Reviews with content warning for Excrement - She Who Became the Sun

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She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

29 reviews

bashsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

Sometimes when I hear a bunch of hype for a book, I find that it makes my expectations so high that I can be nothing but disappointed when I read it. Thankfully, She Who Became the Sun well-earned its praise. I was blown away by how immersed in the time and setting it was, as well as the carefully-considered jumps between character perspectives. All of the characters were undeniably bad people... but they were also so easy to understand and sympathize with. And don't even get me started about all the deliciously complicated gender stuff happening for Zhu and Ouyang. I Love This Book, and I can't wait to read the sequel.

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julesadventurezone's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense fast-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

4.75

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jessiereads98's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This was a huge disappointment. I’ve seen this book hyped so much and it’s not even close to the best sapphic fantasy I’ve read or the best Asian inspired military fantasy I’ve read.

The most compelling part of this story was the character of Ouyang and his relationships. That being said, I would still cut Ouyang’s story from the book entirely. I see how he works as a mirror to Zhu’s character, but him and his story aren’t necessary. This book is too long with too many POVs that are wholly unnecessary and while technically they come into contact occasionally, they really aren’t that relevant to each other. No POV adds anything to the others. The jumps between POVs are also extremely jarring at times. Overall, I found it difficult to care about any character due to a lack of consistent characterization and constant jumps.

There’s no real payoff from the magic here. This is heavy on the military and light on the fantasy to the point where for me it drops to more magical realism than true fantasy. This was really disappointing since it had potential. However, almost every time

Zhu’s ability to see ghosts

comes up, it goes nowhere. It’s only really used once, and does very little to further plot, characterization, or themes in my opinion. I felt like I smelled the mouth-watering aroma of baking bread only to walk into the bakery and find they didn’t sell bread at all, just used the scent to attract customers.

I can recognize the writing in this book on its own is objectively, technically very well done. However, it still reads very dry and drags for about 300-350 pages. The ending was good, but it wasn’t worth the rest of the book. This ended up feeling like an excessively elaborate and unnecessary set up for whatever is going to happen in the sequel.

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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

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augustar14's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense 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 book had been on my tbr list for a while before I read it. While I had high hopes for it, it ultimately didn't live up to them.
It's difficult for a book this long not to feel slow paced. There was plenty of action that got me through, but it still overall felt a little slow.
I also struggle with the main character and her actions/choices at times. I understand her motivations and that her situation is complex, difficult, and influenced by significantly different cultural beliefs. And, at the same time, it is painful to see her grow into the person she becomes. The parallels with the eunuch general are fascinating, and I do plan to at least try to read to sequel to see where that thread goes. His story and decisions are painful to follow, though, too. Overall, it is a difficult read, one that offers little reward for the suffering and pain it puts the reader through. It is not a happily ever after story.

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quaint_reader's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.5

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rbeccamaec's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

Although it took me a little longer to get through than some of my other recent reads, I really did end up loving this. If I could give it 4.5 stars, I would.

The only reason I wouldn't rate it 5 stars is just because there was something missing from this that made me want to tear through it. I only found myself able to digest 30-40 pages at a time (50 on a good day). There were some pretty stark contrasts between faster paced and slower paced scenes, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if the slower scenes didn't drag a little. I think I would have been able to read this a lot quicker had the pacing throughout the book been consistent with the pacing in Part One. That being said, Parker-Chan's writing is on the whole concise but evocative.

But pacing issues aside, I absolutely love the characterisation - Zhu is an example of a well-written morally ambigious protagonist. Her character development isn't driven by a gratuitous or shallow desire for glory and power; her desire is meaningful and rooted in suffering. She refuses to be nothing, and assumes the identity of another to instead claim their fate - the fate that the original Zhu Chongba had "given up". It's a story of sheer willpower and suffering; of sacrificing one's morals in the pursuit of greatness and in the defiance of destiny. And in spite of Zhu's more questionable or downright reprehensible actions, I find myself rooting for her.

I absolutely loved the exploration of gender identity and sexuality. Parker-Chan's exploration of gender in particular was suitably nuanced and far from two-dimensional. Although Zhu privately declares herself as a woman, she struggles to reconcile her masculinity and femininity, having to navigate the minefield of gender performance in a patriarchal society. She rejects and hides her feminine traits out of fear of the implications that femininity carries in terms of her potential for power, authority, and greatness. In the same way that Madam Zhang, the true power behind the Zhang family - operates behind the facade of her husband, Zhu can only achieve greatness by assuming the identity of a man, to whom autonomy and authority are freely granted.

But she ultimately eschews her brother's identity which she wore as a disguise from Heaven and a means of claiming greatness: "I've been reborn as myself." And while we can assume she continues to present as a man, her inner conflict subsides as she embraces her newfound identity. In many ways, Zhu can be considered genderfluid. Through her relationship with Ma Xiuying, she finds a way to reclaim and embrace her femininity, to exist authentically in her body rather than at odds with it (if only with Ma). As complicated as their relationship becomes at the end of the book, I hope Parker-Chan continues to develop it in the sequel (and makes it a little less one-sided; I'd love to see Ma's character fleshed out a little more, especially with her difficult choice to remain at Zhu's side despite murdering the Prince of Radiance).

General Ouyang's story parallels Zhu's in many ways, and early on they are established as 'twin flames' (of a sort). Ouyang similarly struggles with his gender identity and is a victim of the patriarchy. However, unlike Zhu who is disguising herself, Ouyang struggles with the shame of being a eunuch and not conforming to his gender. His self-hatred manifests in a loathing for women, as their acceptance and perception of him as 'not a man' only serves to remind him of the trauma and shame he has suffered at the hand of Chaghan Temur and the Mongols. Moreover, he struggles with a repressed love for Esen, which brings with it further confusion over his gender identity (when Esen likens Ouyang's appearance to that of a woman, he feels it's the ultimate betrayal) and makes his revenge all the more devastating. Ouyang serves as a foil to Zhu, as while she rejects her Heaven-mandated fate, he leans into his, believing it to be a path of revenge.

There's so much more I could explore, but all-in-all, She Who Became the Sun is striking, tragic, and masterfully written.

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