She Who Became the Sun
core novel 2021 The Radiant Emperor Duology
Record
| First published | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.83 (99,231 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9781250621801 |
Synopsis
A reimagining of the rise of the Hongwu Emperor in fourteenth-century China during the collapse of Mongol Yuan rule, the novel follows a peasant girl in a starving village who, after her brother Zhu Chongba dies, takes on his identity and the fate of greatness a fortune-teller once foretold for him rather than the nothingness predicted for her. Disguised as a boy and entering a monastery as a novice monk under her brother's name, she claws her way from famine and obscurity toward power as rebellion against the Mongol Yuan dynasty spreads across the land, drawing her into war, shifting alliances, and a growing rivalry with a brutal Mongol general who commands the forces sent to crush the uprising.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Radiant Emperor Duology
- Series: The Radiant Emperor Duology core; position 1 of 2 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Shelley Parker-Chan
Notes
- From the series record (The Radiant Emperor Duology): A completed duology reimagining the rise of the founder of China's Ming dynasty through a gender-bent, queer lens. She Who Became the Sun won the 2022 British Fantasy Award's Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel AND its Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer, plus the 2022 Astounding Award for Best New Writer, and was a 2022 Hugo Award for Best Novel finalist and 2nd place in the 2022 Locus first-novel poll -- all independently corroborated via sfadb.com. He Who Drowned the World won the 2025 Aurealis Award's Sarah Douglass Book Series award and was a 2024 Dragon Award finalist, placing 4th in the 2024 Locus fantasy-novel poll.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Radiant Emperor Duology: position 1 of 2: next He Who Drowned the World (2023)
Sources
← The Radiant Emperor Duology dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.