After reading She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan, I stopped and wondered if I read the same book as everyone else. I thought, “Something is wrong with me.” So many people whose reviews I trust had enjoyed the book. Me, on the other hand? 

I can’t deny that She Who Became the Sun is an ambitious novel that captures the atmosphere of fourteenth-century China. However, I often found myself lost, bored, and frustrated. In short?

I’m bitterly disappointed.

Title: She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor #1)
Author: Shelley Parker-Chan
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: 20 July 2021
TW/CW: Sexism, violence, murder, sexual content, child death, misogyny
Synopsis: She Who Became the Sun reimagines the rise to power of the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor.

To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the female monk Zhu will do anything

“I refuse to be nothing…”

In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…

In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.

When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother’s identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.

After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother’s abandoned greatness.

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Although it wasn’t one of my most anticipated reads of 2021, I looked forward to reading She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. Pitched as Mulan meets The Song of Achilles, who could blame me for being excited? And who could fault me for looking forward to reading something people enjoyed? (Y’all should check out yourtitakate‘s review which was one of the reasons why I was even more excited to read the book). It had everything I could ask for in a book: ambitious, ruthless characters and a plot set in a non-Western setting. 

Regrettably, I didn’t find the same enjoyment in this novel as others. She Who Became the Sun just didn’t wow me. 

In fact? 

I only really enjoyed three things about this book.

One of them is Parker-Chan’s ability to transport readers to fourteenth-century China. Although it’s been a while since I finished reading the novel as part of my monthly buddy reads with Justine of morenamonologues and Mari of macnbooks, I remember how vividly I could picture the settings. She Who Became the Sun immersed me in its environment, allowing me to drown myself in the world and events within its pages. 

Another aspect I enjoyed in She Who Became the Sun is Ouyang. Of all the characters, he was by far the most compelling of the bunch. I enjoyed reading his perspective more than Zhu’s perspective. If I had to pick between Ouyang and Zhu, I lean more towards Ouyang. He’s far more interesting than Zhu. 

I also did enjoy the examination of genderqueer identities within this universe. 

Truly, I applaud Parker-Chan for her ambition in creating this novel. She took on an incredible and interesting part of history and made it her own. She tackles this examination of genderqueer identities in a way that is thoughtful and calls on readers to question their beliefs on gender and sexuality.

But aside from these? 

I wasn’t a fan.

She Who Became the Sun is an elaborate, ambitious novel that – at times – read more like a history textbook. There are nonfiction books with more life. I spent more time trying to stay awake. I even binged on wiki pages on the Hongwu Emperor and the Ming Dynasty in an attempt to stay focused on this book. 

Now, I understand that this could be a stylistic choice as it does read like a translated historical work rather than a fictional novel. If this is something you enjoy, then great. More power to you. However, it didn’t work for me. Although I did enjoy the latter half of the book, I found more enjoyment reading those wiki pages. 

One thing that didn’t help?

Parker-Chan didn’t implement the fantasy aspect well. Perhaps this is my fault for expecting fantasy from a fantasy novel. But at times, the supernatural elements felt – well? 

It feels tacked on as an afterthought. 

Now, I’m not saying this book needed dragons. However, the fantasy aspects could have been more prominent and better merged into the story. If anything? She Who Became the Sun is more historical fiction than historical fantasy. Now, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I love historical fiction. 

Still, I can’t help but feel catfished! Finally, here’s a well-received book that’s supposedly a historical fantasy. But it turned out to be just another historical fiction novel that reads like a textbook. To be quite frank? If it wasn’t for the fact that I was buddy reading this with Mari and Justine? I would have DNF’d this book. 

And then there’s Zhu.

I can’t deny that Zhu is a messy b*tch, and I love chaotic characters. I love ambitious characters who start simply trying to survive and then realizing power is survival. Zhu’s development from this peasant to ambitious monk vying for greatness should have made me weep tears of happiness. I should have fallen all over Zhu.

But unfortunately, I found Zhu to be dry and pedestrian. 

Zhu lacked the depth that her counterpart, Ouyang, possessed. As a result, I became frustrated because Zhu had the foundations to be a well-rounded, compelling character. Instead, they turned out to be the complete opposite. In their pursuit for “greatness,” Zhu ended up becoming a one-dimensional figure. 

Sure, we can argue that they are a “one-track mind” sort of character — however, execution matters. Zhu ended up being no better than a ghost, after all. 

Final Word

She Who Became the Sun had the makings of becoming one of my favorite reads of 2021. However, it, unfortunately, fell flat and failed to meet my expectations. While I will read the next book, I think this is an average book. It is not a masterpiece that I’ll fawn over. 

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan gets a C grade and 3.0 stars. Hopefully, the next book will be better, and Zhu won’t end up as yet another forgotten character.