She Who Became the Sun | The Fantasy Hive Readalong Week 2

A little later than I wanted to. I completed the reading last weekend but the questions weren’t up when I had time on Monday (time zone meh) and I haven’t had much room the rest of the week. So here we are. Quickly getting it in before I start the week 3 reading.

The readalong is being hosted by The Fantasy Hive. Week 2 reading and the questions below are for chapters 5 to 8. Beware of Spoilers

Hands up – who was hoping the narrative would pick straight up from the end of Part 1? How are we feeling about the question of what happened at the monastery going unanswered? What do we think happened to the monks?

Hands up for sure! I mean is it really unanswered? Neither Zhu nor Ouyang nor Xu Daoutright say it but they seem to alude to the fact that it was mostly murdered out/set to fire. I think those who could get out got out. I don’t think they stopped that per se but I don’t think many monks got out. Self preservation didn’t nessecarly seem like a trait they had.

The first new perspective we find ourselves in is General Ouyang’s, the eunuch causing so much trouble at the end of the last part. Thoughts?

Yeah I wasn’t nessecarly happy about that. I just wanted to know what happened to Zhu and I had no care to know what happend to the hand that dealt that to the monastery. On the other hand I do understand why since it is clear he has a role to play. His vengeance. He is not as ‘weak’ as his ‘ruler’ thinks him to be.

What are our thoughts on Ouyang and Prince Esen’s relationship?

Both have a soft spot for each other which feels weird because in essence Esen is his suppressor just as much as his father is. But he did touch on that a little. I think he found in Esen a ‘kind’ soul that he needed in his youth to be able to surive.

Do we think The Prince of Radiance is who he claims to be?

Oh everything about The Prince of Radiance reeks a whole lot of fake to me. Whether he is just a front for the rebels or that he is using the rebels is rather the question though, isn’t it?

Were you surprised to see the return of Xu Da? What was your reaction?

I was glad to see him again though I wish it had been on better circumstances. He feels jaded now and I hate that, that happened to him. I’m glad Zhu has a true friend in her corner now though. Fairly certain he would follow her to the moon and back.