Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for the ARC copy they provided.

I regret that I wasn’t able to finish To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods before its publication date and leave an advance review, but life, as it often does, got in the way. I was able to read several chapters, though, and Molly X. Chang’s clean and beautiful writing style pulled me in immediately.

As did her storyline and blend of history with fantasy. There is culture and reality in the midst of the fiction elements of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, and this depth adds intensity to the story.

Though I was unable to read the whole book at the time of this review, I can say I already love To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods and look forward to reading it at my leisure for pleasure and not in the sense of “needing” to leave a review. There is a reason I kept seeing this book on most anticipated lists. I can confidently say you won’t be disappointed.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is an excellent example of why I don't like to look at marketing or reviews before diving into a book (being swindled by pretty covers is unfortunately unavoidable). I had zero expectations going in and can happily say, despite some rather annoying flaws, I had a good time with the book.

My review is based off of an early ARC so I hope that much of this has changed/edited down, but as the case with a lot of debut authors, To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is very repetitive - particularly in how colonized and ruined Pangu is because of the Romans. I think at some point I mentally shouted at the page "OK, I GET IT." Despite that, I did enjoyed Ruying as a main. She's very flawed, misguided, with lots of low self confidence. Unfortunately this does make her the perfect victim. I do think this book should come with a trigger warning because of it. If you've ever been in an abusive/manipulative relationship this this book has all the red flags.

I'm also tired of assassin books where the assassin doesn't assassinate on page! I don't need x-rated violence but fade to black just seems kind of lazy.

Overall, I found To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods to be an OK read. I will continue with the series because 1) I am a sucker for a pretty cover and 2) I am curious to see how the author's writing improves and the direction of the story.

Thank you Netgalley and Del Rey for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I think I can imagine who this book is for, and that reader is not me. The writing had high moments when I was very engaged; the worldbuilding had an interesting premise. The author's note at the beginning gave me compelling background I otherwise would not have understood, and prompted me to start correcting my lack of knowledge about the atrocities of Unit 731 that inspired the book. Unfortunately, the book itself didn't work for me on a number of levels.

The setting seemed somewhat straightforward at first, a sort of alternate history/fantasy version of China (called Pangu, or maybe Pangu is meant to encompass more than just China?) where some people are born with qi magic, which has in its recent history been invaded by alternate history/science fiction Romans through an interdimensional portal in the sky. The imperialist Romans have brought technology, brutality, and "opian" to lay Pangu low, and I dig fiction about the horrors of imperialism, so this felt like a promising beginning. But I never felt like I had enough information to grasp what Pangu had been like before, or how it was organized politically, or how the different parts of it that we see or hear about related to each other.

Then we've got our main cast: POV character Ruying, whose magic is the power to kill or incapacitate people by sucking out their qi; Baihu, her childhood-friend-turned-handsome-opian-dealer; Taohua, a childhood best friend who we're assured is important to Ruying but who rarely appears in the story; Ruying's sister (maybe twin?) and grandmother, who are to be protected at all costs; and of course Antony, the Roman prince who is Ruying's captor and then love interest. Let me say, I'm not opposed to "problematic" romantic tension, fucked up pairings, flawed characters making choices between multiple evils, or stories where people aren't heroes. All of those tensions are present in this book and could have been really heart-rending, sobering, and thought-provoking--but for me, the characters themselves are not fully fleshed enough to carry all that weight.

What results is a plot that is just too obvious for my taste. Stop reading now if you really don't want spoilers, but I honestly think the major plot points are laid out from the start: Ruying resists the charms of Baihu because he's working with the Romans but can't resist her own Roman meet un-cute with Antony, hates herself for the murders she then commits to protect her family and for her growing love for the enemy prince himself, then discovers (surprise?) that Baihu is a double agent for the resistance and Antony has been concealing the Romans' motives--experimenting on magic users to harness that energy for their own dying and environmentally trashed world. There was no point at which I wondered if Antony might actually be good, and no point at which I was rooting for this romance. The only surprise was when I thought the mysterious and magically strong Taohua might secretly be the rebel leader The Phoenix, but instead she was fridged on the page to prove to Ruying that all Romans are bad, including the prince she had been spending time kissing and killing for.

