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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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:
Yes
dark
sad
tense
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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
Shelley Parker-Chan’s writing remains exceptional in this sequel, with rich fantasy elements set in a fascinating historical backdrop. While it didn’t resonate with me as much as [b:She Who Became the Sun|48727813|She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor, #1)|Shelley Parker-Chan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1625048838l/48727813._SY75_.jpg|74086825], I still appreciated its intricate exploration of psychological resilience and the battle of wits that defines this chapter of the duology.
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Nobody would lift a finger to change the world for us. To make a place for us. What choice did we ever have, but to do it ourselves?”
He Who Drowned The World has succeed in at least one thing and that is to solidify my opinion on this duology of being able to capture the trans and queer experience whether literally or by allegory in such a fantastic and creative way. We see characters such as Zhu who goes against all odds to bend the usual rules and expectations that were given to men and women and form her own definition of masculinity. Zhu is aware that she's different but she isn't ashamed of it nor does she let it get to her. This line in particular really speaks about her resistance and determination.
It does bother me. Do you think it didn’t? Nobody feels good about being hated. But this is who I am. It took me a long time to become this person. Someone who not only can, but will, get what they want. And now that I’m who I need to be: I’m not going to hide myself so that others don’t turn away from me, or spit on me. If the world’s judgment is the price of what I want, then it’s a price I’m willing to pay.
And sure, maybe you think it's a little corny but as someone who has gone through the same enlightement as her, the line really resonates with me. It's sincere and I can't help but got emotional as I am reading through this book and see her determination.
Perhaps because she herself was able to stay resilient to reach her goal, for a while Zhu did look down upon those that weren't able to pick themselves up and face their truth so I thought it was nice that by the end, Zhu realises that not being able to go through with your own desire when faced against life or death is in and out of itself a form of courage which I thought is important to note especially in today's climate.
She had always been strong enough. But perhaps when one’s fate was one’s means of survival and one’s reason to continue—perhaps when one held it as tightly as she did, and the Great Khan did, and Ouyang had—giving up was the act that required the greater strength. As she watched the Great Khan struggle, she thought: it could be the hardest thing in the world
On other side of the same coin, you have Ouyang. I absolutely love how this book further show how similar Zhu and Ouyang is but where Zhu was confident in her sense of self, Ouyang never fully accepts his differences from other men. The concept of toxic masculinity was so entrenched in his mind that he believes himself and Zhu to be of a lesser kind due to their proximity to feminity. However as the story goes on and he spends more time with Zhu, Ouyang show some level of doubt to his belief. I thought this line in particular really struck me as yet another strong showcase on trans resiliency and how one could inspire others to imagine a life beyond what was promised of them
As if Ouyang might be able to take it with his own dead hand, and step back into the world of the living—into Zhu’s new world that existed past the end. Was that world even something he wanted? Ouyang couldn’t imagine what kind of degraded, upside-down world it would have to be for it to have a place for someone like him. And even if he did want to join Zhu there, could he? What more effort would it require, when he was already giving everything he had just to keep going? He didn’t know. But as he stood there in the dripping underground, invisible life crawling through the composting soil around him, for the first time he wondered if it might be possible to continue, after the end.
Unfortunately, Ouyang never get to truly change his conviction and he dies without ever accepting himself. To make matters worse, it was revealed that his father never truly died and that his revenge and his pain was for nothing. Can we pour one out for Ouyang, everybody?
Now here's why I didn't give this book a 5 star as I did with SWBTS.
One word: Baoxiang's subplot
Now I don't know if I'm the only person that initially thought that the 'He' in the title would've refer to Baoxiang instead of Ouyang..but I can't be, can I? And honestly in and out of itself, that's not a problem to me, just unexpected if anything. But I just wish that we would've gotten more of his POV in the first book if he was going to be the main player in the second book
Similar to Zhu, Baoxiang is potrayed as a very smart and ambitious man who is driven out of his false sense of belief that his brother had hate him throughout his life which in turns made him built this self-fulfilling prophecy that he has to do the worst in order to match Esen's perfection as his way to exact revenge on him. His ambition is further propelled by the same thing that drive Ouyang: that he thinks that he is less of a man due to his effeminate feature. But whereas Ouyang loathe to entertain even the slightest idea that he is what everyone think he is, Baoxiang is driven to place himself at the top mostly to embarass others that someone like him could be on top. So it really is more of a three-sided coin between Zhu, Ouyang, and Baoxiang.
