hweezbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
She was just a slip of a girl, told by a seer she would amount to nothing. But that instead, her brother Zhu Chongba would achieve greatness. When bandits cause the death of her brother, she takes over his identity and commandeers toward this greatness as her own.
And this begins Shelley Parker-Chan’s gender-bent tale of the first Ming Dynasty emperor, the peasant-monk who took back China from centuries of Mongol rule under the Yuan.
Parker-Chan nuances the notions of man and woman in the 14th century, slakes the thirst for ambition and breathes life into war and politics down to the “bureaucratic reek of ink, moldy paper and lamp oil.”
There is a second protagonist, a Yuan eunuch-general with ambivalent ambitions who is always there at Zhu’s every crucial battle.
“They were two things of the same substance, their qi ringing in harmony like twin strings, interconnected by action and reaction so that they were forever pushing and pulling each other along the path of their lives and towards their individual fates.”
Fate, as it were, is a fixed thread joining beginning to end — and yet, something to be willed into reality.
Not sure why I took so long to pick this up, but so utterly delighted that this means that I don’t have to wait for book 2, He Who Drowned the World, which has just released!
And this begins Shelley Parker-Chan’s gender-bent tale of the first Ming Dynasty emperor, the peasant-monk who took back China from centuries of Mongol rule under the Yuan.
Parker-Chan nuances the notions of man and woman in the 14th century, slakes the thirst for ambition and breathes life into war and politics down to the “bureaucratic reek of ink, moldy paper and lamp oil.”
There is a second protagonist, a Yuan eunuch-general with ambivalent ambitions who is always there at Zhu’s every crucial battle.
“They were two things of the same substance, their qi ringing in harmony like twin strings, interconnected by action and reaction so that they were forever pushing and pulling each other along the path of their lives and towards their individual fates.”
Fate, as it were, is a fixed thread joining beginning to end — and yet, something to be willed into reality.
Not sure why I took so long to pick this up, but so utterly delighted that this means that I don’t have to wait for book 2, He Who Drowned the World, which has just released!
book_bird_anja's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
katiedoodle's review against another edition
4.0
Very well written with a strong cast of nuanced characters. Everyone is written in shades of gray; in the villains, we find softness, and in the heroes, there is cruelty. And decide for yourself who I mean by that, because I think the story makes a good case for no one being a true hero or villain here.
I enjoyed that this story included love as a main thread but centered identity and self-actualization as the core concepts. It is so human for these things to conflict, and to have a result more complicated than "love conquers all."
Without giving away what happens, the last forty pages or so were tragic, horrifying, and moving. It was hard to know who to root for. I am interested to see where this goes in future stories.
I enjoyed that this story included love as a main thread but centered identity and self-actualization as the core concepts. It is so human for these things to conflict, and to have a result more complicated than "love conquers all."
Without giving away what happens, the last forty pages or so were tragic, horrifying, and moving. It was hard to know who to root for. I am interested to see where this goes in future stories.
charlesc_n's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mxknits's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
midnight_lit_'s review against another edition
3.0
A 3.25
This book was intriguing but I did not love it
This book was intriguing but I did not love it
mirr5's review against another edition
5.0
Even though that is a little slow-pacing at first, I really loved the characters (which were brutal and kind of terrifying). The writing was also wonderful.
lavendersbian's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
evafantasy's review against another edition
4.5
⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
This was so good. I was hooked since the beginning . I loved Zhu's pov as well as Ouyang's. The way they perceive their fates as something inevitable, yet something they can shape is very interesting and paradoxical. Looking forward to reading the next one.
This was so good. I was hooked since the beginning . I loved Zhu's pov as well as Ouyang's. The way they perceive their fates as something inevitable, yet something they can shape is very interesting and paradoxical. Looking forward to reading the next one.
i_might_be_fine's review against another edition
5.0
Enjoyed it so much more the second time around, I'm excited for the sequel