Scan barcode
sydapel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
Less of a fantasy adventure than I was expecting, but deeply interesting all the same. While there's a lot of action in this book, the heart of it focuses on how the main character navigates her leadership position in a deeply misogynistic and dangerous society, trying to hold on to the only power she's ever held while still attempting to do right by her fleet. I was especially impress with how the author presents the grey morality of Shek Yueng decisions - punishment is swift, harsh and often shocking but she's constantly trying to save the most people she can. The story leaves so much open for discussion about femininity, violence, revenge, motherhood, power, etc not just through the lens of these characters and this time, but in ways that are still relevant today.
Content Warnings
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
_cararichardson's review against another edition
adventurous
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Eh, this one wasn’t for me. There’s nothing wrong with it really, but I just never got into the plot and it took me forever to finish. The writing is good, and I enjoyed the characters, Shek Yeung is a complicated female character. I wish I would’ve been more into this because I thought it was pretty well done, and I liked the concept.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Violence, and Murder
elizabeth_lepore's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, and War
Minor: Drug abuse, Torture, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
spacerkip's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
This was a very character-focused novel, with flashbacks and tales of Chinese mythology interspersed throughout the main plot. As a result, the story is slow-building, and it takes a while for the conflict with the emperor's pirate hunter, Pak Ling, to manifest. Even still, the bulk of the novel deals with the politics of commanding a fleet and navigating alliances with other pirate leaders, rather than daring adventures or fearless yarns.
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!
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!
Content Warnings
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
inkdrinkers's review against another edition
reflective
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
3.0
"She would not mourn him."
Shek Yeung, legendary pirate queen of history, is embattled in a fight with the Chinese Emperor and European forces seeking to eliminate piracy from the seas. As her story is told, she navigates motherhood, love, and the price of power.
This is an interesting book - but its not the "riveting, roaring adventure novel" that the description led me to believe. From the first page I felt like I was reading an academic paper rather than a novel, the tone caught me off guard since I assumed going into it that it would be more of a dramatized, fictional spin on the life of Shek Yeung.
Shek Yeung was a real person, and lived an absolutely bonkers life, but I feel like we got her story too late into the interesting parts. I would have LOVED to see this novel embrace the beginnings of her story, to show the rise of her into power and then leave the bulk of what the novel's current plot is - as the ending. I think the overall story would have painted a better picture than this one. It wasn't bad, it wasn't boring, and it wasn't skippable, but it was literary, character driven, and historical - which, for many readers picking up based on description alone - might not anticipate or enjoy.
Content warnings: Violence, Death, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, War, Torture, Colonisation, Addiction
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for providing me a copy of this book for an honest review.
Shek Yeung, legendary pirate queen of history, is embattled in a fight with the Chinese Emperor and European forces seeking to eliminate piracy from the seas. As her story is told, she navigates motherhood, love, and the price of power.
This is an interesting book - but its not the "riveting, roaring adventure novel" that the description led me to believe. From the first page I felt like I was reading an academic paper rather than a novel, the tone caught me off guard since I assumed going into it that it would be more of a dramatized, fictional spin on the life of Shek Yeung.
Shek Yeung was a real person, and lived an absolutely bonkers life, but I feel like we got her story too late into the interesting parts. I would have LOVED to see this novel embrace the beginnings of her story, to show the rise of her into power and then leave the bulk of what the novel's current plot is - as the ending. I think the overall story would have painted a better picture than this one. It wasn't bad, it wasn't boring, and it wasn't skippable, but it was literary, character driven, and historical - which, for many readers picking up based on description alone - might not anticipate or enjoy.
Content warnings: Violence, Death, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, War, Torture, Colonisation, Addiction
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for providing me a copy of this book for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and War
Minor: Addiction, Torture, and Colonisation
mefrias's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Entertaining and enthralling story about Chinese piracy, and of course, Chinese pirate women! What else could you want?!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
laurareads87's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea follows Shek Yeung, a pirate captain who, after her husband and co-captain dies, marries his second in command to maintain her position and goes on to lead the fleet through a series of clashes with both the Emperor's fleet and those of Europeans set on dominating trade in the South China Sea.
