Reviews with content warning for Slavery - Celui qui noya le monde

After She Who Became The Sun, I knew I would love this, but i’m still shocked by how much. I was just as immersed in this one, despite different perspectives, and the emotional payoff was huge.

This is a 5-star read, no question. If I were Shelley Parker-Chan, I would feel so proud to have created such a dynamic work of art.

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nemrac23's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

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thecaffeinatedlibrary's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense

5.0

Vague spoilers ahead.

This book. This freaking book.

Shelley Parker-Chan masterfully mixes the queer experience with the historic backdrop in SWBTS, and this continues in new wonderful and tragic ways in the sequel. It is stunning in its prose and pacing, and so well researched. The settings are vivid, from the smells to the backdrops of pirate ships. It spits in the face of gender, and gender roles, and challanges mysgony in every breath. I was angry, I was distraught, and I was heartbroken, but it was also so strangely beautiful and hopeful, in spite of all the darkness. This is a book about power, ambition, desire, and what you would do to seize your fate.

The character arc of each of these characters is astronomical, particularly in our main protagonist, Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu has done nothing but survive for her entire life, but in HE, we begin to see her learn the costs of her will, her pursuit of greatness. We see Zhu learn about herself, own herself and her body, and learn to accept and give love to those she cares for. We see her learn and grow, and when we finally see her wants come to fruition, it feels so right.

Ouyang is a character I have EXTREMELY complicated feelings about. General Ouyang leads a tragic life from start to finish. Ouyang's desires juxtaposed against Zhu's reveal several similarities, but I think Ouyang is Zhu if she never learned to see outside of herself. The way these two characters balance against each other? Magic. Ouyang's entire arc just hurt, hurt in a way that made me want to hug my friends closer.

Baoxiang is a can of worms that I was not expecting from this book. His melodrama and flair and just sheer toxicity were like a bomb going off. It hurt to watch, but it hurt more to look away. Baoxiang was the quiet one, the one no one saw coming. His quiet ascent was bone chilling, but his bitter-sweet downfall brought forth Zhu's merciful side beautifully. I found myself relating to him one sentence, wanting to hug him in another, and then being horrified the next.

And that ENDING. Perfect. No notes.

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spootilious's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Read: December 22, 2023
Title: He Who Drowned the World

Series: The Radiant Emperor #2

Genre: Fantasy / Historical Fiction / LGBT

Rating: 4 / 5
Review:

I occasionally come across a book that I really struggle rating and I was shocked to find that this is one of those books.

I came into He Who Drowned the World with very low expectations. I didn’t care for She Who Became the Sun, for a number of reason listed in my previous review.

However, almost everything that made me dislike She who Became the Sun didn’t make it into the sequel which I am very thankful for. To be honest, I was concerned with the massive amounts of recommendations I received in regard to this series and how many awards She Who Became the Sun has won. I was praying that He Who Drowned the World would make up for what (I felt) was an extremely lacking novel. I was not disappointed.

Parker-Chan is a beautifully talented writer (Which I knew from book 1) and tends to lean towards the very dark and morose. In fact, a bit too dark for my usual taste which may be why I wanted to give this book (He Who Drowned the World) a 3.5 and not a 4. However, Parker-Chan’s ability to write horrific imagery in a such a simplistic and straightforward manner makes the imagery all the more effective. This includes a number of sexually explicit scene, which paints sex as nothing more than a tool, punishment, or means to an end which, while I once again did not like, I can respect. The reader’s response to a story is just as much of a plot device as the sentences on a page. I was appropriately repulsed.

I will also say that I didn’t care much for the lack of morality in ALL the characters in the novel. It left me without a ship to sail and was, perhaps, the main issue that I still hold over from She Who Became the Sun.

All that being said, the fast pace and action-packed plot had me devouring this book, and I could not in good faith rate it lower than 4 simply due to my distaste. (i.e. the 4 star rating is more my personal rating of 3.5 and the acknowledging that some of the reasons it’s a 3.5 is because of my own personal biases against the lack of moral characters, rape, and very dark tones).

Overall, one of the best books I’ve read this year. I will definitely recommend to individuals who love reading Dark Fantasy and Historical Fiction.

QUOTES:

“The most dangerous person in a game is the one nobody knows is playing.”

“Nobody would lift a finger to change the world for us. To make a place for us. What choice did we ever have, but to do it ourselves?”

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sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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aileron's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

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madmadmaddymad's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this book. Zhu became so ruthless in her quest to become the emperor and rule the world! And I wasn’t prepared for how much loss we had to suffer for her to get there.

I really liked how this book had more villains, and more queer people, and more intense moments of wondering if the ones we’re rooting for are really doing the right thing after all. Can fate can be ours to make, or does Heaven have it all planned out from the start?

Ouyang was my favorite character in this book. I loved how trans the book felt when it was told from his point of view, and how he always awarded Zhu he/him pronouns. He’s problematic as heck but I sure love him. And I also loved the very deeply uncomfortable moments of masochism, where Zhu needed to help him ground himself. I was really rooting for these two to get along, and I felt so betrayed when Ouyang left because he didn’t believe Zhu could become Emperor!

The ending tied it all together nicely but I still hurt for the things we lost when Ouyang lost faith in her.

Content Warnings

tiernanhunter's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

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