Of the finalists for Best Novel in the 2022 Hugo Awards, 'She Who Became the Sun' has lightest touch of SFF elements. Shelley Parker-Chan's imagined China is geographically similar to the one which exists in our own world, and has experienced similar historical events. Mongols have invaded and now rule. Rebellions by the conquered Han are endemic. But the Mandate of Heaven is real, and is manifested in light by those who hold it. To rule and gain followers, the ruler must manifest that power. And ghosts haunt the living, whether they are visible to the living or not. It is also a queer reimagination
The tale is told from the point of view of two main characters, each of whom seeks their inevitable fate. Balancing these forces of nature (and hard to love characters) is the empathic viewpoint of Ma Xiuying who will become Zhu's wife.
A nameless girl from a destitute and starving village takes the identity of her brother Zhu Chongba after he and her father are killed by brigands. She also adopts his promised destiny of greatness, as if by subborn desire she can make it so.
The eunuch General Ouyang fears his fate. He leads the Mongol armies of Esen-Temur, but he is fated to take revenge against those who killed his family to the ninth degree, but spared him to enslave and castrate. He loves and hates his service. And so he is fated to kill that which he also loves.
These two are destined to meet in battle. More than once. And the pathway each follows in the novel is catalysed by the other. There is plently of political maneuvering and dastardly deeds, bloody battles and fearsome retribution.
'She Who Became the Sun' may be read as a stand-alone. It ends at a significant point in the story of Zhu's fate, but is clearly not the whole tale. A sequel is promised.
It is a well paced and evocatively written story, and is highly recommended.
The tale is told from the point of view of two main characters, each of whom seeks their inevitable fate. Balancing these forces of nature (and hard to love characters) is the empathic viewpoint of Ma Xiuying who will become Zhu's wife.
A nameless girl from a destitute and starving village takes the identity of her brother Zhu Chongba after he and her father are killed by brigands. She also adopts his promised destiny of greatness, as if by subborn desire she can make it so.
The eunuch General Ouyang fears his fate. He leads the Mongol armies of Esen-Temur, but he is fated to take revenge against those who killed his family to the ninth degree, but spared him to enslave and castrate. He loves and hates his service. And so he is fated to kill that which he also loves.
These two are destined to meet in battle. More than once. And the pathway each follows in the novel is catalysed by the other. There is plently of political maneuvering and dastardly deeds, bloody battles and fearsome retribution.
'She Who Became the Sun' may be read as a stand-alone. It ends at a significant point in the story of Zhu's fate, but is clearly not the whole tale. A sequel is promised.
It is a well paced and evocatively written story, and is highly recommended.