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 is flung back onto a collision course with her lethal fate. Her one chance of escape is to claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness. Searching for a path to power, Zhu joins the rebellion—only to find it under existential threat from the Mongols’ most feared general: an enslaved eunuch whose beautiful female face conceals a heart as merciless as jade and ice.
For a monk with no martial skills, the front line of a war’s losing side is a bad place to be. And worse yet, Heaven is watching for any sign that Zhu might not be the true owner of the fate she has been audacious enough to claim…
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 is flung back onto a collision course with her lethal fate. Her one chance of escape is to claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness. Searching for a path to power, Zhu joins the rebellion—only to find it under existential threat from the Mongols’ most feared general: an enslaved eunuch whose beautiful female face conceals a heart as merciless as jade and ice.
For a monk with no martial skills, the front line of a war’s losing side is a bad place to be. And worse yet, Heaven is watching for any sign that Zhu might not be the true owner of the fate she has been audacious enough to claim…
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Find She Who Became the Sun Shelley Parker-Chan in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
Find She Who Became the Sun Shelley Parker-Chan in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
2 books in catalog
Re-imagining fourteenth-century imperial history through a queer speculative lens brought major critical and commercial recognition to contemporary historical fantasy. Author Shelley Parker-Chan established their literary presence with a reinterpretation of the founding of the Ming Dynasty and the overthrow of Yuan rule.
Their debut novel, She Who Became the Sun, alongside its direct sequel He Who Drowned the World, forms The Radiant Emperor Duology. The series became a Sunday Times and USA Today bestseller, was translated into 15 languages, and garnered multiple international awards for speculative fiction.
Born in New Zealand to a Malaysian-Chinese mother and a white father, Parker-Chan grew up in Australia. Prior to embarking on a full-time fiction writing career, they spent nearly a decade working as a diplomat and international development adviser. In these roles, they focused on human rights, gender equality, and LGBTQ+ rights across Southeast Asia.
This extensive background in international development informed Parker-Chan's understanding of socio-political hierarchies, gender politics, and historical power dynamics. After receiving an Otherwise (Tiptree) Fellowship for speculative narrative, they published She Who Became the Sun in 2021. The novel won the 2022 Astounding Award for Best Debut as well as the British Fantasy Awards for Best Fantasy Novel and Best Newcomer. Parker-Chan's work has also been recognized as a finalist for the Lambda, Locus, Aurealis, Ditmar, and British Book Awards. They currently live in Melbourne, Australia.
Parker-Chan writes queer, lightly fantastical historical fiction that centers on high-stakes political intrigue, intense emotional conflict, and morally complex characters. Their work blends detailed historical research regarding medieval East Asia with subtle speculative elements to investigate themes of destiny, desire, bodily autonomy, and gender identity.
A prominent feature of Parker-Chan's storytelling is their focus on flawed characters making desperate choices in pursuit of power and survival. By exploring historical conflict through non-binary and queer perspectives, their narratives challenge conventional heroism and dissect the severe personal costs of ambition.
2 books in catalog
Re-imagining fourteenth-century imperial history through a queer speculative lens brought major critical and commercial recognition to contemporary historical fantasy. Author Shelley Parker-Chan established their literary presence with a reinterpretation of the founding of the Ming Dynasty and the overthrow of Yuan rule.
Their debut novel, She Who Became the Sun, alongside its direct sequel He Who Drowned the World, forms The Radiant Emperor Duology. The series became a Sunday Times and USA Today bestseller, was translated into 15 languages, and garnered multiple international awards for speculative fiction.
Born in New Zealand to a Malaysian-Chinese mother and a white father, Parker-Chan grew up in Australia. Prior to embarking on a full-time fiction writing career, they spent nearly a decade working as a diplomat and international development adviser. In these roles, they focused on human rights, gender equality, and LGBTQ+ rights across Southeast Asia.
This extensive background in international development informed Parker-Chan's understanding of socio-political hierarchies, gender politics, and historical power dynamics. After receiving an Otherwise (Tiptree) Fellowship for speculative narrative, they published She Who Became the Sun in 2021. The novel won the 2022 Astounding Award for Best Debut as well as the British Fantasy Awards for Best Fantasy Novel and Best Newcomer. Parker-Chan's work has also been recognized as a finalist for the Lambda, Locus, Aurealis, Ditmar, and British Book Awards. They currently live in Melbourne, Australia.
Parker-Chan writes queer, lightly fantastical historical fiction that centers on high-stakes political intrigue, intense emotional conflict, and morally complex characters. Their work blends detailed historical research regarding medieval East Asia with subtle speculative elements to investigate themes of destiny, desire, bodily autonomy, and gender identity.
A prominent feature of Parker-Chan's storytelling is their focus on flawed characters making desperate choices in pursuit of power and survival. By exploring historical conflict through non-binary and queer perspectives, their narratives challenge conventional heroism and dissect the severe personal costs of ambition.
The Radiant Emperor
The Radiant Emperor