I will say, this book was not at all what I expected. I have no idea why this book is being shelved as fantasy - it is 100% historical fiction. While there are religious practices depicted (uttering prayers to deity, fortune telling, etc.) and brief chapters detailing stories of the ocean goddess Mazu (whom the main character petitions), this does not make the book fantasy. While the book is described as a "riveting, roaring adventure novel" and does certainly include some battle scenes and plenty of strategizing, I most appreciated the novel as a portrait of one individual woman: the protagonist's traumatic past, her relationships with other characters, and her strategizing and at times brutal actions undertaken to maintain her tenuous hold on the power she has while not sure what she ultimately wants.
Content warnings: violence, murder, blood, death, torture, sexual assault, rape, kidnapping, colonialism, sexism, homophobia, human trafficking, addiction, war, grief, slavery
I will say, this book was not at all what I expected. I have no idea why this book is being shelved as fantasy - it is 100% historical fiction. While there are religious practices depicted (uttering prayers to deity, fortune telling, etc.) and brief chapters detailing stories of the ocean goddess Mazu (whom the main character petitions), this does not make the book fantasy. While the book is described as a "riveting, roaring adventure novel" and does certainly include some battle scenes and plenty of strategizing, I most appreciated the novel as a portrait of one individual woman: the protagonist's traumatic past, her relationships with other characters, and her strategizing and at times brutal actions undertaken to maintain her tenuous hold on the power she has while not sure what she ultimately wants.
Content warnings: violence, murder, blood, death, torture, sexual assault, rape, kidnapping, colonialism, sexism, homophobia, human trafficking, addiction, war, grief, slavery
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Addiction, Homophobia, and Slavery
fareehareads's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
starrysteph's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A slow-paced, thoughtful portrait that gives a legendary Chinese pirate real dimension & humanity.
After Shek Yeung witnesses the death of her ferocious pirate husband, she steps into his place and fights to maintain her power. But the seas are unforgiving, and the larger world is cracking down on piracy. She has to lead through shaky alliances, a clever nobleman purging pirates on behalf of the Chinese Emperor, and European enemies planning something terrible.
Shek Yeung is a real person, and in Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea, Rita Chang-Eppig pulls apart legendary feats and hyperbolic statements to show a thoughtful portrait of a leader. She’s clever, and she makes mistakes. She uses her power to alter the world, and she abuses her power in times of fear. She’s intent on forging a different path than the ones before her, but their ghosts haunt her.
I’m bummed that this book has been mismarketed - for instance, “riveting, roaring adventure novel” from the blurb isn’t quite accurate. There’s some action, and definitely tension, but this is not a fast-paced swashbuckling adventure. It’s a slow and sometimes-dense portrait.
Shek Yeung’s story is quite captivating. She’s ripped from her family and powerless at the beginning, and absorbs different styles of leadership as she grows up and takes control over her life back bit by bit. And when she has opportunities for freedom - she can’t quite give up all the power she has fought so desperately to have.
Chang-Eppig explores suffocating gender roles & societal expectations, love & family, leadership, and so much more. And that underneath legends - there are simply humans.
CW: murder, death, blood, violence, pregnancy, rape, trafficking, sexism, colonization, slavery, addiction, torture, war, grief
Follow me on TikTok for book recommendations!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War
elenasperoni's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I very much enjoyed this book. I was drawn to the cover and i enjoy historical fiction so i figured i would like it. Following shek yueng throughout her life makes her a lovable main character, despite her crimes. Seeing into her head makes the reader forgive her for everything she does almost as she does it. My favorite part of this book however is how she weaponized her sex and all the trauma she had endured because of it. It wasnt trauma porn, it simply insinuated most of what has happened to her and there were no graphic descriptions of rape or violence. Of course these occured but almost behind a curtain of what needed to be shared and what could stay vague.
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, and Murder