the one, so you'll know when it happens.

I feel like everyone knows by now about the infamous fisting scene. But 4% before the scene happens, Zhu and Ma winded up in a closed door scene. Which wasn’t out of place from what we’ve seen in the book so far (mostly chaste kisses and one instance of Ouyang observing a couple having sex). But then we get to the Zhu/Ma sex scene, which just throws you straight into it. You don’t get the start of the scene or the foreplay that leads up to that point, chapter STARTS with fisting. It is so jarring and feels SO random. I know this book isn’t billed as a romance necessarily and it’s very much under the fantasy category, but I am going to be forever baffled at the editing decisions that lead to this point. I don’t mind explicit sex scenes, but why are we randomly thrown into one when almost nothing in this book so far suggests that this will be explicit. It felt extremely out of place.

My other big complaint about this book is the lack of fighting. You have Zhu and Ouyang leading armies and you’re taking cities, meeting on the battle field, and yet everything feels like it’s held at a distance and no forces actually engages at close quarters in a fight at all. Outside the one-on-one challenge, there’s basically nothing. You get more page time talking about their armies traveling from place to place than actual on-page battles. There’s also next to no battle strategy meetings. This is such a disappointment. There’s a lot of deaths in this book, but not from armies fighting against each other in earnest. Zhu is a capable swordsman, but not a particularly talented one so I guess there lies part of the problem.

This book is quite violent in the way characters die left and right. But I feel like we don’t really LIKE any of the characters dying anyways, so I don’t feel any sense of sadness for their deaths or a sudden betrayal at certain turnings points in the book. They're just a thing that happens. And for all we see that Zhu doesn't flinch away from killing after a certain point, I think she's still too nice and not ruthless enough. I just know letting that doctor live when he knows her secret (that she has a woman's body) is going to kick her in the ass. Should have killed him when she had the chance. Xu Da offered, but NO someone had to develop a conscience for some reason.

I know the main characters aren't supposed to be particularly likable people but I feel like they stand on the cusp of darkness. We are here to witness their ambitions and see where that takes them. Ouyang maybe does get overzealous at the end when he didn't need to be but at least he's bringing an escalation in the plot. With other fantasy books or even dark romance books, I can like the villain. I can empathize with them. On a certain level I can understand where Zhu and Ouyang’s ambitions come from and where they think their fate is going to lead them into the next book. But I feel like I'm just a spectator witnessing their actions from a distance. I admit I do like books in first-person more when it comes to fantasy books, and while this book is all in third-person, maybe it’s not an intimate/limited third-person enough for me to feel them and their ambitions on a more personal level.

This book talks a lot about fates and I acknowledge this can be a very Chinese thing. There’s also many talks about the Mandate of Heaven, and people in this story believe deeply in all these things. The constant talk about fate did get annoying to me after awhile, but I’ll just have to deal with it. It's a core tenet of this book. While Zhu ultimately recognizes that she can make her own fate and pave her own way, Ouyang is still very much working under what he perceives as his fate for surviving his family’s murder and that he should take avenge them. It is what it is. The talk of fates is a constant in this book.

There’s some magic in the story, but more as an abstract concept as it is only ordained to very few by Heaven. It’s not a big part of the story in that you’re not going to be seeing anyone with this blessing out in the field fighting with their power? It’s like an essence or glow about them, and what the people have decided indicates who will be their next great ruler. From a fantasy standpoint, the magical aspect of this is very thin and it's really not giving me much. Maybe we’ll find out more about this Mandate of Heaven and what the glow does in the next book.

I listened to this book on audio and I think Natalie Naudus does a good job with the voices. I like that she pronounces the names and places in the Chinese way instead of, oh, I don’t know, Americanizing it? Those who get it will understand what I mean. But the way she says some names are a little TOO precise and sounds awkward instead of a natural flow of words. This is particularly noticeable when she has to say "Zhu Chongba" and it's quite stilted like an audio clip dropped into the middle of a sentence.

I have come to realize I do like her narrations only when she’s a solo narrator on an audiobook. Her narrations are a range of normal volume and very, very quiet. I’ve listened to a fair amount of audiobooks, and if you’re not wearing headphones 100% of the time or following along with text, it’s incredibly hard to understand her when she’s voicing someone’s inner thoughts because she pitches it so low. Her choice of voices for each of the characters is great and I like her voice, but it definitely takes more of an effort to hear and understand her at times.

On a conceptual level, I like the book because the setting of the story and the atmosphere of it is actually very well-written. The writing style of this book is both trying to be lyrical yet still manages to be pragmatic and straight forward? It certainly feels unique. The characters are intriguing in their actions, but I don’t know if I’ll ever like the characters as much as I know lots of other people have. I’ll definitely be reading the second book in this duology, if only to find out the ending. But I wouldn’t call this book my favorite.