This makes it sound like a lot happened in this book, but at the same time very little happened. It ended with Ruying's decision to work for the resistance, so that finally, in the second book, the plot might go somewhere. I was left with the sensation that this entire book could have been condensed to background, or maybe a first chapter or two, for a more layered book about Ruying as a double agent. The murders, the hating herself, the desperate circumstances, the falling in love, all of that could provide a really fascinating backdrop for an SFF spy story! There are many interesting and difficult and nuanced themes that the author is trying to get at, but alas, they never come through with the strength or emotional effect I was looking for.

This book presents an intriguing premise with a mix of fantasy and political intrigue. The protagonist, Ruying, has a unique ability to control death, which offers a deep exploration of power and its consequences. The initial setup promises an engaging conflict between advanced technology and ancient magic, pitting two distinct cultures against each other. The story attempts to weave a complex tapestry of morality, exploring themes of duty, sacrifice, and the blurred lines between right and wrong. Despite its challenges, the plot provides moments of genuine emotional depth and character development, offering glimpses into the resilience and adaptability of the human spirit.

This story took me on a emotional rollercoaster. I didn't know whether I should root for or hate the main romance. I really appreciated the Author's note being at the beginning of the book because it framed the story in a whole new light. It was heart breaking to see the main character wrestling with impossible decisions. She was in a lose lose situation, either help and be branded a traitor or don't and die. At every turn I did not know what to expect. I wanted to fall in love with the MMC and find some redeeming qualities in him but it was so hard, especially after that ending. I had a problem with the power dynamic in their relationship and his love for her seem to appear out of thin air. I wished he had been someone who stuck to his promises and talk of equality. I am hoping that he either gets a major redemption or she gets a new love interest in book 2. This was a hard one to read but I will say that it had me engaged throughout the story. I am looking forward to the next installment.

I think this book had a really great premise but the execution wasn’t that great. It needed a few more read-throughs and edits, and I wouldn’t have minded it being 70 pages longer if we got more explanation of the world and the driving factor and more character interaction

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

DNF ~30%

I will not be rating this book on Goodreads or any consumer sites because I didn’t even make it past the fifty percent.

All I can say is I’ve suffered enough. It’s early in the book but I already get the feeling that the main character, Ruying, has no backbone. She is very woes me.

Also reading the preface about how this book was inspired by the occupation of Manchuria and Unit 731, I can’t simply set that aside and root for a colonizer romance because I don’t see how it wouldn’t end up being one. Anyway, I’m going to save myself the bandwidth and part ways with this book.

Dang, this had so much potential! What really ruined it for me was how proud Ruying was of her ability to kill people and how quickly she fell for the guy oppressing her entire people.

I tried to give it a real shot, but falling in love or lust with your colonizer, while flirting over who can kill more people, is just not for me. And it probably isn't for many people.

I received this book as an ARC!

The cover of this book is what caught my eye and made me want to read it! I really liked idea of magic and science being on opposite sites of a war and how they would evolve differently. The idea that one civilization would be so much more advanced than the other was a little hard for me to believe and the differences made it difficult to ascertain the time period this was taking place in. I found the magic system interesting, and liked the world of Pangu, but I felt that there could have been a lot more detail given about the world. I didn't find the love interest all that compelling, and felt Ruying as a character was hard to connect with. That being said, I did enjoy reading this book and would probably read the next one.

This was definitely interesting. It was intense and heavy, but it kept me interested and was different. I didn't love that the main love interest was a colonizer, and the pacing was a bit all over the place for me. This fell under my "average" rating where I give three stars because I did finish it, it was well written, and I can tell the author worked hard to write a unique and thoughtful story. But it wasn't something that grabbed me and wouldn't let go.

Sometimes survival is the only decent option. But when your entire society is subjugated by forces from another world who aren't concerned with your existence it's about all you can get. "To Gaze upon Wicked Gods" by Molly X. Chang slams magic against science in a conflict inspired in part by our world's messed up history.

Ruying can kill people by pulling their life out. Unfortunately use of the gifts burns away at the user's own life. Making her a weapon someone could wield if the wrong person learned about it. Unfortunately, her options become zero when a prince finds out and gives her few choices. Work as his killer, and hopefully make a more stable society for him to inherit and keep her remaining family safe or let his brothers have a crack at the throne with their records of violence. No good options, just have to make one and hope you can live with it.

Narrated by Natalie Naudus, got a bit dark there at the end.

