People make gods, and, for better or worse, gods make people.
I absolutely adored everything about this book, it was phenomenal! The world wa4.75/5
People make gods, and, for better or worse, gods make people.
I absolutely adored everything about this book, it was phenomenal! The world was so vibrant and alive, teeming with history and ancient beings; the characters were so real and human, always flawed and always interesting; the prose was beautiful and evocative. I simply cannot fault it!
Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. This review has been postponed in support of the HarperCollins Union Strike. Congratulations to the union!
The world was so rich, flooded with possibilities, unique faiths and conflicting ideals that stirred intrigue and seeded mysteries throughout the story. From the very first page, I was completely immersed within it and felt its life as it lived and breathed all around me. Kaner’s prose was so mesmerising and emotional, it enthralled my every thought and I never wanted to put this book down. I’m astounded that this was a debut, it’s easily one of my favourite books I’ve read this year.
Funerals are for the living. The dead don't mind what the world does to them.
The characters were, to sum them up very plainly, incredible. They each were so fleshed out, with their own intriguing motivations and journeys, their own complicated and ensnaring relationships, their own beliefs and fears and treacheries. They were created so flawlessly that they felt less like creations, less like characters on a page, and more akin to humans. And I loved each and every one of them!
Kissen is a perfect main character, a perfect driving force throughout this story. She’s a veiga, a godkiller, in a world brimming with gods of old and new. She has ghosts that haunt her, the flames of her past contending with the brightness of the future beneath the ever-watching eye of the sun. She has a purpose in her life that directs her across this wide world, but all that changes when she meets Inara.
Inara is a young girl with mysterious powers and a magical friend (who, I would say, definitely counts as an animal companion). She wants answers to the secrets she has had to keep for years, she wants to understand her place in the world and perhaps create a new one. She goes to Kissen for answers and discovers more than she ever would have guessed.
Inara and Kissen’s relationship is so beautiful to behold and watch as it grows and contorts, fitting around old wounds and scars, shifting amongst their newfound care and shared resilience. It’s a relationship that parallels and reminds me of Geralt and Ciri in the Witcher, a bond of family that refuses to break. Kissen and Inara are also similar characters to Geralt and Ciri respectively, and this story holds the same comfort that the world of the Witcher does—a warmth of familiarity that makes it feel like coming home to a place you never wanted to leave.
Another of our main characters is a retired knight named Elogast. I love the ‘retired warrior must pick up his sword one final time’ trope and so I also loved seeing it here. He’s a disillusioned ex-knight, wearing the scars of his battles on his skin. But his worst scars are the ones that lie deep within, on the shards of his memories. He makes an unlikely traveller on the roads and an even more unlikely companion to Kissen and Inara as they travel to the ruins of a city—each with their own compelling motivations.
Even small lives are worth something.
The plot takes us on a winding adventure rooted in a world overflowing with magic. It’s unputdownable and so much fun to read. I cannot wait for the next book and I will fight anyone I must to get my hands on it!
- (1/12/23 I've now reread in anticipation for Sunbringer, the sequel, and I loved it just as much, maybe even more, the second time! This is such a phenomenal book, I adore all the characters, the world is so vibrant and the story is so comforting. I can't wait to read my arc of Sunbringer! If you haven't already, GO READ THIS BOOK!)...more
I enjoyed this so much! Olivie Blake's main talent has always been her characters, they are sim4.5/5
Olympus was empty. The gods were already here.
I enjoyed this so much! Olivie Blake's main talent has always been her characters, they are simply extraordinary. I didn't think she could expand on their flaws and their corruption and their wavering morals and fears, yet she did. She expertly spun a destructive web that tangled them all together, twisting and changing them. I don't think I've ever seen such intelligent, cunning and manipulative characters ever written with such precision and nuance.
Morality and mortality are both huge themes in this book, even more so than in the first, and I absolutely adored every conversation and thought that drew them across the page. Blake's prose is stunning and even more gorgeous than in The Atlas Six. She weaves these opposing ideas and conflicting characters together so flawlessly, with revelations that consume your mind. This is a book that you will devour for its intelligence and its blood, it's a book that will make you hunger for more and unsettle your ambitions, it's a book that will make you want, it will make you desire something great.
