To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods (Gods Beyond the Skies #1) by Molly X. Chang (Paperback)

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this magical epic fantasy, the gripping first novel of the Gods Beyond the Skies series, a young woman gifted with the power of Death must decide if saving her family is worth betraying her country.

“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, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Iron Widow

Heroes die, cowards live. Daughter of a conquered world, Ruying hates the invaders who descended from the heavens long before she was born and defeated the magic of her people with technologies unlike anything her world had ever seen.

Blessed by Death, born with the ability to pull the life right out of mortal bodies, Ruying shouldn’t have to fear these foreign invaders, but she does. Especially because she wants to keep herself and her family safe.

When Ruying’s Gift is discovered by an enemy prince, he offers her an impossible deal: If she becomes his private assassin and eliminates his political rivals—whose deaths he swears would be for the good of both their worlds and would protect her people from further brutalization—her family will never starve or suffer harm again. But to accept this bargain, she must use the powers she has always feared, powers that will shave years off her own existence.

Can Ruying trust this prince, whose promises of a better world make her heart ache and whose smiles make her pulse beat faster? Are the evils of this agreement really in the service of a much greater good? Or will she betray her entire nation by protecting those she loves the most?

Review

“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, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Iron Widow

“This book is a thrilling gut punch, both lavishly magical and devastatingly human.”—Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Strange the Dreamer

“Readers will be on the edge of their seats wondering what’s going to happen next.”—Adalyn Grace, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Belladonna

Product details

Del Rey | Apr 16, 2024 | On Sale Date: Apr 16, 2024

9780593724767, 0593724763

Trade Paperback

368 pages

9.1 in H | 6.1 in W | 0.9 in T | 0.9 lb Wt