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A review by tolutolu9597
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
5.0
This book was breathtaking. A tale described as Mulan meets Song of Achilles and is all that and yet so much more. It stands on its own as a stellar novel expressing war, love, betrayal and ultimately fate's ever-elusive and yet somehow concrete nature.
Shelley Parker-Chan has created a masterpiece with this as we follow Zhu as she strives to claim the greatness her brother threw away. The story depicts Zhu's journey from peasant girl to monk to a giant at the centre of a battle for power, weaving around her reckoning with fate and its entanglement with her own identity. We also follow the warrior eunuch General Ouyang as he finds himself at odds between love, duty and the cruel mercy of fate. The story weaving together their narratives just as their fates are inextricably entwined together.
This book starts and ends strongly. However, I found myself feeling as though the story came to something of a lull in the middle; I think it was the confusing politics that I found stalled the account for around 5 or so chapters in the middle. However, when the story comes back, it comes back with a punch so strong and remains strong. SWBTS concludes with a climax that has me breathlessly expectant for the sequel and the conclusion of this duology.
She Who Became the Sun is a stellar debut from Shelley Parker-Chan and a new favourite for me.
4.5 rounded up.
An arc was kindly given to me through NetGalley.
Shelley Parker-Chan has created a masterpiece with this as we follow Zhu as she strives to claim the greatness her brother threw away. The story depicts Zhu's journey from peasant girl to monk to a giant at the centre of a battle for power, weaving around her reckoning with fate and its entanglement with her own identity. We also follow the warrior eunuch General Ouyang as he finds himself at odds between love, duty and the cruel mercy of fate. The story weaving together their narratives just as their fates are inextricably entwined together.
This book starts and ends strongly. However, I found myself feeling as though the story came to something of a lull in the middle; I think it was the confusing politics that I found stalled the account for around 5 or so chapters in the middle. However, when the story comes back, it comes back with a punch so strong and remains strong. SWBTS concludes with a climax that has me breathlessly expectant for the sequel and the conclusion of this duology.
She Who Became the Sun is a stellar debut from Shelley Parker-Chan and a new favourite for me.
4.5 rounded up.
An arc was kindly given to me through NetGalley.