Zhu journeys from life as a peasant girl to war and the heights of power. This is a traditional Chinese tale reimagined in a subversive new way.
Shelley Parker-Chan is an Australian by way of Malaysia and New Zealand. A 2017 Tiptree Fellow, she is the author of the historical fantasy novel She Who Became the Sun. Parker-Chan spent nearly a decade working as a diplomat and international development adviser in South-East Asia, where she became addicted to epic East Asian historical TV dramas. After a failed search to find English-language book versions of these stories, she decided to write her own. Parker-Chan currently lives in Melbourne, Australia, where she is very grateful to never have to travel by leaky boat ever again.
Magnificent in every way. War, desire, vengeance, politics –
Shelley Parker-Chan has perfectly measured each ingredient of this
queer historical epic. Glinting with bright rays of wit and
tenderness, yet unafraid to delve into the deep shadows of human
ambition, She Who Became the Sun, like Zhu, is unquestionably
destined for greatness
*Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange
Tree*
She Who Became the Sun is epic, tragic, and gorgeous. It will wreck
you, and you will be grateful
*Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of
January*
A thoroughly engrossing read with a fabulous, tragic-trickster
protagonist. The exploration of gender and personhood was totally
absorbing . . . I've been waiting for a book like this
*Megan Campisi, author of Sin Eater*
Epic, sublime and emotionally devastating, She Who Became the Sun
is as brilliant as Circe, and a deft and dazzling triumph
*Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne*
Parker-Chan unrolls the painted scroll of her epic tale with the
control of a master storyteller, revealing a dazzling new world of
fate, war, love and betrayal
*Zen Cho, author of Black Water Sister*
A gripping tale of rise to power, fate, betrayals and the bloody
beginnings and endings of dynasties. Heartbreaking, stirring,
haunting
*Aliette de Bodard, author of The House of Shattered
Wings*
Evocative and heart-rending, Parker-Chan’s debut is a poetic
masterpiece about war, love and identity
*S. A. Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass*
Stunning, powerful and complex
*Anna Stephens, author of Godblind*
She Who Became the Sun is an intense and sweeping epic that blurs
the lines between rebellion and revenge, between fate and ambition,
exposing the inherent violence of gendered ideologies and the
traumas they create in ourselves and the world
*Tessa Gratton, author of The Queens of Innis Lear*
Zhu is a hero unlike any other – her propulsive desire to survive
at any cost powers a glorious novel that encompasses grand
betrayal, love, loss and triumph. An unforgettable debut
*A. K. Larkwood, author of The Unspoken Name*
She Who Became the Sun is just amazingly, blindingly good
*Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat and A Narrow
Door*
A cinematic tour de force that feels classic and yet utterly
fresh
*C. S. Pacat, author of Captive Prince*
Instantly enthralling. Zhu is canny, charming, and ruthless as she
claims her own fate in a richly detailed world, challenging
dynasties and gender in the process
*Malinda Lo, author of Legend*
This audacious, brilliant debut is a vivid, original reimagining .
. . Peopled by flawed, fearless characters and with a dramatically
violent storyline, this is immersive storytelling at its finest
*Daily Mail*
She Who Became the Sun is an emotional rollercoaster. Highly
recommended and I can’t wait for the sequel!
*Sara Rees Brennan, author of the Lynburn Legacy series*
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