The Poet Empress

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What to expect

'Vicious, gorgeous, and fiercely haunting' CHLOE GONG
'Sublime' AMELIE WEN ZHAO
'Enthralling' ANDREA STEWART
'Astounding' CHELSEA ABDULLAH
'Lyrical' K. X. SONG
'Devastating' KRITIKA H. RAO
'Fantasy at its best' VAISHNAVI PATEL

TO KILL A MONSTER, SHE MUST BECOME ONE . . .

As the emperor lays dying, the once-great Azalea Dynasty plunges towards civil war. While its princes plot for power, a more hidden war - to become the next empress - occupies the imperial court.

Wei Yin - peasant girl turned concubine to the cruel Prince Terren - has already endured unimaginable suffering. Ripped from her family, she has no title, no allies, and no escape. But she does have a secret . . .

In the shadows of the palace, surrounded by enemies, she is learning a skill forbidden to women. Because when words are weapons and poetry holds an ancient magic, the fate of a girl - and a nation - can both be rewritten. All she has to do is compose the perfect poem - a tale so powerful, it can kill any man, even the next emperor.

The epic political arena of The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang meets the intimate tragedy and luscious language of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller in this sensational debut novel by visionary new talent Shen Tao, unmissable for die-hard genre fans as well as readers of literary fiction looking to make their first foray into fantasy.

Critics Review

The very definition of an epic. The Poet Empress draws its world with sharp clarity, its characters with astounding depth, and its magic with flawless precision. Vicious, gorgeous, and fiercely haunting until the end
Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of Immortal Longings
The Poet Empress is a hidden knife, one that cuts so deeply and cleanly that it excises your heart and makes you like it. I have rarely had such a breathless reading experience, where each page reveals the ways in which humanity's beauty and ugliness run lockstep with one another. Terrifying and enthralling!
Andrea Stewart, Sunday Times bestselling author
Sublime. Against a lush, poetic rendition of ancient China, Tao unfurls a breathlessly sweeping and brutally romantic historical epic woven with themes of feminism, courage, and morality. Powerful and poignant, The Poet Empress is one of my favorite recent reading experiences
Amélie Wen Zhao, New York Times and No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of THE SCORPION AND THE NIGHT BLOSSOM
With political intrigue as sharp as a blade and sweeping, ethereal prose, The Poet Empress is an astounding debut novel. This mesmerising fantasy shattered and healed my heart in equal measure - and I enjoyed every moment of it
Chelsea Abdullah, author of The Stardust Thief
Taut, sharp, and compelling. With haunting prose and characters vividly real, The Poet Empress is a devastating composition, revealing intrigue, magic, and politics turn by thrilling turn. Impeccably paced, vicious and romantic, this is a deadly debut that'll have you at the edge of your seat
Kritika H. Rao, Sunday Times bestselling author of THE LEGEND OF MENEKA
The Poet Empress will surprise you. It will, at times, terrify you. But Tao's rich tale is multifaceted - it is brutal, yes, but also beautiful and full of hope and kindnesses both big and small. If you love court intrigue, creative magic systems, and protagonists who know that empathy is a strength and not a weakness, even as they are forced to make impossible decisions, this is the book for you
Kemi Ashing-Giwa
There are many stories about the power of words, but none quite like this: an illiterate girl learns to write poetry that changes the world. And yet, no simple words can do justice to this book's beating heart--its intimate portrayal of characters so painfully human that you see them as real people, flawed, traumatized, and still yearning for love. From the very first page, this book had me completely gripped. The Poet Empress is fantasy at its best
Vaishnavi Patel, New York Times bestselling author of Kaikeyi
Lyrical, romantic, and full of heart, The Poet Empress is an epic fantasy debut that captivates from the very first page
K. X. Song, New York Times bestselling author of THE NIGHT ENDS WITH FIRE
A beautifully devastating tale, powerfully and elegantly told - The Poet Empress will cut you and heal you all at once. This is not a love story, but it is a story about love, and all the ugly things that fill the void when it's taken away. With an unflinching eye and a poet's quiet restraint, Tao weaves power, pain, hope, and humanity together into an epic tapestry that will take your breath away
Julie Leong, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Keeper of Magical Things
It's hard to overstate how calmly authoritative and finely judged this debut is. Gorgeous settings, outstanding characters and tremendous narrative drive put it in a class of its own
The Daily Mail
This impressive debut is set in a fantastical version of ancient China where poetry is a magical art, and the right to rule is established by physically subduing a dragon . . . A powerful, engaging story with real psychological depth as well as convincing worldbuilding rooted in Chinese history
The Guardian
This epic fantasy rooted in poetry follows a peasant girl trapped in an imperial court. Richly imagined and politically driven, it combines intrigue with a focused emotional arc about survival, language and agency
The i Paper
A masterful character study . . . At its heart, The Poet Empress is an ode to survival, and the lengths one will take to return home. Shen Tao's debut is slicing and heart wrenching, and now holds a standard for fantasy standalones that few other books could reach
Grimdark Magazine
A book filled with complicated characters, power plays and familial love, set in an epic world of literomancy and magical dynasty. Wei is enthralled and corrupted by the power she gains, but never loses sight of the ordinary families struggling to survive far from palace life
SFX
Debut author Shen Tao introduces readers to the lush, deadly world of The Poet Empress, a sweeping, epic and intimate fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent & the Wings of Night, The Song of Achilles and She Who Became the Sun
The Nerd Daily
Tao's prose gleams with poetic precision, and climactic revelations strike with devastating inevitability. Fans of R.F. Kuang's The Poppy War and Shelley Parker-Chan's She Who Became the Sun will be enthralled by this fierce meditation on love, power, and survival through art
Publishers Weekly

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