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A review by megafish
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
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
I absolutely loved how the characters are ambiguous, imprisoned in their own grey morality and overcome by fate or, sometimes, having to break through fate
This novel is historical fantasy, so while it follows historical events, it takes liberties with everything, down to changing genders or identities. I personally did not mind this because I knew it going in and I have to be honest - I don't know all that much about Mongol and Nanren history in the first place. There are a couple of plot points that at first I felt were out of place, a little "convenient" but for me it all made sense in the end. The beginning started out a little mediocre to me, but the rest of the novel is just so well paced and interesting that thinking back to it it just was the way that this had to be set up. Ultimately, it is a story about fate.
There are very low fantasy elements in this, all connected to Chinese history and believes. It is a brutal book taking place in war times, so beware of that if you want to read this.
This novel is historical fantasy, so while it follows historical events, it takes liberties with everything, down to changing genders or identities. I personally did not mind this because I knew it going in and I have to be honest - I don't know all that much about Mongol and Nanren history in the first place. There are a couple of plot points that at first I felt were out of place, a little "convenient" but for me it all made sense in the end. The beginning started out a little mediocre to me, but the rest of the novel is just so well paced and interesting that thinking back to it it just was the way that this had to be set up. Ultimately, it is a story about fate.
There are very low fantasy elements in this, all connected to Chinese history and believes. It is a brutal book taking place in war times, so beware of that if you want to read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Violence, Excrement, and Grief