It's an incredibly character-driven story that works so well because the characters are phenomenal. Not one of them is a character to forget, even the ones without POVs. They take up such a large space in the universe and they all demand something of it. None of them are content with who they are or what they have, none of them are content with not understanding and therefore they will go to great extents (as we already know) to achieve some miniscule aspect of comprehension. But the universe is ineffable and this torments them each in their own ways.
This is only one of many aspects so fascinating about the genius of these characters. They are all so very human. Despite their god-like abilities, they are so deeply human—broken and flawed. They all have tragedies woven into their histories and pasts (and futures), they all know loss and grief as something familiar, and they all know how to play the deadly game they've ended up in. They're smart and cruel and unwavering. The mind games and endless tip-toeing around their truths, prying out forbidden secrets, game that they play is never-ending and never ceases to be entertaining. Not knowing their true motivations nor their true hearts is riveting for us as the reader, and dissecting the truth in their narratives is just as much fun.
There were some unlikely alliances in this book and I loved getting to see these new dynamics and their strengths and weaknesses. And, as a selfish take, I also loved that many of the relationships I adore progressed and grew even further. Not one character or relationship is stationary.
Parisa has always been one of my favourites and I decided very quickly when I started reading this book that she is my absolute favourite. I love morally corrupt women in fiction who are allowed to be morally corrupt and exist without remorse or guilt, without having to be changed or saved. It's so refreshing to have something so immoral left out to bleed onto the page and I loved every single second of it. (Not to mention she might actually, genuinely, be the love of my life!)
Gideon—a very contrasting character—comes second place in my heart of favourites. As much as I love morally grey and just plain evil characters, I also love wholeheartedly good characters. What I love so much about Gideon is that he knows very clearly what matters to him and yet he's also afraid. He's afraid of being alone, he's afraid of what that means, and more than that he's afraid of people choosing to leave him. He's just as intelligent as the rest of the competing cast, but he's nowhere near as callous. Maybe it's also the fact that he's nowhere near as murderous. He is, in fact, extremely compassionate and more human than any of them.
However, I think it is Callum that I find the most interesting. He's full of inexplicable depth and unwanted longing, he feels and he hates it—he hates it more than anything. For all his cruelty, for all his horrors, I think he's one of the best. He knows hatred intimately, he knows it like he knows the truths he denies himself, like he knows humanity. He knows these things as one brush stroke of a much larger canvas, he is both limited and limitless. It is this divine contradiction that draws me to him. He is a man who knows he is small and is content with remaining so, he is a man who knows he is not small and is discontent with remaining so. He is a tapestry of emotions, some clear to the eye in an outstanding picture, some hidden and smothered beneath murky waters. There is positively nothing about him that is simple. Yet feeling is what it all comes down to; his ability to warp and to control, but unable to control the same in himself, unable to stop feeling, unable to stop hurting. He views this humanity as weakness, he views humans as boring and predictable and so obviously emotional, trying relentlessly to prove he is dissimilar. But, more than anyone, he feels. I think my favourite scene of the entire book was the very first Callum chapter, it expands on everything I've touched on here about his character in a far more precise, heart-wrenching way.
There was also another character introduced who we followed closely only for a short amount of time, but I admired her and the small story we were told so incredibly much. Olivie Blake, even through these (supposedly simple) acts of character creation, constructs a rich and vibrant world full of boundless stories.
I find absolutely all of the characters so complex and intriguing, but I won't go into all of them (as much as I would very much like to) so that we're not here forever. But I do want to emphasise that you will never find characters like these ones, you will never find characters like these whose pure construction will haunt you.
To put it simply, I loved it! The writing was even more beautiful than in the first, I wanted to quote entire chapters, and I enjoyed it even more than the first. You should definitely pick this up if you were even remotely debating doing so.
To know what people really are and not destroy them is savagely remarkable.
