About the Book
For listeners 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
When Shek Yeung sees a Portuguese sailor slay her husband, a feared pirate, she knows she must act swiftly or die. 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.
But as Shek Yeung vies for control over the army she knows she was born to lead, larger threats loom. 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. Even worse, Shek Yeung's cutthroat retributions create problems all their own. 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.
A 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.
About the Author :
Rita Chang-Eppig received her MFA from New York University. Her stories have appeared in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Conjunctions, Clarkesworld, One Story, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Best American Short Stories 2021 (selected by Jesmyn Ward), and elsewhere. She has received fellowships from the Rona Jaffe Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University. She lives in California.
Emily Woo Zeller is an Earphones award-winning audiobook narrator. After beginning her voiceover career with Asian animation, she returned to the United States and began narrating a broad spectrum of audiobook genres. Her multilingual, multicultural framework brings a particularly unique, clear-eyed, and intimate perspective to the Asian American narratives she specializes in.
Review :
"[An] epic adventure story that dabbles with magical realism."
-- "BookRiot"
"A debut novel inspired by the legendary career of one of history's most successful pirates...with many moments of real lyrical beauty."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"A pirate queen, a mother, a ruthless killer, and a loyal friend...an unforgettable heroine whose journey will keep readers hooked from beginning to end."
-- "Anna North, New York Times bestselling author"
"A refreshingly vivid adventure tale."
-- "Elle"
"In this swashbuckling saga, the Chinese Emperor, colonial European forces, and even the mythological sea goddess Ma-Zou attempt to thwart Shek Yeung's plans at every turn, and she must battle fiercely for the world she believes in."
-- "Washington Post"
"Paints a complex portrait of one of history's most powerful women. A gorgeous, vivid adventure."
-- "Erika Swyler, author of Light from Other Stars"
"Will captivate readers' imaginations...in this blend of high-stakes action and a complex character sketch of a fierce and wily leader."
-- "Shelf Awareness"
"A riveting, heart-pounding exploration of ambition, grit, and...the fiery, magnetic Shek Yeung."
-- "Kirstin Chen, author of Counterfeit"
"A rollicking nineteenth-century adventure on the South China Sea...The plot is clever and serpentine, exploring questions of power, violence, gender, and fate. This is not to be missed."
-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"
"It's refreshing to see not only a mixed-gender crew but also a woman with a complicated relationship to motherhood, her intended place in the world, and her ambitions...Her adventures will make you want to take up the sword and learn to sail."
-- "Tor.com"
