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She Who Became the Sun
(2021)(The first book in the Radiant Emperor series)
A novel by Shelley Parker-Chan
2022 Astounding Award for Best New Writer
2022 British Book Award Debut Book of the Year (shortlist)
2022 British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel
2022 Ditmar Award for Best Novel (nominee)
2022 Dragon Award for Best Alternate History Novel (nominee)
2022 Hugo Award for Best Novel (nominee)
2022 Locus Award for Best First Novel (nominee)
2021 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel (nominee)
2021 Otherwise Award (nominee)
Two-time British Fantasy Award Winner
Astounding Award Winner
Lambda Literary Award Finalist
Hugo Award Finalist
Locus Award Finalist
A Dragon Award Finalist
Otherwise Award Finalist
‘I loved it.’—The New York Times
"Magnificent in every way."—Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree
"A dazzling new world of fate, war, love and betrayal."—Zen Cho, author of Black Water Sister
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.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Genre: Fantasy
Astounding Award Winner
Lambda Literary Award Finalist
Hugo Award Finalist
Locus Award Finalist
A Dragon Award Finalist
Otherwise Award Finalist
‘I loved it.’—The New York Times
"Magnificent in every way."—Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree
"A dazzling new world of fate, war, love and betrayal."—Zen Cho, author of Black Water Sister
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.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Genre: Fantasy
Praise for this book
"A gripping tale of rise to power, fate, betrayals and the bloody beginnings and endings of dynasties. Heartbreaking, stirring, haunting." - Aliette de Bodard
"Evocative and heartrending, Parker-Chan's debut is a poetic masterpiece about war, love, and identity.... It stabbed me through the heart then salted and set fire to the wound." - S A Chakraborty
"Parker-Chan unrolls the painted scroll of her epic tale with the control of a master storyteller, revealing a dazzling new world of fate, war, love and betrayal. Fantasy will never be the same." - Zen Cho
"She Who Became the Sun is an intense and sweeping epic that blurs the lines between rebellion and revenge, between fate and ambition, exposing the inherent violence of gendered ideologies and the traumas they create in ourselves and the world." - Tessa Gratton
"She Who Became the Sun is epic, tragic, and gorgeous. It will wreck you, and you will be grateful." - Alix E Harrow
"Zhu is a hero unlike any other - her propulsive desire to survive at any cost powers a glorious novel that encompasses grand betrayal, love, loss and triumph. An unforgettable debut." - A K Larkwood
"Instantly enthralling. Zhu is canny, charming, and ruthless as she claims her own fate in a richly detailed world, challenging dynasties and gender in the process." - Malinda Lo
"Shelley Parker-Chan's debut novel is a sweeping epic rendered in elegant prose. Arresting, beautiful, grand in scope and yet intimately poignant, readers will be drawn into this deftly written fantasy." - Rowenna Miller
"An exhilarating rise to power that takes you from palace to village to battlefield, in a world that is stunningly alive. Parker-Chan's exquisitely wrought prose brings light and nuance to the novel's immense themes of gender, power and fate. An instant classic." - C S Pacat
"An absolute stunner... The story, much like the characters, is ambitious and clever and the depth of emotion Parker-Chan is able to tap into without ever becoming maudlin is astounding... There's war and violence and betrayal (oh the betrayal) and destiny both embraced and defied. Incredible work. Cannot wait for the next one." - Rebecca Roanhorse
"Magnificent in every way. War, desire, vengeance, politics - Shelley Parker-Chan has perfectly measured each ingredient of this queer historical epic. Glinting with bright rays of wit and tenderness, yet unafraid to delve into the deep shadows of human ambition, She Who Became the Sun, like Zhu, is unquestionably destined for greatness." - Samantha Shannon
"Stunning, powerful and complex, there are no heroes in this tale, and people knowingly do terrible things. And you'll love them for it.... Parker-Chan is a major new voice in historical fantasy." - Anna Stephens
"Evocative and heartrending, Parker-Chan's debut is a poetic masterpiece about war, love, and identity.... It stabbed me through the heart then salted and set fire to the wound." - S A Chakraborty
"Parker-Chan unrolls the painted scroll of her epic tale with the control of a master storyteller, revealing a dazzling new world of fate, war, love and betrayal. Fantasy will never be the same." - Zen Cho
"She Who Became the Sun is an intense and sweeping epic that blurs the lines between rebellion and revenge, between fate and ambition, exposing the inherent violence of gendered ideologies and the traumas they create in ourselves and the world." - Tessa Gratton
"She Who Became the Sun is epic, tragic, and gorgeous. It will wreck you, and you will be grateful." - Alix E Harrow
"Zhu is a hero unlike any other - her propulsive desire to survive at any cost powers a glorious novel that encompasses grand betrayal, love, loss and triumph. An unforgettable debut." - A K Larkwood
"Instantly enthralling. Zhu is canny, charming, and ruthless as she claims her own fate in a richly detailed world, challenging dynasties and gender in the process." - Malinda Lo
"Shelley Parker-Chan's debut novel is a sweeping epic rendered in elegant prose. Arresting, beautiful, grand in scope and yet intimately poignant, readers will be drawn into this deftly written fantasy." - Rowenna Miller
"An exhilarating rise to power that takes you from palace to village to battlefield, in a world that is stunningly alive. Parker-Chan's exquisitely wrought prose brings light and nuance to the novel's immense themes of gender, power and fate. An instant classic." - C S Pacat
"An absolute stunner... The story, much like the characters, is ambitious and clever and the depth of emotion Parker-Chan is able to tap into without ever becoming maudlin is astounding... There's war and violence and betrayal (oh the betrayal) and destiny both embraced and defied. Incredible work. Cannot wait for the next one." - Rebecca Roanhorse
"Magnificent in every way. War, desire, vengeance, politics - Shelley Parker-Chan has perfectly measured each ingredient of this queer historical epic. Glinting with bright rays of wit and tenderness, yet unafraid to delve into the deep shadows of human ambition, She Who Became the Sun, like Zhu, is unquestionably destined for greatness." - Samantha Shannon
"Stunning, powerful and complex, there are no heroes in this tale, and people knowingly do terrible things. And you'll love them for it.... Parker-Chan is a major new voice in historical fantasy." - Anna Stephens
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