Thank you Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review....more
5/5 Oh my god I am shell-shocked, I am at a complete and utter loss for words. THAT ENDING! I absolutely devoured this book and read it all in one day. 5/5 Oh my god I am shell-shocked, I am at a complete and utter loss for words. THAT ENDING! I absolutely devoured this book and read it all in one day. I quite literally enjoyed every single moment and I am just in love with this story, in absolute love with it! The Sunbearer Trials is the queer Latino Percy Jackson meets The Hunger Games of my dreams. I am in love with the concept of this book and I'm so impressed by its flawless execution. This was such a joy to read for so many different reasons and I truly did have the time of my life! This book was simply so much fun! It's hilarious, fast-paced and action-packed, there was never a single moment where I was even remotely disinterested. It's unputdownable and I promise you that you will want to devour it as quickly as I did! The characters were so warm and loveable, all of them were so interesting. Their specific powers and abilities were so intriguing and I adored finding out more and more about them. (Xio, Niya, Teo and Aurelio were my favourites, but I truly did love them all!) The Mexican-inspired fantasy world of The Sunbearer Trials was absolutely amazing. It felt so vibrant and alive, as if I could have touched it through the pages. Every city was so compelling and unique, I truly wish I could travel this world in its entirety. The history, mythology, religions and all the other aspects of the world were so well-thought out. This is a world that could exist in our past or future, it felt that real. I was surprised by the rollercoaster of emotions that this book took me on. I laughed out loud so many times, sometimes even crying tears of joy, and then in the next second I was getting my heart wrenched from my chest. It's an incredibly emotional book, both in the happy and the sad moments. There were a lot of moving moments that touched a special place in my heart and there were moments that shocked my very soul. My mouth was hung open in shock at the last fifty pages! Talk about a cliffhanger! My favourite character was Xio, I instantly absolutely adored him and my love for him only ever grew. He's an incredibly complex character and I can't say that I can explain to you the entire breadth of his character but I loved every single scene he was in, even when he was in turmoil or distressed. His and our amazing main character, Teo's, relationship was such a sweet one and I adored the conversations they had and the protective, nurturing nature of their relationship. What I loved most, however, were the conversations they had about their shared experience of being trans. It was such a lovely scene that I think is so important and I'm so, so glad that it was there. Obviously, the representation in this book is amazing, but what I loved even more in this particular story was that our trans main characters were allowed to simply exist. Of course, it's important to have stories about how transphobia affects trans people and it's important that we talk about those struggles and talk about how we can find acceptance and love for ourselves, but those shouldn't be the only stories that include trans characters. Trans characters shouldn't only be allowed to exist in stories about their struggles, they should also be allowed to be heroes! I loved that our trans main characters got to simply exist and have problems that weren't due to their being trans. It was very refreshing to read and was so much fun! More trans characters in (queernorm) fantasy, please! I adore Aiden Thomas as a writer, he impresses me more and more and more. I will read absolutely everything and anything they write from here on out, I truly cannot express just how much I loved this book! AIDEN I NEED BOOK TWO RIGHT NOW! I want to stress how pleased and grateful I am that this book (and books like it) exist! It's so important that more diverse books are published and that good (own-voices) representation exists for people to see themselves in. It's so important to have a queer, trans, Latino character as our hero and our main character! Thank you Aiden Thomas! Everyone go read this book right now, you won't regret it and you won't be able to put it down! I hope this book gets all the recognition it deserves because it is truly incredible and I already cannot wait to reread! Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Books for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review....more
I'll be all the poets, I'll kill them all and take each one's place in turn, and every time love's written in all 5/5
Second read (31/12/22) review:
I'll be all the poets, I'll kill them all and take each one's place in turn, and every time love's written in all the strands it will be to you.
This book is and always will be one of the most beautifully written books in the world. The prose is phenomenal, so poetic and astoundingly beautiful. It's the kind of prose that captures every unique emotion, every visceral hunger, every desire for understanding. Every passage inflicts its own sense of poison and relief. It's prose that wounds you like the lick of flames and stitches you back together with a tainted needle. It devours you and in return requires your unceasing adoration at its devouring.
I'm in awe every time I remember that this book was co-written because it flows so naturally, winding in and out of time as if through the space of only one mind. I can't believe that two people share such intricate storytelling and the same beauty in the words between.
Red and Blue are two characters that you will never forget. They come from such different, fascinating agencies, they exist across all timelines yet come from completely unfamiliar worlds. They root in the seeds of the past and feast on the spoils of the future and venture the winding pathways inbetween. They weave in and out of each other's lives as if moved by a greater force, as if destiny or fate or some other ineffable thing has intertwined the two together. Their story is inevitable. But everything within it is their own. They create the spaces that they share together, they create the caverns within themselves that they later fill with the other. They stain each other varying shades and then wash the marks of their battles away.