Everyone should read! One of the best fantasy books of 2021! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review!

This book was pitched to me as “ a bold, queer, and lyrical reimagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty” and that’s all I need to know that I needed this book in my life. And I was right!
She Who Became the Sun starts around 1345, in a famine-stricken village, two children are given two fates; the boy, is destined for greatness, and the girl is fated to become nothing. However, when a bandit attacks the village the, two orphaned children, Zhu Chongba dies. The girl, who desires to survive decides to take Zhu's name and steal her brother’s fate of greatness. I’m not going to go into the story any more than that. I feel like if you like “ The Poppy War Trilogy by R.F. Kuang” or anything like that then you’ll enjoy this one.
There are many themes in this book destiny, gender, war, desire, duty, and more all were delivered in a way that helped and moved the plot along without taking anything away from the story.
This is the first book in the Radiant Emperor duology and I can’t wait to see where it goes, and what happens to these characters who I have come to care for.
This historical fantasy fiction is based on the rise and founding of the Ming Dynasty so this is a lot of inspiration from that. I love when things are based on real events because I like to learn what happened, what the author can up with, and how it’s all written and woven together. When I found out this was a debut, I was blown away. Shelley Parker-Chan's writing style is so brilliant, the world-building, the plotting; there was nothing about this writing style that I did not love. It’s very lyrically, everything is woven together beautifully.
If you're looking for a beautifully written, based on real events with a fantasy woven through a powerful read; then pick this book up.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I'm not sure I'll ever have the words to describe how much I adored this book. It was so stunningly written and so enthralling yet at times had me so sick to my stomach from anxiety. It was everything I could ever hope for in a book.

Thank you to Tor Books and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

I have so many conflicted feelings about this book. I think I've just realized that I don't like military fantasy. For me, it was boring to go through all the strategy and planning and training. The time at the monastery was the most exciting to me, but even then there was a lot of just setting up for the future. The way there's very little fantasy elements until toward the end also set me off a little as well.

But I did love the representation of the book and the way things are portrayed, especially in the setting of 1300s China. I loved the sapphic relationship and the trans/non-binary representation and thought that it was really well integrated into the story. It has a powerful feminist flare but also doesn't isolate other identities, and I really loved that. One character experiences an amputation toward the end of the book. and it was really well written as well, but I wish there had been more of it. I think the next book will have some really good disability representation that makes me want to continue reading.

If you are a lover of military fantasy or a Poppy War fan, definitely check this out!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

When I say I don’t even have the words to accurately state how much I loved this book, I truly don’t. I was so engaged the entire way through, even as we learned the long path to the main story of world and character building. I was so truly interested in every single character. Even characters we should dislike, I can’t help but see where they are all coming from and why they do the things that they do, that I can’t help but love and support them. I am beyond excited for HE WHO DROWNED THE WORLD and can’t wait to see what happens to these beautifully flawed characters.

I really loved this. I found that it too me time to get into, and I had to really concentrate on it, but I would also find myself reading pages after pages and keep going back to it. I'm super interested in seeing where this is going.

This book has been such a hit at our library, and for good reason!

For as long as Zhu can remember, her brother has always been promised a great life and great things. Zhu herself has only ever been promised nothing. But fate plays a fickle hand when the two are orphaned and it is Zhu's brother that dies instead of herself. Taking on a new identity as a boy and carrying on as her brother, Zhu finds herself at the gates of the monastery and at the crossroads of her life.

Will she do great things in the guise of her brother? Will she be able to take fate into her own hands?

10/10 I try too recommend at all times. Hailed as a great book for fans of Mulan and Circe, and they aren't wrong. There is so much good content within the pages of Parker-Chan's story.

Fans of R.F. Kuang's The Poppy War will love this book! Shelly Parker-Chan has made a name for herself in the fantasy genre with her debut novel that is action-packed, moving, and thought-provoking.

She Who Became the Sun tells the dual story of Zhu and Ouyang. Zhu Chongba is the reimagined emperor of the Ming dynasty rising to power. As a peasant girl, she is fated to life of nothing. When her brother dies, she takes the opportunity to cloak herself in his identity and take his own destiny of greatness. Ouyang, on the other hand, is the eunuch general of the Mongol army driven by his perceived need for revenge against the family who stole his own family from him.

Parker-Chan has perfected writing the anti-hero. Every character is perfectly real with all their flaws, fears, and anger. I can't wait to see what Shelley Parker-Chan writes next!

