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fabian_ginster's review against another edition
3.0
I wish I was their therapist so I could retire at 25
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Contrary to popular belief I'm not trying to be a hater.
•Historical fantasy set in a culture I don't know that well?
•Themes of fate, gender, and sexuality?
•Morally grey (at best) characters with unique motives?
Hell, you bet I wanted to love this duology.
As mentioned before, creativity and novelty are among the things I enjoy most in fiction which is why this book couldn't fail me completely as long as it made use of its foundation established in book one. At the same time, 'He Who Drowned The World' also seemed to have kept almost every issue I had with its predecessor - and the longer this story went on the more prominent they became.
What made this especially frustrating for me was that these weaknesses were often interwoven with strengths. Let's take the prose, for example. Parker-Chan undoubtedly knows how to evoke beautiful pictures in my mind through their descriptions and inner monologues. But while I was (and still am) impressed I couldn't help but wish the characters told me a little less about their feelings and showed me a little more to make me experience these feelings myself.
Yes, Ma's supposedly a good influence for Zhu. But has Zhu ever made any real sacrifices because of something Ma told her? Yes, Ouyang could've lived a "normal" life had his family not been killed. But wait, what kind of family are we even talking about? Despite theoretically knowing and even relating to characters I often felt a strange sort of detachment.
Of course, there was also something interesting in just accepting these people as individual character studies and probably unreliable narrators. Leaning back with a certain amount of "Alright, I'm just watching you under a microscope without trying to change you." But the way the last few chapters were written made me question whether I was meant to pick up on things I simply did not. As if there was some sort of satisfying conclusion hidden in there. Immediately, I started to question it all again. How exactly is Zhu coming into power going to improve the lives of commoners? And hold on a second, was I supposed to care about Prince Esen??? I wish the story would've either used more foreshadowing or committed harder to its "Your goals might not be worth it"-message.
But I don't just want to complain. Some things I disliked about this story also come down to simple preferences. I can't claim to be a fan of sex scenes but I see how they enhanced the story. Also, I'd like to mention that there were less random coincidences that /just happened/ to help the characters in this sequel than there were in book one. Their achievements felt a little more earned. And I still can't believe the side guy I picked as my favourite one on a whim because "Lmaoooo, dude wants to be an accountant, I could neveeeer" gaslit gatekept girlbossed himself into being a main character.
In the end - despite all my criticism - I can't deny I am glad to see a book with complex explorations and ideas regarding gender identities and sexualities floating in the literary mainstream pool.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Contrary to popular belief I'm not trying to be a hater.
•Historical fantasy set in a culture I don't know that well?
•Themes of fate, gender, and sexuality?
•Morally grey (at best) characters with unique motives?
Hell, you bet I wanted to love this duology.
As mentioned before, creativity and novelty are among the things I enjoy most in fiction which is why this book couldn't fail me completely as long as it made use of its foundation established in book one. At the same time, 'He Who Drowned The World' also seemed to have kept almost every issue I had with its predecessor - and the longer this story went on the more prominent they became.
What made this especially frustrating for me was that these weaknesses were often interwoven with strengths. Let's take the prose, for example. Parker-Chan undoubtedly knows how to evoke beautiful pictures in my mind through their descriptions and inner monologues. But while I was (and still am) impressed I couldn't help but wish the characters told me a little less about their feelings and showed me a little more to make me experience these feelings myself.
Yes, Ma's supposedly a good influence for Zhu. But has Zhu ever made any real sacrifices because of something Ma told her? Yes, Ouyang could've lived a "normal" life had his family not been killed. But wait, what kind of family are we even talking about? Despite theoretically knowing and even relating to characters I often felt a strange sort of detachment.
Of course, there was also something interesting in just accepting these people as individual character studies and probably unreliable narrators. Leaning back with a certain amount of "Alright, I'm just watching you under a microscope without trying to change you." But the way the last few chapters were written made me question whether I was meant to pick up on things I simply did not. As if there was some sort of satisfying conclusion hidden in there. Immediately, I started to question it all again. How exactly is Zhu coming into power going to improve the lives of commoners? And hold on a second, was I supposed to care about Prince Esen??? I wish the story would've either used more foreshadowing or committed harder to its "Your goals might not be worth it"-message.
But I don't just want to complain. Some things I disliked about this story also come down to simple preferences. I can't claim to be a fan of sex scenes but I see how they enhanced the story. Also, I'd like to mention that there were less random coincidences that /just happened/ to help the characters in this sequel than there were in book one. Their achievements felt a little more earned. And I still can't believe the side guy I picked as my favourite one on a whim because "Lmaoooo, dude wants to be an accountant, I could neveeeer" gaslit gatekept girlbossed himself into being a main character.
In the end - despite all my criticism - I can't deny I am glad to see a book with complex explorations and ideas regarding gender identities and sexualities floating in the literary mainstream pool.
himesama's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
joreliz12's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
witchylili999's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
sullyvan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
5.0
hb_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
I really, really wish this book had had more time to cook. there were some great moments in this book, but it felt - pardon the pun - drowned by so much repetitive pain that went nowhere. I was not expecting the amount of sexual assault and self-harm that was here, and while I saw the narrative purpose it served, it just felt drawn out in how it was portrayed over and over. I would have loved to have read a version of this book that cut out chunks of that and had more of the growth and change we saw in the first book. I do feel deeply for these characters and this story, but this book did not change me the way the prequel did. maybe my expectations were too high, but I really wanted this to be better.
a_o's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
dipspread's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- 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