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sovner736's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: War, Violence, Death, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Rape
Minor: Miscarriage
warlocksarecool21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
If you read all of this, then congratulations 😂. This duology was really well done and is definitely worth a read (it’s really brutal though so watch out).
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Death, Dysphoria, Torture, Blood, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, War, Body shaming, Homophobia, Murder, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, and Rape
saintmaud's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Gore, Murder, Violence, Ableism, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy
osladek's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Child death, War, Murder, Sexual assault, Torture, Sexism, and Rape
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, War, Grief, Confinement, Torture, Misogyny, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Self harm, and Sexism
Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual content, Medical content, Child death, Sexual assault, Dysphoria, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Animal cruelty, and Slavery
Minor: Suicide, Miscarriage, Abortion, Incest, and Vomit
atlastheninth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, War, Self harm, Sexual content, Misogyny, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Miscarriage, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
aliteraryescape's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Homophobia, Sexual content, Death, Blood, Self harm, Child death, and Ableism
Minor: Vomit
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
- I'm not sure how to review HE WHO DROWNED THE WORLD beyond simply some incoherent screaming. It's somehow better than the first book? It left me completely shattered? I could have kept reading it forever?
- I won't go into too much plot detail because 1) so much happens and 2) a lot of it would constitute huge spoilers. But know that I was gripped from beginning to end, gasped out loud at several points, and once my spouse asked if I was okay and the answer was a wailing, "Noooo!"
- Simply put, this duology is a masterpiece. I can't wait to see what Parker-Chan does next.
Graphic: Ableism, Alcohol, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Infidelity, Blood, Sexual content, Torture, Body shaming, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Slavery, Violence, War, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Murder
nomonbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Before reading, I thought maybe watching Zhu triumph and their buoyant nature would get boring in this book but the character growth and strength of plot meant that, it was nowhere near an option. I loved the first one and I'm so glad this one didn't dissapoint.
Though generally, it is very dark, so be prepared. There are a sea of content warnings. Generally handled pretty well but the self-harm and assisted self-harm is quite intense.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!
Graphic: Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Death, Dysphoria, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Transphobia, War, Ableism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Abortion and Kidnapping
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Vomit, and Abandonment
alexalala's review against another edition
4.0
The good: As before, the writing by Shelley Chan in this book is exquisite. Her imagery and poetic language was both haunting and easy to parse. They masterfully wove the 3-5 narratives together in a way that made sense and built upon our knowledge of the world. The characters were incredibly complicated and diverse, and I was excited to see most of the voices. The author made sure to pull at our heartstrings with heartbreaking deaths, sacrifices, and debauchery which still hurts me after reading it. I loved the complicated relationships as well, between Zhu and Ouyang, Zhu and Ma, Baoxiang with his dead family, and Madam Zhang with her lovers and her own body.
The meh: I felt this book lost some of the charm of the first book, which was mainly communicated through its humor. Though I recognize this was a book primarily about suffering, I felt it didn't quite match the tone of the first book. This may be good for some people but I missed the banter from the first book. I also had a problem with the climax being the very end of the story. I very much wanted to see a falling action and the consequences of some of the decisions made by Zhu and other characters.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and read it very quickly. I can't remember the last time a complicated fantasy series like this drew me in so quickly and forced me to read so fast.
You will like this series if you like: complicated relationships with others and self, ambitious people, political intrigue, war, suffering, consequences, and hard questions.
Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Pregnancy, Self harm, Xenophobia, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence