Reviews with content warning for Rape - Lui che annegò il mondo

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Lui che annegò il mondo by Shelley Parker-Chan

243 reviews

mandyspointe's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

treebarkings's review against another edition

4.75

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Content Warnings

legs_n_chins's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense 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

I liked this entry quite a bit more than the previous in this series. I think it moved at a better clip and I liked that it spent more time with the characters. I felt that the first book was a little too much battle after battle, but this took time to really delve into the characters’ feelings and motivations and I appreciated that. I also felt more of a connection to the queer elements in this book which I was missing in the first book.

I felt much more engaged and absorbed in this one. It took some time to get into it, but once I was interested I kept a pretty good pace. I’m not one for books over 400pg so in that way it’ll always feel a little exhausting to get through, but my attention didn’t flag the way it had in my reading of the first book. The battle scenes in this book were well crafted, but I also was glad that there seemed to be less focus on them as well. This one didn’t feel like quite as much of a war epic and that’s definitely what made me like it more. Instead, I loved the court intrigue that was the main focal point and the chess board that Parker-Chan set up among all the players. It was easy to follow as a reader, but it was also really well written in terms of which characters knew what information. If never felt that Zhu, for example, was written to be purposefully stupid for no reason in order to keep her in the dark about an enemy’s moves. I think it can be challenging to keep all this espionage in line, but Parker-Chan did a very good job with it. Instead of feeling frustrated that a certain character didn’t have all the information, it was that sort of sinking dread of when they’d find out. I really liked that.

Like I said, I also felt more connected to the characters and the queerness than in the last book and I think it’s because Parker-Chan allowed them more space to breathe in this one. I don’t even really remember how I felt about the characters after reading the first book, but I liked Zhu in this one and I was really invested in Ouyang. Their dynamic was so good in this; I think Parker-Chan did an amazing job of guiding them past that animosity so they could come to more even ground together. Their own character motivations and personalities really held true, nothing had to be changed for no reason to make it fit into the plot and character arc, and it made sense how they reached better understanding. I also liked seeing a lot more of Wang Baoxiang. Parker-Chan, I think, came a long way in building complex and layered characters, and I love that there were few real villains among the main cast. They all in some way were sympathetic.

I absolutely loved how Parker-Chan also painted the consequences of war here. The many losses that happened and how it ate away at the consciousness to do all these terrible things. The moral weight was felt throughout this book and that really pulled me in. They also weren’t afraid of upping the stakes. I think in many ways Zhu could have fallen into a bad archetype of everything always going her way, and while that’s sort of the entire conceit of her character, it does still all feel deserved. And yet Parker-Chan also made sure that Zhu lost and suffered and struggled; her choice of which characters to kill and which to leave alive was so smart and so deliberate.

Additionally, I think Parker-Chan handled the themes presented here really well. First, the theme of vengeance and its cost. I like the layers built into this and the consequences Parker-Chan explored for the characters. They portrayed it so well and took the time to think about what the cost would be for each specific character. The other one that struck me was the theme of gender roles and biases. This was present in the previous book, but I felt it was much better utilized here. The push and pull between Zhu and Ouyang was always a big draw for me through both narratives, but I particularly loved the amount of time dedicated to the other women in this book. The advantage of being a woman in the espionage situations that was still always overshadowed by the overall disadvantage of being female in this time period. I think the balance was struck so well, showing what women could accomplish by being unnoticed while also never letting the audience forget that they were oppressed and their positions were extremely precarious. I also liked the moments of exploring grief in its many forms. It was really impactful how Parker-Chen handled loss in this book, not even just loss of named characters who we become attached to, but also just the general low-level hum of grief that accompanies war.

Speaking of that, final brief thought that just came up as I was typing, I found this book more atmospheric than the first. Maybe because I was ore absorbed, but I think also because we were in a much wider variety of settings where the first mainly took place in camps. I loved Parker-Chan’s descriptions of places and how they set scenes. There was a particular mood to each place and I liked how Parker-Chan was able to make each so distinct.

I have to stop going on and on, but I just really felt that Parker-Chan definitely grew as a writer between the last book and this one. I think it’s very admirable and it definitely helped my enjoyment of this story. It took me two tries to start this book before I managed to push past the 30pg mark, but I’m really glad I did.

Content Warnings

k_reads_too_many_spooky_books's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

When I read She Who Became the Sun in 2022, I enjoyed the strong ensemble of characters. They were easily likeable for me in the first book, but in this book, they are much less likeable, so you're interested more in what they will or will not accomplish and watching them hit rock bottom one by one. I stand by my original critique that at points the prose is dense, but it keeps track of all its moving pieces with such skill I was easily able to follow. I enjoyed seeing all those disparate plots come together in this book, even if the actually moment is relatively short-lived. The violence is definitely as escalation from the first book but not gratuitous or unnecessary. The book really confronts how destructive ambition is, both to yourself and those around you-- how telling yourself you have to do something is never really an excuse for your behavior. Shutting out your feelings cannot protect or absolve you. Overall, well-crafted and engaging, building on the strengths of the first book, albeit exploring a much darker side, but natural, extension of Sun's themes.

Content Warnings

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

And here we go, with the second and final part of this epic duology. (Reminder: The Radiant Emperor duology is a historical fantasy "retelling" of the founding of the Ming dynasty.)

