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softanimal's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Rape, Vomit, Body shaming, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, War, Sexual content, Bullying, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence
ninesensical's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
Not yet coherent enough to write the review this masterpiece deserves, but know that it has made me feel violently unwell in the most brilliant way possible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Violence, Ableism, Misogyny, Self harm, and Torture
Moderate: Child death and Suicidal thoughts
displacedcactus's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Given the high rating this book has here on SG (4.49 at the time I'm writing this) it has clearly found its audience. That audience does not, unfortunately, include me.
I'll admit that of the Sapphic Saffron Trifecta, I found She Who Became the Sun to be my least favorite. As such, I was really on the fence as to whether to read this one, but I figured hey, it's a duology, I might as well see things through to the end!
This started out as kind of a mid read for me, but I felt like it could get better. The thing is, I do like Zhu as a character. Yes, she does terrible things. But I found her drive and her absolute joy and confidence in her drive to be refreshing. Too often, we have characters who have to be forced to take action, who constantly whine and complain about it...
Like every single other character in this book. Ok, I exaggerate, but I got tired of the constant moping of Ouyang and Wang. Oh, woe is me, life is pain and darkness, I will make the world hate me as much as I hate it, etc etc etc. On and on and on. There were far too few Zhu chapters to make up for it.
At its heart, this is a story about how messed up toxic masculinity is and how people who fail to live up to a culture's idea of manly virtue can be used, abused, despised, and pigeon-holed.
At its heart it's also a book that is just absolutely chock-full of degrading sex, sado-masochism, torturous death, and long internal monologues about anger and self-hatred.
If you like to watch characters suffer, you will enjoy the heck out of this book. The pages are absolutely soaked with suffering. Personally, I just found it exhausting.
I'll admit that of the Sapphic Saffron Trifecta, I found She Who Became the Sun to be my least favorite. As such, I was really on the fence as to whether to read this one, but I figured hey, it's a duology, I might as well see things through to the end!
This started out as kind of a mid read for me, but I felt like it could get better. The thing is, I do like Zhu as a character. Yes, she does terrible things. But I found her drive and her absolute joy and confidence in her drive to be refreshing. Too often, we have characters who have to be forced to take action, who constantly whine and complain about it...
Like every single other character in this book. Ok, I exaggerate, but I got tired of the constant moping of Ouyang and Wang. Oh, woe is me, life is pain and darkness, I will make the world hate me as much as I hate it, etc etc etc. On and on and on. There were far too few Zhu chapters to make up for it.
At its heart, this is a story about how messed up toxic masculinity is and how people who fail to live up to a culture's idea of manly virtue can be used, abused, despised, and pigeon-holed.
At its heart it's also a book that is just absolutely chock-full of degrading sex, sado-masochism, torturous death, and long internal monologues about anger and self-hatred.
If you like to watch characters suffer, you will enjoy the heck out of this book. The pages are absolutely soaked with suffering. Personally, I just found it exhausting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, War, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Death, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Homophobia, Transphobia, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Miscarriage and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death
shupps's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Body horror, Self harm, and Sexual violence
percys_panda_pillow_pet's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Shelley Parker-Chan has really knocked it out of the park this time. For anyone who was worried the sequel to She Who Became the Sun wouldn't be as good, or even those who were maybe not as impressed with the first book, I think you will be amazed at He Who Drowned the World.
The book has a bit of a slow start admittedly. It's tough to follow up the ending of the first book and the crazy choices the characters made. But give it a little bit of time to get reinvested in the world and characters and you'll find that Parker-Chan did an incredible job of building off of where she left off. There are more POVs than before, but I didn't mind the inclusions at all. In fact, this book made me truly appreciate Ouyang's character and his downward spiral. All of the different narrators gave such depth to the main themes of loss, ambition, and what it means to be yourself.