This story was truly magnificent. Ignore The Song of Achilles comparison, this is not that kind of book. Instead it's reminiscent of The Poppy War, brutal and unforgiving. This is a novel destined for greatness, from the proficiency of storytelling in every scene, and the dialogue and atmosphere and emotions that were conveyed efficaciously. It will take me a while to recover.

Zhu Chongba used to be a starving girl living day by day in a famine-stricken village. Her brother was destined for greatness while she expected to remain nothing her entire life. However, when her brother succumbs to despair after a bandit attack and dies, the girl steals his fate. If her brother choses to give-up, she won’t, even if it means pretending to a boy and enrolling into a monastery. With her new fate in mind, Zhu Chongba strives for greatness. And if greatness means taking every opportunity and change the world, she will.

She Who Became the Sun is a historical fantasy book set in the 14th century China during the Mongol rule and the rise of the Ming dynasty and it follows multiple characters. This cast of characters includes our little girl turned monk turned warrior, Zhu Chongba, Esen, the heir to a Mongol Prince, Ouyang, a eunuch general working as Esen’s hunting dog after his family was murdered by Esen’s family and Ma, a young woman betrothed to a rebel.

My favorites were by far Zhu and Ouyang, both characters have very different backgrounds but they couldn’t help but to feel like two sides of a single coin. Zhu is a woman living as a man. Ouyang was made a eunuch when he was just a child and, while being a legendary general, everyone sees him as a creature even less worthwhile than a woman (and that’s saying something since the book in set in the 14th century). Both characters struggle with their gender identity and how they are perceived by other people. Both characters strive to change their place in the world and achieve what they believe to be their fate. And seeing them interact – because of course, they do end-up meeting – was fascinating.

This book is marketed as a fantasy book, and while it does have a few speculative elements – the Mandate of Heaven is represented as a flame that the owner can cast, Zhu and other characters are able to see ghosts and interact with them in some ways – these elements are minor. A reader expecting high fantasy might be disappointed by this book that is more historical than fantastical. She Who Became the Sun is also quite grim, not as dark as The Poppy War though both books have similarities, but Shelley Parker-Chan doesn’t shy away from killing off characters in gruesome manners. It’s not surprising considering the backdrop of the story: war stories are rarely happy ones.

I’m not usually a fan of military fantasy, I usually skim-read long battle scenes, but I thought Parker-Chan wrote them well and I found myself excited to see how Zhu would magically save the day each time. The battle scenes were easy to picture and they weren’t too rushed or drawn out.

Reading She Who Became the Sun felt like watching one of my favorite historical Asian dramas. Parker-Chan says in the acknowledgements that they watched a ton of K-drama while writing the book and I can definitely see how they were inspired by it. Some parts of the book gave me My Country the New Age vibes and I can’t say I was mad for it. Maybe it was because the level of drama was pretty high at times (Ouyang is one angsty eunuch for sure!) but I found myself very invested in the story and the character relationships. And I may have grumbled a few times out loud from frustration but, I’m not complaining, I was really living the story!

If you are looking for a book that blends history with ghosts, legendary fates and rebellion, look no further! I can’t wait to read the sequel next year!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. My thanks to Netgalley and Tor Books for the ARC.

China lies under harsh Mongol rule. The villagers barely eke out a living and are always only one attack away from death. When her village is attacked and she loses her family, one girl finds a way to survive. She takes her brother's name, Zhu Chongba, and enters a monastery. Zhu had been predicted to achieve greatness and she now feels that she has inherited not only his name but his destiny. She is not sure how this will happen but she knows it will.

In the nation, things are stirring. There is a rebel force of the natives who want to overthrow the Mongols and take their country back. They are called the Red Lanterns. The Mongol forces have a fearsome general, General Ouyang. As a boy, his entire family had been killed by the Mongols after being declared traitors. Ouyang survived this massacre but only by becoming an eunuch and being given as a slave to the son of one of the top ministers. Over the years, these two boys grew to be men and soldiers and best friends.

This is a book of secrets and betrayals. Zhu rises to the top general of the Red Lanterns after his monastery is burned and he is thrown out to make his way in the world. He joins the army and finds a way to defeat the Mongol forces in several battles and earns the top spot. Zhu and Ouyang know they will face each other on the field and each knows that their existence depends on their successes. Who will be triumphant?

This book has gotten a ton of praise. It was the winner of the British Fantasy Award and a finalist for such awards as the Hugo, Locus and Lambda Literary award. The author transports the reader to the courts and battlefields of the dying days of the Mongol rule of China and the beginning of the Ming dynasty. There are battles, love scenes, betrayals and political maneuvering. This is a debut novel and the reader can expect great things from this author as she continues her writing career. This book is recommended for fantasy and literary fiction readers.