Reasons to read:
-Made afterwards it's a good time to pick up a history book and learn some things
-What do you do when everything is stack against you, societal and cultural norms, family, the off planet invaders, the one gift you have also kills you. That's a real rough place to be
-Some folks need a slap
-Want to see how it will end

Cons:
-I remembered some historical events

Blessed by Death, Ruying tries to hide her abilities from the Roman invaders who have conquered her planet of Pangu.

However, after she accidentally reveals her powers during an altercation with a guard, she becomes captured by the enemy prince. She then is left with an impossible choice: to either become a weapon for the Roman Empire or die.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang weaves a confusing dark science fantasy that left me somewhat baffled.

At a sentence level, yes, the writing is lush and lyrical and I really liked Ruying’s death-based magical abilities.

However, it’s the worldbuilding that was hard for me to wrap my head around. For starters, the story itself is inspired by real-life atrocities (i.e. The Opium Wars and Unit 731), but it changes the perpetrator to a high-tech version of the Romans. Why not use a sci-fi analog of Imperial England or Japan?

Moreover, the huge technology gap between the Romans and Pangu (a Chinese-inspired planet) felt strange to me. The Romans here have guns, warships, and radio, but Pangu still hasn’t progressed beyond the invention of fireworks over the course of centuries (despite fireworks being a percussor for gunpowder and guns). There aren't any philosophical, religious, or logical circumstantial explanations as to why either. Their gods died. They had the land resources, and since magic is rare, limited in its abilities, and must be used sparingly because it shaves time off of the user’s life, it makes no sense for Pangu not to try to advance technologically.

There are so many arcanepunk stories like Monstress or The Legend of Kora that fuse magic and technology in interesting ways, so the whole magic vs science conflict here feels overly reductive and uninspired.

Maybe I’m too much of an overthinker and a history nerd, but I found that the world’s lack of believability kept me from being able to immerse myself in it.

My Rating: 5/10

I've been looking forward to this book for a while, and I was lucky to receive an ARC, but it was a bit disappointing, and I think the big issue lies in the writing. Plotwise this is quite interesting (and very relevant to current events), but actually not that much happens. Most of the book is Ruying arguing with herself, going from accusing Roman sympathizers as traitors to teaming up with a Roman prince and maybe back again? Off the top of my head, there are maybe four major plot beats despite there being room for much more. The politics behind Rome's domination and the ongoing Panguling rebellion are quite interesting to me. Instead, time is devoted to very heavy-handed worldbuilding and Ruying's inner moral dilemma, which starts to feel like it's going in circles after a little while.

The writing of this book seems like it's attempting to be flowery, but instead it usually ends up stating the same thing over and over again in order to say it in another metaphorical way. The first 10% or so is filled with just a lot of info-dumping about the worldbuilding and Ruying's past, things that could have been woven into the narrative much better, especially since a lot of the things Ruying goes on about in her narration are addressed later in the book. Ruying herself is not a terrible character, and I sympathize with her desire to prioritize peace over what seems to be complete annihilation, but her blind faith and generally undeserved adoration for Antony make her feel one-dimensional and not very likable. There have been a few accusations of this being a colonizer romance, and I don't agree with that, but I will say the romance was annoying and took far too much time away from the very pressing plot issues.

I think there's a lot of potential in this book; the worldbuilding itself, despite its poor insertion, is really interesting, especially when Chang starts to bring in the science side of things from the Romans. The plot has a lot of room to say something sorely needed in the modern world. Unfortunately, most of that is sacrificed so Ruying can continue angsting over her dubious morality and doomed romance. Overall, I wasn't very impressed, and it's unlikely I'll continue the series, but I do think this author could potentially write some very strong novels in the future.

If you are a Amelia Zhao and Chloe Gong, you will enjoy this story.
Twenties years after Rome came thru a portal, Ruying's world has fallen under an oppression.
Magic could not fight back where steel and bullets rain supreme.

A night of desperation and thievery paints a target on Ruying back when she reveals her Death magic.
Taken in she has no choice but to pledge loyalty to her enemies to protect her family.
For heroes die and cowards live.