He Who Drowned the World picks up right where She Who Became the Sun left us. Zhu has successfully reclaimed southern China from the Mongols and is looking ahead at continuing that success by taking it all, and crowning herself emperor. But there are still major players in the game with the same goal and a similar claim to the title as her own. The courtesan Madam Zhang is moving for her husband to get the throne (and has an army to back her up), Wang Baoxiang has maneuvered himself into the capital city and is playing political games behind the scenes to further his own agenda, and the unstable General Ouyang is still single-sightedly set on bringing down the Mongols to avenge his family. Zhu has many allies - her wife Ma and close friend Xu Da supporting her completely - but the odds are still long and the fight will still be violent and dangerous. And Zhu will have to decide how much, and who, she is willing to sacrifice to finally achieve her fate.

The plot was not the only thing that picked up right where it left off. The writing, too, remains just as spectacular. It's incredible quality writing. The plot and character development, the complex political machinations, the subtle and nuanced alliances/betrayals...it all remains just so, so good. It's all balanced together in perfect measure, nothing sacrificed for the sake of another aspect. And the pacing in this second one was even better than the first; I felt like I was on the edge of my seat for the entire book from the complexities of relationships, surprising choices, twists, action scenes, and tragedy/losses. The build of the separate pieces of this story, in parallel with each other, created such an eagerness in me for the moment when it all came together, bringing the novel to its peak. When those moments hit - because there were more than one (!) - they delivered.

Thematically, there was a continued, searing, commentary on perceived gender differences and societal expectations/labels being just that: perceived. Parker-Chan explores through these characters how limiting that actually is on a person's ability to become their full self or imagine a future different (better) from the current. This same commentary and expose on gender is mirrored for external "limitations" placed on people with disabilities, which, again, only limit potential if the person internally lets it. As part of these themes, there is the fact that some of the alliances and character developments in concert with each other are happening within incredibly toxic frameworks (content warnigns for: pain, self harm, emotional manipulation, blackmail/lies, sexual violence/manipulation, extreme un-worked-through grief). It's realistic, but tough to read at times. I also really appreciated the depth with which Parker-Chan delved into a reflection on costs, and how much reaching for a fate/goal is worth. In particular, as some of our primary characters - Zhu, Baoxiang, Madam Zhang - experience losses of those particularly special to them (no spoilers, but there are some big deaths), it does have them really questioning which sacrifices are worth it, and at what point they need to bow out versus would that be disrespectful of another's sacrifice for their cause. It was quite emotionally affecting. On a related note, oh the ghosts that haunt us, and what we do because of/for them, even though it changes nothing of their fate(s) in the end. Heart-wrenching.

The end was not, could not really be, a surprise one. Despite that though, Parker-Chan wrote quite the compelling finale. Zhu grew a lot over these two books, aided in no small part by Ma, and in the final moments of this novel, as she faces one final choice on how to reach her fate and start her new empire, her actions show that growth. She still refuses to not do whatever she must to become emperor, and yet, she also considers what she is willing to do, what she is willing to make those she loves do, and on what note she wants to start this new world of her imagination. That strength of choice and compassion, the power one can pull from it, is such a lingering and powerful message to close on. Finally, I need to say, for me, I was so satisfied by one aspect of the story/ending in particular... The way that everyone who couldn’t accept the expansive view of identity and ability that Zhu was creating the future out of/for, or move past shame of/related to it, doesn’t survive to see said world is telling hits hard. But then, for those who accept/own it, or are willing to reset, there is space made for them, no matter their past deeds. It's sad, hard to come to terms with, in some cases, but also inspires a hope for that future as Zhu and Ma see it.

Epic. An absolutely epic duology.

“…but a weak man, well-managed, is a woman’s greatest strength.”

“But, of course: usually when men saw women, they were performing.”

“It wanted what everyone wanted when they looked at him: to eradicate the hateful thing that didn’t fit into the world as they had made it.”

“Dead was dead. It was only the living who cared. It was only the living who felt, and desired. It was only the living who chained themselves to the past, and told themselves to the past, and told themselves it was for the sake of the dead that they did what they did.”

“Was it really bravery, though, if the reason a boy raised a sword was because an adult's expectations had made him believe there was no other avenue? 'I've always thought honor must be cold comfort to the dying. Given the choice, I'd prefer not to die.'”

“A connection between two people existed only because of their shared belief in it as real. There was no such thing as a connection with only one end. There was no such thing as love, alone.”

“If being the emperor means having the world, then its value must be infinite. It's worth anything. / Perhaps so. But if each death could also be considered the end of that person's unique world-- Then isn't pain infinite, too?”

“To be in contact with someone else's pain was to risk feeling it yourself, unless you severed the connection by hating them. When most people's greatest desire was to avoid pain, of course they would rather hate.”

“…it didn’t have to be real, to hurt.”

“Her triumph was muted by sorrow, for everything that had been given and lost for this moment. Those losses and sacrifices now formed the soil from which her new world would sprout. As the world grew, it would draw up the loving kindness of those sacrifices and knit it into the material of itself. With that as its foundation it could never be like the old world of violence and domination. It would be new. She thought with gratitude: It will be itself.”

Content Warnings

roastedduck's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Content Warnings

scrubsandbooks's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark 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

Oh my god. Whatever I expected from the sequel to She Who Became The Sun... it was not this. But the conclusion to this story was amazing. I gasped, I yelled, I cried... mostly cried. I felt more for Ouyang in this than I did in the first which was highly unexpected but I thoroughly ate up all the scenes between Ouyang and Zhu having to interact because of the begrudging team-up. Everything was traumatic and incredible.

Content Warnings