She Who Became the Sun
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She Who Became the Sun
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Narrated by:
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Natalie Naudus
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Written by:
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Shelley Parker-Chan
About this listen
Read by fan-favorite narrator Natalie Naudus
Mulan meets The Song of Achilles in Shelley Parker-Chan's She Who Became the Sun, a bold, queer, and lyrical reimagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty from an amazing new voice in literary fantasy.
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.
A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books
©2021 Shelley Parker-Chan (P)2021 Macmillan AudioYou may also enjoy...
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What the critics say
Lambda Literary Award - Nominee, 2022
“The characters are bold and complex in this story of fealty, family, and self. Epic worldbuilding, high action, and ruthless shades of love and desire make the tale at turns tragic and inspiring... Parker-Chan’s debut is forceful, immersive, and unforgettable. This inspired queer retelling of Chinese history is an exciting read.” (Library Journal, starred review)
“Parker-Chan’s gorgeous writing accompanies a vibrantly rendered world full of imperfect, fascinating characters. With every turn of the page, the book offers a new set piece, a new revelation, a new horror.... If you’re a fan of epic fantasy, you can’t miss this one.” (BookPage, starred review)
"Natalie Naudus delivers this epic of fate, ambition, and identity set in thirteenth-century Mongol-ruled China." (AudioFile review)
What listeners say about She Who Became the Sun
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Brenda Allen
- 2021-09-13
Original and Engaging
This is wonderful story, beautifully read, that builds in momentum from start to finish!
Side note - I found it confusing sorting out who the characters were and their relationship to each other, especially nearer the beginning. I should perhaps have chosen the book (rather than audio) so that I could easily flip back for reference!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Connor Q
- 2022-01-12
Too drawn out
I will preface this by saying overall this is a great listen, Ms. Naudus does a stellar job narrating and performing. Pronouncing all the names must've been a job in of itself.
I felt the story dragged on a bit, I was fairly bored by the last quarter. The way the story was progressing you can piece together what is going to happen fairly early into the second act so this was my criticism with it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sarah McLean
- 2023-06-18
It was great, just one quirk worth noting
Narrator did a great job and the story was very engaging, loved the ending. Probably should’ve chosen the physical book though because i had a hard time following which characters were which as someone with no direct experience with traditional Chinese names. But honestly I’d gladly read it again just to get the full picture so 5/5 all around
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Jill Emm
- 2024-07-18
A little slow
Sped up towards the end, and often unexpected minor twists, but a bit too slow of a build for me. The narrator was fantastic.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chelsea Polk
- 2021-08-29
Epic, Complex, Moving
Loved this book. The characters are wonderful. They have light and shadow. they're complex and they move the story tremendously. It's interesting and thoughtful and compassionate without ever giving in to an easy escape, and the final act was spellbinding.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2021-08-05
Enjoyable and thought provoking
I was not expecting to learn so much about Chinese history! It was such a delightful surprise to keep googling elements of this fantastic novel and finding them to be true.
Parker-Chan takes one of the most ambitious men in Chinese history and imagines what it would mean if he were not a man at all.
The book sustains an engaging level of action and political intrigue while bringing nuance to conversations surrounding gender and fate.
The narrator seemed to have a good grasp of difficult pronunciations, but sometimes went overboard making voices too masculine or too feminine in a way that was mildly distracting.
Overall, the book is absolutely worth your time.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Aimee
- 2024-07-07
The description is not wrong: lyrical... which is a great way to handle a vast fantasy
Driven characters push forward without the book becoming too heavy handed. An exploration of identity and desire
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- L
- 2023-02-03
Best book I read in 2022
The narration was very good, and the story was better. This is the only Chinese history inspired fantasy worth reading. (Yes, even over Iron Widow and R F Kuang's books, not to mention all the rest of this little niche of the fantasy genre.)
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- mmmm123
- 2021-08-19
Good read
It was a little hard to get into it and at frist it was hard remembering the characters names but after a few chapters I got the hang off it. otherwise good story and well written. glad that I stuck it out, it was worth it
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2022-02-16
Beautiful all around!
Parker-Chan's prose is so beautiful, I want to buy a hard copy so that I can highlight passages. The lyrical writing is augmented by a great narrator, and overall I can not recommend this highly enough.
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