HUGO AWARD FINALIST FOR FOR BEST NOVEL 2022
THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
An absorbing historical fantasy, She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan reimagines the rise to power of the Ming Dynasty's founding emperor.
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan is a historical fantasy reimagining of the rise to power of Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu was the peasant rebel who expelled the Mongols, unified China under native rule, and became the founding Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
In a famine-stricken village on a dusty plain, a seer shows two children their fates. For a family's eighth-born son, there's greatness. For the second daughter, nothing.
In 1345, China lies restless under harsh Mongol rule. And when a bandit raid wipes out their home, the two children must somehow survive. Zhu Chongba despairs and gives in. But the girl resolves to overcome her destiny. So she takes her dead brother's identity and begins her journey. Can Zhu escape what's written in the stars, as rebellion sweeps the land? Or can she claim her brother's greatness - and rise as high as she can dream?
This is a glorious tale of love, loss, betrayal and triumph by a powerful new voice.
LONGLISTED FOR THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS DEBUT FICTION 2022
About the Author
Shelley Parker-Chan is an Australian by way of Malaysia and New Zealand. A 2017 Tiptree Fellow, she is the author of the historical fantasy novel She Who Became the Sun. Parker-Chan spent nearly a decade working as a diplomat and international development adviser in South-East Asia, where she became addicted to epic East Asian historical TV dramas. After a failed search to find English-language book versions of these stories, she decided to write her own. Parker-Chan currently lives in Melbourne, Australia, where she is very grateful to never have to travel by leaky boat ever again.
Industry Reviews
'As brilliant as Circe . . . a deft and dazzling triumph'
- Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne
'Epic, tragic and gorgeous'
- Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January
'This audacious, brilliant debut is a vivid, original reimagining . . . immersive storytelling at its finest'
- Daily Mail
'Magnificent in every way. War, desire, vengeance, politics - Shelley Parker-Chan has perfectly measured each ingredient'
- Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree
'A thoroughly engrossing read with a fabulous, tragic-trickster protagonist'
- Megan Campisi, author of Sin Eater
'A dazzling new world of fate, war, love and betrayal'
- Zen Cho, author of Black Water Sister
