Gods Beyond the Skies Series

In the thrilling second novel of the magical Gods Beyond the Skies series, a young woman must harness her power over death as she secretly reunites with her childhood crush and navigates treacherous wartime alliances, all in a daring bid to save her home.

Ruying has learned a bitter truth: The enemy prince who promised her a better future for both of their worlds has betrayed her. The Romans will not leave Pangu’s shores until they have depleted her realm as thoroughly as they’ve destroyed their own. Now only one question remains: Will Pangu’s unmaking be a quick and brutal war, or a prolonged draining of resources?

With the arrival of the third Roman prince, Cassius, the answer may come sooner than anyone expected. Tasked with a decision that will end either in the destruction of everything Ruying has ever known or in an eternity of subjugation for her and her people, he alone holds the fate of Pangu in his hands. 

But Ruying sees another option. She and her crush Baihu have united in secret against the Romans. Both are highly placed inside the Roman hierarchy, and trusted by their respective princes. So who better than they to curtail Rome’s power by assassinating all three Roman princes at Cassius’s welcoming party? 

With the magic of Death at her fingertips, Ruying will either save her world or die in the attempt. But there are other forces at play, ones that she knows nothing about. They will test her courage and resolve in ways she never thought possible, and make her understand where her heart truly lies.

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.

The gorgeous first edition hardcover of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods features a poster, color endpapers, a custom-stamped case, and a foil jacket!

“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?