A review by genny
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

adventurous 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

3.75

First of all, I gotta throw it out there that this is very low fantasy. It's really more historical fiction, so adjust expectations accordingly. Anyway, I truly enjoyed the set-up - Shelley Parker-Chan paints a vivid story reminiscent of Mulan, only the protagonist's primary driving force is a desperate bid for survival rather than familial duty (now that I think about it, the desire to honor family is the motivation for the "antagonist", Ouyang, so that's interesting). I enjoyed listening to the story (great audiobook narration!) even as it gave me an odd feeling of dread. Morally gray characters in a high-stakes setting will do that to you, haha.

I appreciated the conversations on gender and sexuality. There's a lot to unpack there for both Zhu and Ouyang, and I think it was executed beautifully.  The monastery section was great, but I became less invested once we left that setting.  For a book set in a time of war, the action scenes were forgettable and felt like filler. My heart did twinge a bit at "that scene" with Ouyang and Esen, so there's that! That said, I couldn't help but feel that Zhu as a protagonist was a little...one-note? Take away the intense ambition and there's not much left of her personality; even the comical side of her felt like a mask. This was fine up until the point when
she has an epiphany that she doesn't need to pretend to be her brother; she no longer needs to become "great" to survive.
From then on, I was never fully convinced by why she was doing all that she did.
She didn't seem to truly care about the rebels' cause, the fate of people who aren't directly under her command...anything, really. She knew she could live a peaceful life and heaven wouldn't strike her down for it, she just didn't want to. But why? Power for the sake of power, I guess? Or is it simply an answer to a world that tried to confine who she could be?
I'm sure the next book will explore this more, because the question was acknowledged by Zhu herself. 🤔
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