Scan barcode
A review by pewter
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
adventurous
reflective
fast-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
3.0
This was a really different book, with a lot of things to both enjoy and dislike.
On one hand, we have two intriguing parallel plots, both of which explore gender and identity thoroughly while painting a loving picture of the setting. We rarely enjoy this kind of treat. On the other hand, the characters themselves come off as wooden and a tad unlikeable. Interestingly, the main character really reads as someone who lacks empathy (and is aware of that), so that at least makes for an interesting perspective.
Though I was invested and intrigued at the characters and development during the first 50% of the book, the second half really fell flat. The plot is so heavily fate driven that there were no surprises whatsoever - every character did what they said they'd do, and that's that. We may hope certain characters to make a change of heart, but this is not a book for a romantic reader. It is very literal and to the point.
There are also many moments with questionable pacing - we may take pages to lead up to moments (important, plot heavy and character heavy moments) that blink by in a paragraph, and are never reflected on or discussed again. So much seemed squished into the last 15 pages or so that it felt like a sprint to fit it in. This is a story that could have been concluded here but seems to just stop.
All in all, this read was... different. Not bad, but also has 0 re-readability and I probably wouldn't grab a sequel.
On one hand, we have two intriguing parallel plots, both of which explore gender and identity thoroughly while painting a loving picture of the setting. We rarely enjoy this kind of treat. On the other hand, the characters themselves come off as wooden and a tad unlikeable. Interestingly, the main character really reads as someone who lacks empathy (and is aware of that), so that at least makes for an interesting perspective.
Though I was invested and intrigued at the characters and development during the first 50% of the book, the second half really fell flat. The plot is so heavily fate driven that there were no surprises whatsoever - every character did what they said they'd do, and that's that. We may hope certain characters to make a change of heart, but this is not a book for a romantic reader. It is very literal and to the point.
There are also many moments with questionable pacing - we may take pages to lead up to moments (important, plot heavy and character heavy moments) that blink by in a paragraph, and are never reflected on or discussed again. So much seemed squished into the last 15 pages or so that it felt like a sprint to fit it in. This is a story that could have been concluded here but seems to just stop.
All in all, this read was... different. Not bad, but also has 0 re-readability and I probably wouldn't grab a sequel.