They fight a battle within themselves far greater than the one they face as enemies. The world and all its strands mean nothing when everything around them is constantly changing. What is real? What is here? The answer, I think, they find within one another. They are immovable and yet so fragile as they are caught in the tendrils of time. They both know they are fighting a battle that neither one can win.
The essence of this story is in its raw, deep-rooted, emotional grasp. We are swept into this expertly told tale that trancends time and space and leaves us with a gaping longing for what we have uncovered. Reading this story is like reading the whispers of the message you know the earth has always held for you. It is the discovery of purpose, of belonging, of making a place for yourself in a world that only wields you until you are no longer useful to it.
In short, I don't think there is anything else quite like this book and I humbly salute genius when I see it. What a masterpiece! As you can tell, I could ramble about this book for years. Go read it so you can do the very same!
First read (11/8/21) review: This was absolutely beautiful. The prose was flowery and poetic. I loved the writing style and the way their connection sparked throughout the letters. The characters were instantly intriguing and I loved learning more and more about them and their distinctly separate agencies and communities. As in most SFF books, I was slightly confused at the start whilst adjusting to this new world, but it’s easy enough to understand once it gets going. One of my many favourite quotes was, ‘I'll be all the poets, I'll kill them all and take each one's place in turn, and every time love's written in all the strands it will be to you.’ Time-travelling, enemies-to-lovers sapphics! Need I say more? I needn’t. Go read this book!...more
Desire is the cause of all suffering. The greater the desire, the greater the suffering, and now she desired greatn5/5
Second read (11/4/23) review:
Desire is the cause of all suffering. The greater the desire, the greater the suffering, and now she desired greatness itself.
I adored reading this for a second time. I took in the themes and conversations on gender even better, I saw more of the nuances in relationships, I glimpsed the aspects that connected and separated characters in finer detail.
Parker-Chan effortlessly writes such lyrical, poetic descriptions. It is quite frankly an honour to read something so beautiful. Their descriptions cut the war-stricken landscape and impoverished peoples with such a precise blade. In this they capture despair and desolation, they mould ruin and in it capture the sparks of the flickering hope that remains. This is where their skill grows astoundingly evident. With such ease, they're able to capture the desperate clamouring of hope, the unquenchable will of greatness, the ceaseless defiance of Zhu.
Zhu longs for her great destiny more than she has ever longed for anything. It is a desire that burns her, a desire that even wounds her, but ultimately it's a desire that gives her purpose. Her desire for greatness is who she is. She wants more than what she was trapped with at birth, more than the life that she was supposed to live, more than what the fortune-teller claimed would be her destiny. But Zhu feels it—this forgotten destiny, this young girl buried in Zhongli with the rest—as its ghostly fingers grasp at her. She avoids the unnerving spirits, she hides from the eyes of Heaven. But she never knows if she's done enough. This stolen life she's claimed. Can its destiny now be hers just because she wills it so? Just because she desires it? She wades through the chasms of these depths in a fascinating journey of fear and longing and then, later, acceptance.
She saw someone who seemed neither male nor female, but another substance entirely: something wholly and powerfully of its own kind. The promise of difference, made real.
The themes of gender are explored expertly in every single part of this novel. We see it most obviously in Zhu, in what she represents. The promise of difference, made real. But in Ouyang's perspective we dive deeper into an even more complex conversation. I didn't realise upon my first read just how nuanced every aspect of Ouyang's story is and it was a privilege to rediscover it. From the very beginning, we are thrust into the hauntings of his story. And it is not only his past and purpose that follow him. I loved Parker-Chan's use of yin energies, the way they were used impacted the themes on gender subtly but poignantly, I think it was so intelligently done. This is what we are witness to all throughout, Parker-Chan's indomitable skill with words.
Ouyang's relationships with those around him (namely Esen) were always captivating to me, and this captivation only grew upon my reread. Ouyang's struggle with identity is so fascinating, I think, because it is happening on so many different levels. There are the gender aspects; his shame, his performance, his sense of otherness that removes him from the strict lines of the world's typical views. There are his heritage aspects; his blood, his family, his purpose he is yet to bestow upon his Mongol masters. His mix of affection and hatred in the relationships that he cultivates also confuses him further. He is lost and ashamed.