We see all these become more and more hyperfocused on their "fates", losing themselves and who they used to be in the process. In some ways, their fervent pursuit of the future is just an extension of their fixation on the past that they can't let go. I was fascinated and horrified with the choices these characters made, that simultaneously a character can be cruel and yet undeserving of the cruelty thrust upon them. Madam Zhang, General Ouyang, Wang Baoxiang, and even our original main character, Zhu Yuanzhang all suffer from the same oppressive forces in society and fight back in their own ways, but more often than not end up working with the society that hurt them as they try to defy it.
If you enjoy character deconstructions, character's descent into self-destruction, and examining the way that a society can hurt different people in the same way, for not belonging or acting within the expectations thrust upon them, this is the book for you.
I also just have to add that my favorite parts were when Ouyang and Zhu interacted, they ended up accidentally being a hilarious comedy duo that really lightened the darker mood of the book haha.
The book has a bit of a slow start admittedly. It's tough to follow up the ending of the first book and the crazy choices the characters made. But give it a little bit of time to get reinvested in the world and characters and you'll find that Parker-Chan did an incredible job of building off of where she left off. There are more POVs than before, but I didn't mind the inclusions at all. In fact, this book made me truly appreciate Ouyang's character and his downward spiral. All of the different narrators gave such depth to the main themes of loss, ambition, and what it means to be yourself.
We see all these become more and more hyperfocused on their "fates", losing themselves and who they used to be in the process. In some ways, their fervent pursuit of the future is just an extension of their fixation on the past that they can't let go. I was fascinated and horrified with the choices these characters made, that simultaneously a character can be cruel and yet undeserving of the cruelty thrust upon them. Madam Zhang, General Ouyang, Wang Baoxiang, and even our original main character, Zhu Yuanzhang all suffer from the same oppressive forces in society and fight back in their own ways, but more often than not end up working with the society that hurt them as they try to defy it.
If you enjoy character deconstructions, character's descent into self-destruction, and examining the way that a society can hurt different people in the same way, for not belonging or acting within the expectations thrust upon them, this is the book for you.
I also just have to add that my favorite parts were when Ouyang and Zhu interacted, they ended up accidentally being a hilarious comedy duo that really lightened the darker mood of the book haha.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Rape, Murder, Sexism, War, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Self harm
Moderate: Body horror, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Transphobia, Vomit, Torture, Outing, Xenophobia, and Slavery
warlocksarecool21's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
He Who Drowned the World was a stunning conclusion to the Radiant Emperor duology. Shelley Parker-Chan’s writing is beautiful and captivating. I think she does excellent character work, I was fascinated by the major characters even if I didn’t like them. Having the four main perspectives be the four people vying for the throne was such a cool juxtaposition because they all had the same-ish goal but you really got to analyze all their differing motivations. I also really loved that the book explores how a patriarchal society can really fuck somebody up, including how it manifests in misogynistic and homophobic beliefs/practices that infests everything and everyone. It was really interesting to see that on a deeper level when we were presented with our main characters. They all experience the effects of the patriarchal society they live in differently. I especially adore the way the author explores gender in this series, how it’s not a neatly defined thing, but rather a uniquely complex experience. I thought each character’s development over the course of the story was well done, and I liked that for some, their development was a downward spiral.
I have ✨thoughts✨ about each character that I must share so here they are:
-Baoxiang was such a fascinating character bc he had such a different skill set than Zhu and Ouyang and it was interesting to see the political maneuvering of what he was doing.
Watching him grapple with his gender expression and sexuality was very interesting to read, even if it was uncomfortable at times. I thought the shift of his personality from being sharp and cunning to spiraling into grief and desperation was so chilling to read. <Spoiler>I loved how in the last section he realized that his anger and revenge did nothing to change the past, that all it was hurting was himself.
