Shelley Parker-Chan

#ReadAroundTheWorld. #China #New Zealand

This is the debut work of Shelley Parker-Chan, an Asian-Australian author born in New Zealand. The book has been nominated for many awards including the Hugo Award and British Book Award for Fiction. It is more historical fiction with a touch of fantasy or magical realism than pure fantasy. Beginning in 1345 it is a reimagining of the 1351-1368 Red Turban rebellions in China that led to the overthrow of the Mongol led Yuan dynasty and the establishment of the Ming dynasty.

The main character is Zhu Chongba, a poor village girl who takes on her brother’s identity when he dies, to escape starvation. She is taken into a monastery as a boy novice. Her fierce determination to survive and find greatness is the main theme of the story and sees her become part of the rebel army and meet Ma the General’s daughter.

The second storyline involves General Ouyang, a Han eunuch fighting for the Yuan and secretly in love with Prince Esen. His shame and anger over the death of his family and his own emasculation makes revenge a driving motivation for Ouyang.

The story is well-written and the early and later parts are engaging. It definitely experienced a slump in the middle where I found myself bored. Zhu’s obsession with her quest for greatness is also repetitive and almost monosyllabic with little expansion on this theme. The exploration of gender issues was another theme. I enjoyed the creation of 14th century China but the main character needed more fleshing out for me. 3 stars… (mere)

Sequel/final book in duology; the Mandate of Heaven is real in the sense of producing a flame/giving mystical powers, though many different people can have the Mandate at any given time. Our main protagonist (who largely identifies as a woman throughout this book) is one such holder and schemes and fights to take the Empire for her own. It’s a little rapid, after giving basically every major character the same arc: the world wouldn’t let me be who I was, so I’m going to control/destroy the world while hating the fact that I am embodied (and sometimes hating women too). It’s supposed to be hopeful that the new Emperor focuses on changing the world instead of destroying it, though it’s not clear how much she understands the difference. I read it quickly!… (mere)