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A review by emilynied
He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Parker-Chan stuns once again with the second half of The Radiant Emperor duology and man, like the first, this one packs a punch. First of all, the titles of these two books are genius. They fit perfectly and represent Zhu's character development so perfectly. "She Who Became The Sun" sort of ended on this really uneasy note because although Zhu is nearly there in achieving her goals of power, she ends up killing a child to do so. I was left with this icky feeling in my gut, torn between wanting the overpower the "bad people" in charge and the terrible and deceptive actions one must take to acquire power. We started to see how Zhu changed throughout the first book, and this second installment was no different.
The book felt like this long chess game as we checked in with different characters across the board with different goals and missions and resources. The new characters in this book were, I will say, a little difficult to adjust to, but they soon became familiar.
Zhu also partners with her old enemy - the general Ouyang, which was such an interesting dynamic to read about. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat through every interaction they had because you really didn't ever feel clear about whether they were truly allies or about to turn on each other. The themes of gender and sex and power from the first book shine through in these interactions because both characters know what it's like to be underestimated due to their sex.
I really loved this duology and it felt really similar to The Poppy War series, which is obviously one of the greatest fantasy series' of all time. Great job and I will definitely be checking out more books from Parker-Chan.
The book felt like this long chess game as we checked in with different characters across the board with different goals and missions and resources. The new characters in this book were, I will say, a little difficult to adjust to, but they soon became familiar.
Zhu also partners with her old enemy - the general Ouyang, which was such an interesting dynamic to read about. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat through every interaction they had because you really didn't ever feel clear about whether they were truly allies or about to turn on each other. The themes of gender and sex and power from the first book shine through in these interactions because both characters know what it's like to be underestimated due to their sex.
I really loved this duology and it felt really similar to The Poppy War series, which is obviously one of the greatest fantasy series' of all time. Great job and I will definitely be checking out more books from Parker-Chan.