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lochnessvhs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
culpeppper's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Her agency, or lack therof, sticks out to me amongst all the other topics Chang-Eppig covers in the story. Shek Yeung's whole life is controlled by others, their specters hanging over her and shadowing almost every choice she makes. Her husbands, living and dead, give reasoning for her choices she makes. Notably when she makes choices that harm others, she may recall with a pride and maybe a little guilt that she choices she made would have been the same choices her dead husband would have made. It cheapens her actions; just once, I wanted her to say she wasn't making a choice regarding the fleet without checking it against what He would have done.
Her relationship with Yan-Yan feels particularly imbalanced throughout the narrative in a way that isn't really explored.
There are a lot of things that I'm just taking as fictionalized elements of historical reality (as I have very little knowledge on this particular part of time and space) but the lack of meaningful interrogation on what it means for Shek Yeung to have this power, and the continued lack of agency, means a lot of the other elements fall a little short of what I think Chang-Eppig was going for.
On the surface, if you don't look too deep, it's a fine book. Pacing can be weird, there's time jumps back and forth, there's some interesting mythical interludes that add a little depth to the world, side characters are all kinda one dimensional, the lines of leading questions made me roll my eyes, and I don't think it dug as deep as it thought it did— but overall, I eventually got invested and liked the attempts at serious conversations, even if I would have liked it do have gone a little deeper.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Gaslighting
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Islamophobia, Cannibalism, and Abortion
Takes place just prior to the start of the Opium Wars, at the end of the height of piracy. All the topics are what are to be expected, more or less, from reading the inside flap and having a general understanding of how brutal we can be as a species. There are multiple battle scenes, which include blood, injuries, and death. Multiple accounts of sexual violence, including rape, not overly graphic but frequent. Colonization hangs heavy on the narrative. Sexual slavery:szuum's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Pregnancy, and Classism
Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence
ra22ouille's review
- 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
The story covers around 2 years in it's actual timeline, and it also recounts time from Shek Yeung's pre-pirating years. Rita-Chang Eppig does a great job with this narrative that jumps into Shek Yeung's past throughout the book, succeeding in weaving everything together into a compelling plot line.
Shek Yeung and Chung Po's relationship had me feeling so many ways. I didn't know what I wanted for them and it seemed like Shek Yeung didn't totally know either. And who knows what Chung Po thought. They were both so smart and so opaque and closed off. Getting to know them both was like being shown a secret. I think their character development was suuuuper. And at times very surprising. I loved hearing Shek Yeung's internal voice that showed her own conflicting feelings about her development as a person. And even though I was inside her head she remained so hidden in lots of ways, which so reflected how she hid parts of herself even from her own eyes.
I listened to this as an audiobook, and I didn't love some of the character voices the reader did. But I did like Shek Yeung's voice and how the narration was read. I've also seen some reviews saying that the language was wordy, monologues overdone, etc., and I wonder if listening to it be read helped to immerse me in the writing style. I didn't anticipate that people would have those complaints so 🤷🏻♀️
Reas if you're interested in political adventures, explorations on the effects of power, gender politics, classism, and brutal stories of survival (especially survival as a woman).
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Classism
poemsandponds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault and Torture
Minor: Abandonment
sydapel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture
Minor: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Terminal illness
kindra_demi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Rita Chang-Eppig truly takes this into her writing style. This is the story of Shek Yeung and her journey to getting and maintaining the status of a pirate queen. Many have said that they aren't as big of a fan of the story because they thought it would be a story of action and adventure, but this isn't one of those stories. Parts are dedicated to the politics of piracy in the Qing dynasty with the Pirate Confederation. You'll get an initial introduction to the Opium Wars as well. But the primary focus of this story is Shek Yeung and her experience rising to her power.
I usually do not gravitate towards historical fiction or stories involving pregnancy, but I'm genuinely in love with this story. The lyrical nature of Chang-Eppig's writing and Shek Yeung is so beyond relatable. There were so many moments where I would pause to soak in how Chang-Eppig wrote a portion of the story.
I started the book as an audiobook (ft. a pterodactyl screech when I saw it was Emily Woo Zeller who narrated it. She was the first narrator I started following their work. If you have yet to listen to an audiobook before but want to get into listening to more, check out Emily Woo Zeller's work). I barely got to ch 4 before I texted my friend who recommended the book, saying I would probably want this as a physical book. I went and got it. Then, I went back and forth between the physical book and the audiobook (I'm impatient, but so is life, so the audiobook came in handy there). Both the physical book and the audiobook are beyond worth it.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
elizabeth_lepore's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, and War
Minor: Drug abuse, Torture, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
spacerkip's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The story's introspection serves well to explore the many themes it introduces. Ambition vs love (romantic, platonic, or maternal). Pragmatism vs cruelty. What it means to take power and control for yourself when the only way is to steal it from those around you.
I'm not entirely sure why it didn't click with me, but there were quite a few things I liked. The setting at sea, for one. My experience with age of sail novels lies almost exclusively with stories about the British navy, so this was a refreshing change of pace, and I eagerly took in all the details about sailing in this part of the world. The historical backdrop was very interesting to me as well. Not only in the events taking place, but in the descriptions of each port Shek Yeung and the other characters visited, from the construction of buildings to the clothing worn to the different religious practices. I also enjoyed the firmly grey morality of the main character, Shek Yeung. She was not shown to be right or wrong or always justified, simply a person who lived (and learned to thrive) in very difficult situations.
If you are interested at all in Chinese piracy, I encourage you to give this a try!
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Drug use and Islamophobia
readsandsuch's review
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Rape and Grief
Minor: Colonisation