-I’m going to talk about Zhu and Ouyang at the same time bc they had such a strong connection in the book. I was obsessed with their dichotomy of how they are the same kind of person but they both make choices that alter their destiny. The idea that they were running the same parallel course but they ultimately went different ways. Ouyang’s journey broke my heart, because all he needed was for someone to show him understanding and love, that he wasn’t broken. He kind of got that with Zhu but he was so far gone that he couldn’t accept that he was deserving of those things. That in order to fulfill his revenge he also had to suffer. And Zhu, who had that same driving ambition to defeat the Khan, but instead of believing that her path was finished beyond that, she took the world and made it her own. At the end, when she made the choice that the world does not need to be harsh and unforgiving, that she could move into the future without causing anymore pain was so good, I loved that that was her conclusion. After all she went through I’m glad she decided that violence and anger could be things of the past.
I have one thing to say about Madame Zhang: her character was so excellent, I hated her like actually despised but I still felt so bad for her. she was so strong in a society that was brutal towards women and I really liked the exploration of feminine rage and the performance that women have to put on to survive in a society like this.
In regards to the plot, I thought it was really cohesive, all the different sections and viewpoints really worked to bring about the end. There were certain chapters that I thought could’ve been condensed but I still think it worked. I did think that when Ouyang killed the Khan and Baoxiang came out and revealed he was controlling everything and that Ouyang’s sacrifice was for nothing was a little underdeveloped. Like I fully believe that Baoxiang was responsible for manipulating all this and I knew that he was moving all the pieces together, but I wish we got more in his pov about this specific reveal.
While I was really happy to see that Ma had such a vital role in helping Zhu become emperor at the end, I was a little sad she wasn’t as important in the rest of the book. I really like her and how strong she is in her convictions about life and if she was involved from the start she would’ve had everyone in line 😂. And I adore her relationship with Zhu they deserved more moments together.
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).
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).
Content Warnings
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
jayisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
4.75
Just when you thought the stakes couldn't get higher, Parker-Chan raised them with more political intrigue and a surprising amount of darkness that will have you on the edge of your seat. There are more perspectives we're getting in this sequel to really reveal the complex web that the author crafted. Parker-Chan seized this opportunity and did a phenomenal job fleshing out fascinating, morally grey characters, many of them changing a fair bit compared to She Who Became the Sun.
Once again, Parker-Chan dives deep into gender and sexuality, though I felt there was more discussion on femininity in the sequel than in the first book, which was refreshing. I think more could have been done on this front, especially considering that we got more of Ma's and Madam Zhang's perspectives on ongoing politics and scheming, though I didn't think it was unsatisfying either— I absolutely loved that the author continued to explore (toxic) masculinity. I was especially invested in Baoxiang's perspective and the way he negotiated with his own sexuality.
In the first novel, I didn't feel the fantastical elements worked particularly well. I think this was attended to rather well in the sequel, and the ghostly elements really did add a lot to the story (particularly towards the end).
Parker-Chan did a fantastic job wrapping up a strong duology. Despite the significant losses and violence in He Who Drowned the World, it all played out well like a high stakes chess game that you can't help but feel invested in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, Violence, Blood, Misogyny, Sexism, Self harm, War, and Rape
Moderate: Homophobia and Ableism
sarasreading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
4.0
This was very good, though not as compelling to me as the first book, possibly because the focus is only partly on Zhu.
It was also so brutal. Whoooo. Definitely be aware of the trigger warnings. There are so, so many. I don't have a strong stomach and I made it, but I was prepared for this one to be more violent.
Still, I flew through this beast in like 2.5 days, and there were several moments where I literally gasped out loud. It was a wild ride, you guys. The ending was also pretty satisfying.
I can see myself reading first book again, but the sheer amount of gruesome suffering in this one probably won't compell me to pick it up again.
It was also so brutal. Whoooo. Definitely be aware of the trigger warnings. There are so, so many. I don't have a strong stomach and I made it, but I was prepared for this one to be more violent.
Still, I flew through this beast in like 2.5 days, and there were several moments where I literally gasped out loud. It was a wild ride, you guys. The ending was also pretty satisfying.
I can see myself reading first book again, but the sheer amount of gruesome suffering in this one probably won't compell me to pick it up again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Body shaming, Child death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, War, and Grief
Moderate: Colonisation, Classism, and Miscarriage
Minor: Slavery
osladek's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
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