For Molly's first publish book I think it was well written. The pace adequate and the break in the stories by section lends itself a segway into a shift of action in Ruying's character. You get to see her at her lowest at the beginning. Poor, angry, and desperation to hold on to goodness and away from her magic. Then she is backed into a cage - to live or die. Ruying makes a hard decision to live but she isn't evil. She does what she thinks is right because life has no clear path. Her conscious is still there - weeping and regret for every qi she takes. And in the end she makes another shift in decision because of her last longest friend.

I am excited to read the next book in this thrilling trilogy.
A story of culture clashing with colonism and how to retain sense of self, purpose, and country.
The romance is there. It is not the main focus but it'll be interesting to see if a character is morally grey or just evil. more to come!

I actually did like this book! I think it explored some complex ideas and issues, and it really is not a romance at all.
I found the magic system intriguing and the world fascinated me. I am so interested in the portals, and I am wondering if that will play a part in the next book.

Everything seems stacked against the protagonist and I wonder how they will be able to overcome it.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is Molly X. Chang's debut that takes place in a world on the brink of war between magic and science. Ruying is blessed with the gift of Death who is struggling to survive in the aftermath of her land being conquered by the Romans and their advanced technology. When her gift is discovered and she's given the ultimatum of using her powers to serve the oppressors, leaving her grappling with the weight of her morals.

This book has been making its rounds on the internet and it's a bit daunting to try and my own two-cents into the conversation. As a debut, I went into this knowing that there would be many elements of the story that would be less polished and that would make it difficult to read because of the historical events that the author has claimed to take inspiration from. The author's note at the very beginning introduces readers to the absolutely horrific events of Unit 731 and emphasizes the realness of those horrors despite the story itself being fictional. With that lens in mind, it's easy to see where the marketing of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods struggled to draw the line between a romance and a historically-inspired fantasy.

Yang Ruying is a character who honestly gets the worst of life thrown at her and who doesn't make the best decisions. Her thought-processes for her actions highlight her inexperience in the world which makes her easily manipulated into believing she's doing what she can and subjecting her people to the lesser of two evils. The romance that begins to blossom between Ruying and Prince Antony treads the fine line between questionable and romantic which is a path that's easily marketable to readers wanting a more morally gray relationship. While we don't get to see the morality really explored, it definitely becomes part of Ruying's learning curve as she navigates what it means to have the power of Death and how to wield it. Her character arc displays the difficult journey those under occupation experience and the struggles they must endure to learn how to fight against the oppressors.

The world of Pangu and Rome rely heavily on the anti-colonial themes that are sprinkled throughout the book. While the romance ultimately takes center stage, the author continues to highlight the hardships the Pangulings have endured at the hands of the Romans. I wish we got to spend more time exploring the history and culture of Pangu along with gaining more understanding about the magic-blessed Xianlings but that will hopefully be explored more in the sequel as Ruying continues to mature and gain more autonomy with her own powers. There's frequent references to the concept of mankind playing their hands at being gods which I do love because who doesn't love a power corruption arc?

For a debut, I think the author took a very bold chance to tell a story that at its core tries to shine light on a historically horrific event. For the book to be marketed primarily as romance does take away from that stance but with the ending, I hope it'll lead to further exploration of Ruying's powers, the development of her character, and for the freedom from the oppressors for the people of Pangu.

Thank you to Del Ray for the Netgalley ARC in exchange for an honest review! To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods was a book I highly anticipated, but it didn't live up to that hype unfortunately. Chang does a wonderful job with flowery prose (which I did enjoy quite a bit), but aside from the first 25%ish of the story, I felt as though she glossed over Ruying's transformation in her death powers, simply telling us how many people Ruying has killed and who she's killing next. It leaves a lot of the political and emotional intrigue out of it, and it dulls compared to the sharp start to the story. There is lots of telling the reader what's happened and not us experiencing it alongside Ruying. Like many, I am also deeply uncomfortable with Ruying's relationship with the colonizer Prince Antony; however, I do get the vibe that this will not be the endgame romance. Still, in this book we do have to sit through it, and I think the book could have benefited from a different approach to that. Besides Ruying and Antony (whose backstory is basically told to us...), I did not get much of a feel for the supporting cast in this book, and it felt like a disservice not to have a fuller picture of Ruying's family and friends who also suffer under colonization. I also did not get a bigger sense of the world beyond Pangu and also the science behind how the Romans invaded through the Veil in the sky. As a science fantasy, I do feel it's important to specify certain rules in world-building. I did enjoy the touch of Chinese culture to this book and the cover is gorgeous. Overall, this is not a strong YA fantasy, and I'm unsure if I'll continue the series. We'll see.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc! This review is about to be a jumbled mess but here we go.

