Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea

A Novel

De: Rita Chang-Eppig

Narrado por: Emily Woo Zeller

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.

©2023 Rita Chang-Eppig (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing

An excellently performed tale of a towering figure

My book club chose this as our book for October, and I’m glad they did. Compared to many of our other books, this felt like a comparatively quick read, and like many of our books, detailed a strong female protagonist and the forces she is up against.

The narrator did a great job of embodying the character in all her folly and fury, and was a joy to listen to.

Story wise, it was fun to learn about a person I had only heard of in passing. While pirates are oft romanticized, I really appreciate how this focused more on the way it affected China, as opposed to more European powers.

Personally, I felt the story petered out a little at the end. But overall it was a thoughtful book with some suspense, great narration, and a neat tale to tell.

Fascinating

I enjoyed this story and was fascinated by the Chinese culture, pirates, the role of woman and the gods of folklore. The main character is brave and smart and I was captivated by her story of trying to survive in a society where the odds are stacked against her. Some of the stories are like little pearls of wisdom. I recommend this book and narration.

Long, not a page turner

This book was recommended on a morning talk show, and I was quite interested in listening. I have always been fascinated by Chinese history and culture. The narrative was monotone, and it was difficult to keep all the characters straight due to unfamiliar names. Not sad. I finish the book, but I would not recommend it to anyone.

Interesting story

Enjoyable story - excellent narration. If you are looking for a story about pirates in China, this is a great option.

Excellent Narration!

Listener,
This was beautifully narrated. The narrator’s inflection gave a depth to the characters that enhanced the story.

All Character Little Plot

Story started out well and with a lot of promise but it stayed that way through out, waiting for something to happen. The characters were well developed and interesting, however not much came of the reader leaning more about them.

Beautiful! Poignant!

Not a dull moment, fascinating, gripping, even transcendent. What is the measure of a life?

Gritty, poetic and human

The 3d humanness of all the characters and the gritty but poetic writing style made this a very enjoyable listen. Be prepared for several harsh moments and several bittersweet moments. There’s also a lot of thought-provoking musings on existential topics like power and fate.

Tough read for me

I know this is historical, and there was a lot of research that went into it, but I struggled with it. Being unfamiliar with Chinese names I had trouble figuring out who was who and remembering. What I did find interesting was the fact that a woman could be a pirate captain of a fleet. I was also intrigued with the Chinese pirates who were basically poor peasants who became pirates in order to have enough money to feed their families. After the plunder is shared, they go home to their families until it’s time to go back to sea. Chinese piracy is very different from the swashbuckling European types that we generally read about.

Unique story

This story was unique , describing role of women and motherhood that I had never considered. In the overall picture parallels
Can be made between the women who commanded pirate ships and the women of today.