It is fascinating to see the sameness that Zhu and Ouyang feel, to witness all the similarities that draw them together and join them into the same wretched dance. But, I would argue, it's even more fascinating to see in what ways they differ. I believe that Ouyang's overwhelming shame is prominent in both their similarities and their differences. (Minor spoiler just for this sentence...) And I believe that this is why in his attempt to wound Zhu with a shame akin to his own, he instead frees her from what she once viewed as her boundaries. (Spoiler over.)
Desire is the cause of all suffering. All Zhu had ever desired was to live.
I could quite literally talk about this book forever, but I want this review to be readable for people who haven't yet read it (but I implore you to do so) and I also don't want it to be dauntingly long. I absolutely cannot wait for He Who Drowned the World coming out soon! If you haven't read this book yet, you absolutely should! I could not sing its praises more if I tried.
She Who Became the Sun is my perfect book. It encapsulates so many things that I love and executes them all perfectly. I think Parker-Chan is a genius and I cannot wait to see all that they achieve—I will read their shopping list! If anyone wants me to talk about this book more, (and even if they don't) upon my third read I'll dive into everything wholeheartedly with spoilers galore.
Ouyang felt his ancestors’ eyes upon him as he ate with the son of his family’s murderer, the person he held dearest in all the world.
First read (26/9/21) review: This book will haunt me forever! Where do I start? How can I even begin to explain how incredible this book was? The writing was absolutely beautiful, the prose was magical and allowed you to feel every emotion so powerfully and wholly. Every moment was packed full of meaning and this book hit me right in the core of my being. Every last character was so intricate and complex, I adored them all and all their interwoven relationships. Zhu and Ouyang were perfect as the main protagonists, their similarities first stand out and call to each other, but what I loved most was seeing the intricacy of their differences throughout the story. I loved how almost all of the characters were immoral in achieving their desires. Xu Da was one of the sweetest characters from the very beginning. Esen and Ouyang’s relationship was definitely the most painful and obviously therefore also my favourite. The focus on desire and gender and greatness made the most compelling mix of themes throughout and I know I will not be able to stop thinking about this book ever!! She Who Became the Sun is described as ‘Mulan meets The Song of Achilles’ which was an instant sell to me as I adore both, however (dare I say it) I think She Who Became the Sun is even better! Some of my favourite quotes were; ‘How could her body be a woman’s body, if it didn’t house a woman?’, ‘The greater the desire, the greater the suffering, and now she desired greatness itself.’, and ‘She saw someone who seemed neither male nor female, but another substance entirely: something wholly and powerfully of its own kind. The promise of difference, made real.’ Go read this book!...more
He does not mean it does not hurt. He does not mean we are not frightened. Only that: we are here. This is what it means to swim in the tide, 4.5/5
He does not mean it does not hurt. He does not mean we are not frightened. Only that: we are here. This is what it means to swim in the tide, to walk the earth and feel it touch your feet. This is what it means to be alive.
Review upon first read (5/9/21): What a perfect ending. I adored this! The Song of Achilles is one of my all-time favourite books, so I had high expectations. Circe met them all! I love how interwoven all the Greek myths are, it was so interesting to see them all connected in this story. The author did an incredible job of keeping every part of this book interesting and full of new twists and turns. I loved Circe as a character, she was amazing. So many of the characters, even ones with very small parts, were complex and varied and intriguing. I loved it! I had no idea how it was going to end, but I think the ending was absolutely perfect. The writing all throughout was beautiful and Madeline Miller’s prose has always been stunning. Some of my favourite quotes included: ‘He showed me his scars, and in return he let me pretend I had none.’ ‘He does not mean it does not hurt. He does not mean we are not frightened. Only that: we are here. This is what it means to swim in the tide, to walk the earth and feel it touch your feet. This is what it means to be alive.’ And many, many more. I think I should create a petition to get her to retell the story of Medusa!
I thought once that gods are the opposite of death, but I see now they are more dead than anything, for they are unchanging, and can hold nothing in their hands....more
(This series is a lot better in my memory than upon reread, nostalgia does so much heavy lifting as3.5/5
"Please, Tommy. Please." will always haunt me.
(This series is a lot better in my memory than upon reread, nostalgia does so much heavy lifting as well as my memories of how likeable the characters were in the films. I know it's a bookish crime, but I honestly think I prefer the films, sorry!)...more
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