She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor Duology, 1)
Description
Two-time British Fantasy Award Winner
Astounding Award Winner
Lambda Literary Award Finalist
Hugo Award Finalist
Locus Award Finalist
Otherwise Award Finalist
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Community Reviews
3.5 - this started off strong and started dragging real fast once the formation and world-building was done; i'm not a huge fan of wartime in books (the poppy war is a masterfully done exception) and that's mostly what this was. i felt that zhu's character was very one-dimensional - and yes, that was the whole point, basing her survival off her single-minded desire to reach for her fate of greatness, but there was definitely opportunity to flesh ...read more
✅ Plot, setting and themes [⚠️ what else do you need?]
✅ Character-driven story [⚠️ 1st part is single POV, 2nd is multi-POV]
✅ Fleshed out moral grey characters
✅ Diverse cat, great queer rep and gender questioning
✅Romance equal parts yearning and angst
✅ Historical adventure w/ touches of fantasy
✅ Heroic tale
This book certainly has a way of hooking into you and keeping you there. From the very first moment Zhu is introduced, her determination and resilience is palpable through the pages. For me, I was caught in between admiring her for her ability to do what was necessary for her, as all the male characters seem to do with no remorse for their actions, and feeling horror at how far she would go to get what she wanted. I think the book is an interesti...read more
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