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ka_cam'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
4.75
Graphic: Abortion, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Grief, Sexual content, Child death, Death, Pregnancy, Sexism, Blood, Misogyny, Violence, War, Murder, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Torture
throwback682'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
4.5
That being said, I couldn’t put it down. I finished this one much more quickly than the first. It was very gripping. The reason I gave it 1/2 star less than its predecessor is just because of the r*pe scenes honestly.
Re: the title
The backstabbing really gets kicked up a notch in this book too.
I kind of thought at one point that the book was getting a bit predictable/tired and then OPE THERE’S A TWIST and then WHOOPS ANOTHER ONE. Hang in there.
The protagonist of the first book continues to beat the odds in unexpected ways as she did before and again it’s spectacular. Also as before, I found myself rooting for and even loving really cruel, dark, awful characters. The author has a talent for coaxing out empathy for the worst baddies.
Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Grief, Slavery, Sexual content, Ableism, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Self harm, War, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Abortion, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Torture, Animal death, Body shaming, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Vomit
There is a lot more triggering content in this book than in the first installment of the duology, She Who Became the Sun. Specifically there are multiple rape scenes: - one is maritalnikenacs'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
4.0
Graphic: War, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Rape, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Animal death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Self harm, Pregnancy, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Abortion, Miscarriage, and Infertility
saucy_bookdragon'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
4.5
Absolutely GAGGED!
He Who Drowned the World is how you write a fucking sequel! A darker chapter in this duology, it has higher stakes, beautiful writing, and puts the characters into a metaphorical centrifuge that spins around and shows their rich layers. It's also queer as fuck, especially Zhu and Ouyang are playing some 3D levels of gender. Overall, the Radiant Emperor duology is a layered, nail biting, queer, epic fantasy with a full cast of blorbos!
Some spoiler-y semi-coherent thoughts, including spoilers for the ending:
- Ouyang, my poor little meow meow since book one. His arc was the best in this. Beginning still antagonistic and self hating, the latter of which reflects in how he treats other people, especially his misogyny. But through his relationship with Zhu, he grew so much as person and finally saw someone who had similar gender fuckery to himself, but had a sense of pride. It lead to such an interesting redemption arc that made it hurt all the more when he died.
- Zhu is an icon, she is the moment. I found it really interesting how she could see who people actually were and how part of that is because she understands that gender is a social construct, and so sees people for who they are, not who their genders say they are. This gaze in particular is what changes Ouyang, as she treats him for who he really is. With all that said, she also did get a lot of people killed and her loved ones hurt and it made the ending hit so hard, being her choosing to stop this cycle of violence. RIP Xa Du and Ouyang ;_;
- all the book's commentary on gender is so relevant. Internalized misogyny, the way people in the LGBTQ+ community will hate on less visible identities in a sad attempt to seem respectable, the complexity of gender, the importance of seeing people beyond what society says about them, choosing your own name and destiny, etc. This is more than a book with queer representation, it's a book about queerness!
- Baoxiang was a fascinating antagonist. Taking Ouyang's place from book one, he's now the villain who's in love with Esen. And he is so much worse than Ouyang. Though I understand why he did what he did, I can't quite like him like I do Zhu and Ouyang. He kind of boils my blood actually, especially with how he treated Ma. It was so powerful though how at the end he's told to find a new name and how that fits the theme of finding your own destiny and the way that applies to trans experiences. God this book is so queer I love it!
- Ma deserved more page time. She was so important in book one which ended with the grounds for conflict between her and Zhu. She took a backseat for most of this until the ending, but I never felt satisfied by her arc like I did with the others. And though she does get page time towards the end, the last 80 pages aren't as well paced as the rest of the book. It was like the ending was being dragged out but also not given enough time to settle everything.
Graphic: Rape, Misogyny, and War
Moderate: Pregnancy
shibh's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Physical abuse, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Animal death, Homophobia, Body shaming, Classism, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexual assault, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Murder, Abortion, Confinement, Genocide, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Lesbophobia, Addiction, Misogyny, Child death, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Gore, Infertility, Pregnancy, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Vomit, Xenophobia, Sexism, Transphobia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
spec_tacles'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
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.
Graphic: Body horror, Transphobia, War, Body shaming, Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Self harm, Child death, Grief, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Classism, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Sexism, Bullying, Murder, Slavery, Torture, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Pregnancy and Chronic illness
Most content warnings come from the fact that the story is about war, but it’s still challenging regardless, especially the torture.chroniquesdekellen'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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Dysphoria, Murder, Self harm, Pregnancy, Blood, and Outing
cheye13'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
Even more so than the previous book, the transness in this one is tangible. A number of lines were clearly written in response to current events in our world. The interweaving of the ensemble is just as masterful as the first book. Beginning this book, I was afraid that it would fall short because my favorite element of book one couldn't continue (
My options discussing this book are to break it down entirely and speak at length, or to simply say it's magnificent, and I suppose I'll settle for the latter.
(I strongly recommend checking content warnings. If you would prefer not to, keep the tone and events of book one in mind and know book two pushes a little bit further.)
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, War, Miscarriage, Self harm, Death, Misogyny, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Sexual violence, Rape, Homophobia, Ableism, Suicide, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Minor: Abortion, Colonisation, Cursing, Dysphoria, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Trafficking
A number of characters rely on dissociation as a coping mechanism. Especially compared to the previous book, there is quite a bit of on-page sex. While technically on page, it is almost never graphically detailed. Additionally (and fitting for the setting), it almost always falls into the dicey consent grounds of transactional sex – e.g. a lesbian actively choosing to sleep with a certain man for money or power. There is a single rape scene, and again, while on-page, it's brief and sparsely detailed.spootilious's review against another edition
- 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
Title: He Who Drowned the World
Review:
Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Body shaming, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, Racism, Murder, Outing, Suicide, Torture, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Gore, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Classism, Deadnaming, Violence, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child death, Abortion, Blood, Sexual assault, Slavery, War, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
sophiesmallhands's review
- 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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Self harm, Sexism, Murder, Death, War, and Misogyny
Moderate: Homophobia, Infertility, Child death, Miscarriage, Ableism, Pregnancy, Medical content, Rape, Infidelity, Gore, Sexual assault, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Slavery
Minor: Death of parent and Vomit