Review: She Who Became the Sun

Asian Australian writer Shelley Parker-Chan reimagines the founding of a dynasty in She Who Became the Sun, a bold, breathtaking historical fantasy debut seething with intrigue and action.

In 1345 CE China, a village in its fourth year of drought lies "flattened under the sun like a defeated dog that has given up on finding shade." Once 11 in number, only three of the Zhu family still survive: 11-year-old Zhu Chongba, his father and his 10-year-old sister. Because of his lucky birth order, Chongba is expected to achieve greatness, while the village fortune teller prophesies his sister's fate as "Nothing." When bandits kill their father, though, Chongba succumbs to grief and starvation. Hungry for survival, his sister (hereafter referred to as Zhu) decides to take his name, his clothing and his fate. Disguised as Chongba, she finds food and shelter as a monk but never forgets that to evade the nothingness of her true fate, she must achieve her brother's promised greatness instead. A civil war brings the opportunity she craves, but standing in her way is General Ouyang, a eunuch renowned for his beautiful face and military prowess. The last of his line, Ouyang pretends to faithfully serve the family who murdered his own while secretly plotting vengeance. Evenly matched in strategic brilliance and both outsiders in a society of rigid gender roles, Zhu and Ouyang are pitted against each other in a deadly battle of wit and will to determine their own futures and that of China.

In this explosive duology opener, Parker-Chan puts a slight supernatural spin on the historic Red Turban Rebellion. While Zhu can see ghosts and royalty can physically manifest the fire of their divine right to rule, the conflict between two ruthless yet sympathetic adversaries fuels the action and tension. The story deconstructs traditional gender roles through the eyes of Zhu, Ouyang and strong women characters who use their agency to gain influence. Power comes at a cost as Zhu, already prone to moral flexibility in the name of survival, moves ever further from the precepts of her monastic vows, and Ouyang works against the person he loves most. The political underpinnings and military strategies are well-drawn, while lush descriptions of dress and setting beautifully evoke a bygone era. Vibrant and passionately inventive, She Who Became the Sun gives the aphorism "live life like your head is on fire" dazzling new meaning. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads

Shelf Talker: The first in a historical fantasy duology, this pulse-pounding epic reimagines the founding of a dynasty through the eyes of its well-developed queer leads.

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