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erinreadsbooks'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
Read if you like sweeping political drama and brutal historical fantasy.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, Ableism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Homophobia, Torture, and Bullying
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, Body shaming, and Blood
yourbookishbff'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
Our character foils from book one, Zhu and General Ouyang, orbit each other even more closely in this installment, and I was fascinated to see the ways in which they aided and betrayed one another. I was surprised by how much time we spend with Wang Baoxiang, and didn't anticipate how central his storyline would become, but I honestly loved how the threads came together and how his story intersects with Zhu and General Ouyang. And never fear, because my favorite side character from book one, Ma, becomes pivotal in the final act, and I was so delighted to see how she influences the course of the narrative.
Though this book was exceedingly dark with significant on-page trauma (including rape, sexual violence, miscarriage and abortion, in addition to murder and war), these scenes felt intentional more than gratuitous, as Parker-Chan examines the intersections of revenge, sex, pain and violence in compelling and devastating ways.
I felt the story was surprisingly well-paced (given its length), and there were significant landmark scenes throughout that will haunt me for some time (sailing through ghosts?! IYKYK).
Because of how graphically violent and dark this duology is, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to all fantasy readers, but I would absolutely recommend for those who love historical fantasy, historical retellings, speculative fiction, gender+bent history, and queer retellings with deeply (deeply) morally gray characters.
Graphic: Blood, Death, War, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Ableism, Classism, Murder, Outing, Abortion, Grief, Sexual violence, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Gore, Dysphoria, Infidelity, Confinement, and Body shaming
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
laurareads87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
In comparison, to the first book, the sequel is definitely heavier in tone; I would also say that the fantasy elements figure more prominently. Having read the first book is vital to reading this one.
Content warnings: War, violence, murder, blood, injury detail, ableism, internalized homophobia, sexism/misogyny, death of a child, drowning, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, torture, rape (several instances, in one case described in some detail on-page), animal cruelty & death. This book is not easy reading. It is not the most graphic by any means, but violence is absolutely pervasive throughout and the author's skill means that the content is deeply impactful.
Graphic: Sexual violence, War, Blood, Violence, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Misogyny
Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Child death
saphfics'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
It can feel very slow at times but that is because puzzle pieces are moving all the time. I feel like it needed like a couple of pages more at the end because it felt to me that the story stopped very abruptly. However, I think that the ending still does justice to everyone's character arc.
I would warn anyone to really look at the content warnings because it really is dark at times.
Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Ableism, and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts
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
nemrac23'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: Death
Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Blood and Vomit
keetham'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: Misogyny, Death, Homophobia, Murder, Gore, Sexism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, War, Blood, Violence, Grief, and Sexual assault
This is a book mostly about war and colonialism so, while well done and worth it in most cases, it’s not an easy readspootilious'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
its_thekla's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Read this duology. Mind the triggers. It's a terrible time- you'll love it.
Graphic: War, Racism, Blood, Violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Misogyny, and Body shaming
Moderate: Child death, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Self harm, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness