Empress of Bright Moon

A Novel of Empress Wu

By: Weina Dai Randel

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

There is no easy path for a woman aspiring to power.

A concubine at the palace learns quickly that there are many ways to capture the emperor's attention. Many paint their faces white and style their hair attractively, hoping to lure in the One Above All with their beauty. Some present him with fantastic gifts, such as jade pendants and scrolls of calligraphy, while others rely on their knowledge of seduction to draw his interest. Young Mei knows nothing of these womanly arts, yet she will give the emperor a gift he can never forget.

Mei's intelligence and curiosity, the same traits that make her an outcast among the other concubines, impress the emperor. But just as she is in a position to seduce the most powerful man in China, divided loyalties split the palace in two, culminating in a perilous battle that Mei can only hope to survive.

In the breakthrough first volume in the Empress of Bright Moon duology, Weina Dai Randel paints a vibrant portrait of ancient China - where love, ambition, and loyalty can spell life or death - and the woman who came to rule it all.

©2016 Weina Dai Randel (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

An epic masterpiece

this is one of the best series I have listened 2 on Audible. Emily's performance is incredible, she makes the listener feel all of the emotion of the novel. She makes the listener feel the pain, the suspense, and she acted every single sentence with all of her soul. This is one of the most beautiful and incredible series I've ever read. And the best part, is it is very true to the actual history of Empress Wu. the love story is palpable, but Tastefully done. I couldn't stop listening to this book. The only problem, is it was so powerful and moving, I cannot move on. usually, I end one audible book and start another. However it is been two days since I finished this book and I cannot move forward. I may have to listen to the series again. This may be one of the best series I've ever read in my entire life.

better than the first book!

i like the storyline and the epilogue. I felt the performer did a better job of emotional range than she did in the first book. It's also refreshing that it isn't constant drama. I prefer books to have both peaceful and dramatic elements in them; this book does well in that respect.

Much better than the first book

If like me you didn't like the first book because of "all that happens to me happens for a reason and there is nothing I can do about it" attitude of May and weak story, the second book will not disappoint you.

Ancient China has nothing on GOT!

This book is filled with romance, deception, excitement, and just a taste of life in the AD 600s

Mei

I was excited to begin this series to see what Mei had in store for her future. But to my surprise she faltered and stayed where she was. In all honesty I was disappointed with Mei because she had such great ideas but never followed through with any of them. She blamed everyone around her but herself. It wasn’t until further into the story that I realized that Mei is like the rest of us. She’s human she can only do so much and if she does she has to think of the aftermath that her actions cause or may cause. As the story went on Mei started to grow as well and gain the confidence she needed.

Overall, this novel was a whirlwind of emotions and I enjoyed listening.

Too wordy- could have been half as long

This book was excessively descriptive and flowery. The main characters come off as helpless and reactive rather than smart. The main character also seems to move between hysteria and complacency. I had to skip through a lot of the book looking for actual plot and action.

Epilogue Was the Best Part

Usually, I complain that books with less than 300 pages are just not worth the expense because character or plot will be substandard but this book could have done with better editing to 300 or less. There is so much moaning and groaning and questioning that there is little plot, just lots of characterization. It is surprising that the author could drag it out so long with such a weak plot. I kept waiting to see how Empress Wu would achieve power but it was so weak, I started skipping to next chapter. I have read several books of this type so I was very disappointed not only with the story but with the auditory part. The voice did not match the time nor the correct accent. I completed Rutherford's China several months ago so maybe that is why I did not like this book. The epilogue would have made a much better launch for the story.

very interesting about the Chinese dynasties

I learned a lot about the Chinese dynasties that existed BC and then AD very interesting definitely recommend this series.

The Empress herself would’ve liked to edit

Albeit a moderate engaging story, it is likely going to make unbiased historians or Wu Tse-Tien herself cringe. As the only woman who ruled as “di” (royal supreme ruler of the dynasty) in all of China’s history, she had an iron will and unprecedented political skills to navigate her success in a male dominated society. The author and narrator painted her as this strategy-less, love-sick, tantrum throwing, tearful weakling with occasional hapless or mildly successful endeavors just made the story unbelievable.

Great Find

Sooo good. I was immersed in this series. I'm not a history buff so I can't attest to the accuracy of the story, but this seems to be pretty legit historical fiction.