Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig

What I appreciate the most is that Eppig weaves Chinese mythology and historical elements in the narrative (Mazu, the goddess of the sea and the Empress of Heaven and the Qing dynasty), bringing known characters to life. When one finally has a voice and turn at dictating the course of things, it's hard to navigate between the tenuous line of 'freedom x chasing power'. However Yeung is far from a perfect character - Eppig details human experiences such as love and grief while the MC deals with womanhood and motherhood. She does what it takes to survive in a world on a brink and defies women's role in a male-dominated place.

After assaulting a Portuguese ship and her partner dies, Yeung allies with Cheung Po (second-in-command) through marriage to secure her position and control over the army.įrom a person of humble origins to a leader who commands the largest pirate fleet in China, there's something about how Yeung grapples with power in a ruthless way that makes her a magnetic character. This is a historical adventurous tale about the legendary Chinese pirate queen Shek Yeung. 'All this world is, is people exacting their will on others.' 'The world was full of people who'd triumphed because they'd clung to their secrets and people who'd succumbed because they'd loosed their secrets too easily or too early.' As Shek Yeung navigates new motherhood and the crises of leadership, she must decide how long she is willing to fight, and at what price, or risk losing her fleet, her new family, and even her life.Ī book of salt and grit, blood and sweat, Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea is an unmissable portrait of a woman who leads with the courage and ruthlessness of our darkest and most beloved heroes. Even worse, Shek Yeung's cutthroat retributions create problems all their own. The Chinese Emperor has charged a brutal, crafty nobleman with ridding the South China Seas of pirates, and the Europeans-tired of losing ships, men, and money to Shek Yeung's alliance-have new plans for the area. Instead of mourning, Shek Yeung launches a new plan: immediately marrying her husband's second-in-command, and agreeing to bear him a son and heir, in order to retain power over her half of the fleet.īut as Shek Yeung vies for control over the army she knows she was born to lead, larger threats loom. When Shek Yeung sees a Portuguese sailor slay her husband, a feared pirate, she knows she must act swiftly or die.

For readers of Outlawed, Piranesi, and The Night Tiger, a riveting, roaring adventure novel about a legendary Chinese pirate queen, her fight to save her fleet from the forces allied against them, and the dangerous price of power.

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig