Celle qui devint le soleil réinvente l'ascension vers le pouvoir du premier empereur de la dynastie Ming. Zhu, l'impossible survivante, est prête à tout pour acquérir le mandat du Ciel...
« Je refuse de n'être rien. »
Dans un village rongé par la famine, au coeur d'une plaine poussiéreuse, deux enfants reçoivent chacun une destinée. Le garçon est promis à la grandeur. La fille, au néant...
En 1345, la Chine est soumise à la cruelle domination mongole. Pour les paysans faméliques des Plaines du Milieu, la grandeur n'existe que dans les contes. Quand la famille Zhu apprend que Chongba, leur huitième fils, est promis à un fabuleux destin, tous peinent à imaginer comment s'accomplira ce miracle. En revanche, nul ne s'étonne que la deuxième fille des Zhu, fine et débrouillarde, soit promise... au néant.
Mais lorsqu'une attaque de hors-la-loi les laisse orphelins, c'est le fils qui se laisse mourir de chagrin. Prête à tout pour échapper à sa fin annoncée, la jeune fille endosse l'identité de son frère afin de devenir novice dans un monastère. Là, poussée par un impérieux désir de survivre, Zhu apprend qu'elle est capable de tout - même du pire - pour déjouer sa destinée.
Lorsque son sanctuaire est détruit pour avoir soutenu la rébellion contre les Mongols, Zhu saisit cette chance de s'emparer d'un tout autre avenir : la grandeur abandonnée de son frère...
 
« Fin, audacieux, ce premier roman réinvente l'Histoire sous la forme d'un conte original et mémorable. Peuplé de personnages imparfaits et intrépides, il vous emporte dans son monde dramatique et violent par le biais d'une narration incroyablement immersive. » Daily Mail
« Magnifique à tout point de vue. Guerre, désir, vengeance et politique... Shelley Parker-Chan a su mesurer à la perfection chaque ingrédient de cette épopée historique et queer. Ce récit ne craint ni la lumière de l'humour et de la tendresse, ni la noirceur de l'ambition humaine. Celle qui devint le soleil, comme Zhu, est indiscutablement promise à un grand avenir. » Samantha Shannon (Le Prieuré de l'Oranger)
« Le roman exaltant d'une montée au pouvoir. Entre palais, villages et champs de bataille, le lecteur est transporté dans un monde extraordinairement vivant. La prose de Shelley Parker-Chan apporte lumière et subtilité aux thèmes de son récit : le genre, le pouvoir et la destinée. Déjà un classique. » C.S. Pacat (Prince Captif)
« Absolument fantastique... Guerre, violence, trahison (et quelle trahison !) ; la destinée qu'on épouse, celle qu'on rejette... un superbe roman. J'attends le suivant avec impatience. » Rebecca Roanhorse (La Piste des éclairs)
« Évocateur et bouleversant, le premier roman de Shelley Parker-Chan est un chef-d'oeuvre poétique sur le thème de la guerre, de l'amour et de l'identité. » S.A. Chakraborty (La Cité de Laiton)
 
British Fantasy Award de la meilleure nouvelle autrice et du meilleur roman fantasy
Astounding Award de la meilleure nouvelle autrice Lire la suite Fermer

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. '' 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 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. ''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 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. Lire la suite Fermer

Mulan meets The Song of Achilles in He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan - a dazzling queer historical fantasy of war and destiny set in an epic alternate China, and sequel to Sunday Times bestselling She Who Became the Sun.

What would you give to win the world?

Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory - one that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor.

However, Zhu isn''t the only one with imperial aspirations. Courtesan Madam Zhang plots to steal the throne for her husband. But scorned scholar Wang Baoxiang is even closer to the throne. He''s maneuverered his way to the capital, where his courtly games threaten to bring the empire to its knees. For Baoxiang also desires revenge: to become the most degenerate Great Khan in history. In the process, he''d make a mockery of the warrior values his Mongol family loved more than him.

To stay in the game, Zhu must gamble everything on one bold move. A risky alliance with an old enemy: Ouyang, the brilliant but unstable eunuch general. All contenders will do whatever it takes to win. But when desire has no end, and ambition no limits, could the price be too high for even the most ruthless heart to bear?

Praise for She Who Became the Sun:

''As brilliant as Circe . . . a deft and dazzling triumph'' - Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne ''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 Lire la suite Fermer

He Who Drowned the World is the sequel to the Sunday Times bestseller She Who Became the Sun.

What would you give to win the world?

Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory - one that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor.

However, Zhu isn''t the only one with imperial aspirations. Courtesan Madam Zhang plots to steal the throne for her husband. But scorned scholar Wang Baoxiang is even closer to the throne. He''s maneuverered his way to the capital, where his courtly games threaten to bring the empire to its knees. For Baoxiang also desires revenge: to become the most degenerate Great Khan in history. In the process, he''d make a mockery of the warrior values his Mongol family loved more than him.

To stay in the game, Zhu must gamble everything on one bold move. A risky alliance with an old enemy: Ouyang, the brilliant but unstable eunuch general. All contenders will do whatever it takes to win. But when desire has no end, and ambition no limits, could the price be too high for even the most ruthless heart to bear?

Praise for She Who Became the Sun:

''As brilliant as Circe . . . a deft and dazzling triumph'' - Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne ''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 Lire la suite Fermer