To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods

Author Molly X. Chang
Narrator Natalie Naudus, Molly X. Chang
Publisher Penguin Random House Children's UK
Publish Date 18 April 2024
Run Time 10 hours and 42 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Children’s / Teenage fiction and true stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Family and home stories, Children’s / Teenage social issues: War and conflict issues, Colonialism and imperialism, Fantasy, Fantasy romance, History, YFHB.

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

A No. 1 and Sunday Times Bestseller! Red Queen meets These Violent Delights and Iron Widow in the epic first book in the captivating anti-colonial fantasy series, Gods Beyond the Skies.

Don’t miss the second book in the trilogy, To Kill These Monstrous Gods, coming November 2025.

‘A thrilling tale of magic and murder, intrigue and betrayal.’ Cassandra Clare

‘Hauntingly poetic prose’ Xiran Jay Zhao

‘A tender and brutal fantasy that will leave readers breathless and eager for more’ Rebecca Ross

Known as The Girl Blessed By Death, Yang Ruying wants only to survive, but when her magic is discovered by an enemy prince she must decide if saving her family is worth betraying her country.

For as long as Yang Ruying can remember, the empire of Er-Lang has been occupied by Romans, whose advanced science and military make them Gods. But these Gods are not kind. Their only gifts: cruelty, opian and destruction.

When Antony, the second Prince of Rome, uncovers Ruying’s power, she becomes what she always feared: the perfect assassin. As tensions mount and rebellion stirs, Ruying can no longer deny that peace is a death sentence for Er-Lang. A death she may not be willing to deliver.

©2024 Molly X. Chang (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

The haunting story of a young woman caught between saving her family and standing up for the world she loves, To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is a thrilling tale of magic and murder, intrigue and betrayal.

Cassandra Clare, author of The Mortal Instruments series

With hauntingly poetic prose, Molly X. Chang spins a tale at the intersection of science fiction, fantasy, and the very real devastation that colonialism brings down on colonized peoples.

Xiran Jay Zhao, author of Iron Widow

Molly X. Chang deftly paints both a tender and brutal fantasy that will leave readers breathless and eager for more. To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is a heart pounding, brilliant debut that shines with pure magic.

Rebecca Ross, author of Divine Rivals

This book is a thrilling gut-punch, both lavishly magical and devastatingly human. I couldn’t put it down, and finished it both sated and aching for vengeance.

Laini Taylor, author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series

Chang has come out of the gate strong with this action-packed debut. To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is a unique blend of science fiction and fantasy with fascinating magic and a premise that sets up what promises to be a strong series. Readers will be on the edge of their seats wondering what’s going to happen next.

Adalyn Grace, author of Belladonna

With hauntingly elegant prose and feverish imagination, Molly X. Chang effortlessly bridges the gap between science and magic in this spectacular, genre-bending debut. TO GAZE UPON WICKED GODS is a captivating tale of rebellion and intrigue and the darker side of love, centered on an unconventional, multi-layered heroine and her equally riveting villain as they ensnare each other amidst a dangerous collision of glittering worlds. A fantasy rich with heart and rooted in ancestral memory, a romance that will leave readers on the edge of their seat, a story that will take one’s breath away — this book is the complete package. I will eagerly devour anything Chang writes from now on.

Thea Guanzon, author of The Hurricane Wars

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is absolutely captivating, with a fierce heroine torn between love and loyalty as two worlds collide with devastating consequences.

Emily Thiede, author of This Vicious Grace

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods is desperate, grasping, breathless, filled with hard choices and characters who seek some measure of peace in an unforgiving land. Intensely riveting character dynamics in a truly unique world make this debut an absolute stunner!

Andrea Stewart, author of The Drowning Empire series

An electric collision of science, magic, and a terrifying alternate history, TO GAZE UPON WICKED GODS is the complex romantic fantasy you’ve been waiting for

Hannah Whitten, author of The Foxglove King

As ambitious as it is heartfelt, To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods cements Molly X. Chang as an explosive new talent in fantasy. I was swept away by this debut and eagerly await her next book.

Isabel Cañas, author of Vampires of El Norte

User Reviews

Book 3.0

Narration 5.0

3.0

5.0

AthenaL25 07/05/2024

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