I really wanted to love this. I was so excited getting an arc for this that I moved it to the top of my TBR. I was super interested in the Chinese characters and history and culture. I love the idea of the magic, and the main character having the power of death. It was advertised as morally grey characters - sign me upppp. (Just to be like uh is the grey in the room with us now…?) Enemies to lovers? Yep I’m there. Until I learned that the enemy is a colonizer and he is a sh*tty person in every possible way with zero redeeming qualities. And then to see that there’s been a change in the tune of advertising when it comes to the love interest now possibly being childhood friends to lovers. Kinda sus 😒 The romanticizing of not only the colonizer who’s killing her planet and her people, but also the romanticizing of a textbook abusive relationship is crazyyyyyyy. And not to blame the victim but our main girl Ruying has zero backbone and actively turns her back on her people the second a handsome man pays her any type of attention. Not only does he kidnap her, but he threatens her family and friends and blackmails her into being his own personal attack dog at the risk of not only her loved ones lives but her own, and she doesn’t even bat an eye. She pushes back being like oh but I’m a good girl, just to immediately be like “but Antony told me to and he’s obviously a good guy bc he was nice to me.” Like he forced her to kill someone in cold blood and then hugged her afterwards and she completely forgot all sanity and morals I guess???? Listen, I understand her being backed into a corner. But she didn’t do a dang thing about it. Idk turn into a spy maybe? Help your people fight back? Rather, she constantly denies any allegations towards Antony, and even falls for him, until she literally sees her best friend die (which by the way she completely forgot about her friend for 6+ months so good on you girl) and then is like hmmmmmmmmm maybe Antony is questionable????

And plz don’t even get me started on her internal monologue. 90% of the book is her thoughts which are the same 5 thoughts repeated in different ways. Ruying’s entire being is hypocritical. One second she’s going on about how the Romans (also whyyyy are they called Rome? It’s fantasy give them a cool name) are evil and oppressive and how they need to fight back. Then less than a paragraph later she’s going on about how her people shouldn’t fight a losing battle and basically a life oppressed is better than no life at all …? “Freedom is only worth fighting for when we have a fighting chance.” Like I get you don’t want your people massacred Any more but also ?????

She tore her childhood bff to shreds for “being a traitor” (although turns out he was a spy all along) and then immediately QUITE LITERALLY becomes a traitor to her people and starts killing them on command. She really has a victim mentality, and that’s outside of her being in this absolutely manipulative relationship with Antony.

At any given moment this was giving Shatter Me, Threads that Bind (the way she sees a different plane of existence when calling death), hunger games (proving your strength to a group of judges behind an elevated glass wall), Star Wars (qi cells …) even some infinity stones/Marvel type tie in with a random story about 5 colored rocks. Not that it’s a bad thing to draw inspiration but part 1&2 was shatter me in a different font.

I’m apprehensive about leaving a bad review because I know this author suffered from some review bombing. But this is 100% a real review and I did read the entire book. I have 91 kindle notes to prove it. I have seen plenty of reviews saying similar things to mine and I really hope the author takes some of these things into consideration moving forward. There’s such a great underlying and powerful story in there. I think it needed a bit more editing and focus on what the story really would be. Cutting back on some of Ruying’s internal thoughts, and maybe making her a character I want to support. Bc right now I do not care at all about her. I don’t even like her. How am I supposed to vouch for a character who turned her back on her people SO EASILY. that isn’t morally grey in my opinion. And just toss the entire romance idea out the window and start fresh. Plz don’t push the abusive colonizer romance on us moving forward. I think there’s still a lot of potential in this series. Again, the underlying premise is so great. And I love seeing diverse fantasy and Asian rep.

Overall, this book isnt a horrible book. It has a lot of potential and I could see where everyone got the Zutara vibes from. The pros; the worldbuilding and magic system are really good. The cons; I felt that the Zutara theme was miswritten and it came across as a Colonizer love colonized love story. Zutara is more enemies to friends. In this case, it seems that the opressed MC falls for the oppressor and that was somewhat unsettling for me.