To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods pdf by Molly X. Chang (author) is a fantasy debut based on Chinese history and the author’s grandfather’s stories of war from Manchuria. The novel story go around Ruying, who lives in a China-inspired world that has been triumph over by the Romans.
What people don’t know is that Ruying has super natural powers that can steal the qi or life-force from anyone. When a Roman prince find out her powers, she is pushed to make a deal. Will she be able to handle being a personal assassin for the enemy?
Here is a gripping excerpt from Chapter 1:
“With deliberate steps, I passed the Fence that carved my city into halves, guarded by Roman soldiers and their white-knuckled grips on the guns that haunted my people’s nightmares, ready to shoot me down over perceived slights.
I hated these men. Hated their stern, foreign faces and foreign attires from beyond the shimmering portal high in the indigo sky that now joined our two realms…
To inflict unimaginable pain and suffering, as the Romans had for over two decades now.”
Finally, To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is a young adult fantasy novel that will appeal to fans of R. F. Kuang’s Poppy War trilogy or the Netflix adaption of Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone. Although this book is categorized as adult fantasy, I feel like it can fit in and appeal to YA fantasy readers as well.
One highlight of this book is that it is #ownvoices by an author of Chinese descent. I loved reading the author’s note where she talks about her grandfather’s war stories from Manchuria and about the colonization of China by Russia and Japan.
Another highlight of this book is Ruying’s very cool death powers. Although they are a burden to her, I enjoyed reading about the descriptions and explanations of the death-magic. It was a cool concept that I haven’t read about before. If I had to complain about 1 thing, I would say that there is a lot of telling, not showing, especially in the beginning of the book. But it gets very exciting afterward, and I tore through the rest of the book.
About To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods pdf
| Book Title | To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods (To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, #1) |
| Author | Molly X. Chang |
| Language | English |
| File Type | .epub, paperback, .pdf, kindle, audiobook |
| Size | mb |
If you’re intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you’re a fan of fantasy books in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in April 16, 2024.