As seen on the last book, Baoxiang was once again able to maneuver through the political landscape that is the Imperial Palace. My issue is that everything he did just feels like an absolute asspull. In contrast to Zhu who is written to be observant and uses it for her own advantage, Baoxiang's strategy was too vague and mysterious that it frustates me as a reader. There's not a lot of details on his action and his strategy and this book is supposed to be a political historical fiction so omitting these details just seem weird and took me out of the story. A lot of the backstabbing and subsequent murder/execution didn't have a momentum because of it and therefore loses its weight and meaning.
Another flaw of this book for me was how little the presence of women is in this bookm despite the book mostly delving in toxic masculinity and misogyny. I thought that Madam Zhang would've had more presence in the story but she really is just being depicted as an semi-ambitious woman who have a soft spot for her lover. I'm glad that Ma returns by the last part of the book because her section really elevates the book back for me with her tenacity. She and Zhu really is a match made in heaven and I'm glad that despite her ambitious nature that Zhu still couldn't bear to make Ma sacrifices for her and truly loves her.
Overall, even though I'm slightly disappointed with this sequel, I stand by my opinion that this duology is a fantastic read on gender exploration and trans resilience. Feels very fitting to pick this up during Pride Month.
I hope one day I too can live my truth like Zhu
He Who Drowned The World has succeed in at least one thing and that is to solidify my opinion on this duology of being able to capture the trans and queer experience whether literally or by allegory in such a fantastic and creative way. We see characters such as Zhu who goes against all odds to bend the usual rules and expectations that were given to men and women and form her own definition of masculinity. Zhu is aware that she's different but she isn't ashamed of it nor does she let it get to her. This line in particular really speaks about her resistance and determination.
It does bother me. Do you think it didn’t? Nobody feels good about being hated. But this is who I am. It took me a long time to become this person. Someone who not only can, but will, get what they want. And now that I’m who I need to be: I’m not going to hide myself so that others don’t turn away from me, or spit on me. If the world’s judgment is the price of what I want, then it’s a price I’m willing to pay.
And sure, maybe you think it's a little corny but as someone who has gone through the same enlightement as her, the line really resonates with me. It's sincere and I can't help but got emotional as I am reading through this book and see her determination.
Perhaps because she herself was able to stay resilient to reach her goal, for a while Zhu did look down upon those that weren't able to pick themselves up and face their truth so I thought it was nice that by the end, Zhu realises that not being able to go through with your own desire when faced against life or death is in and out of itself a form of courage which I thought is important to note especially in today's climate.
She had always been strong enough. But perhaps when one’s fate was one’s means of survival and one’s reason to continue—perhaps when one held it as tightly as she did, and the Great Khan did, and Ouyang had—giving up was the act that required the greater strength. As she watched the Great Khan struggle, she thought: it could be the hardest thing in the world
On other side of the same coin, you have Ouyang. I absolutely love how this book further show how similar Zhu and Ouyang is but where Zhu was confident in her sense of self, Ouyang never fully accepts his differences from other men. The concept of toxic masculinity was so entrenched in his mind that he believes himself and Zhu to be of a lesser kind due to their proximity to feminity. However as the story goes on and he spends more time with Zhu, Ouyang show some level of doubt to his belief. I thought this line in particular really struck me as yet another strong showcase on trans resiliency and how one could inspire others to imagine a life beyond what was promised of them
As if Ouyang might be able to take it with his own dead hand, and step back into the world of the living—into Zhu’s new world that existed past the end. Was that world even something he wanted? Ouyang couldn’t imagine what kind of degraded, upside-down world it would have to be for it to have a place for someone like him. And even if he did want to join Zhu there, could he? What more effort would it require, when he was already giving everything he had just to keep going? He didn’t know. But as he stood there in the dripping underground, invisible life crawling through the composting soil around him, for the first time he wondered if it might be possible to continue, after the end.
Now here's why I didn't give this book a 5 star as I did with SWBTS.
One word: Baoxiang's subplot
Now I don't know if I'm the only person that initially thought that the 'He' in the title would've refer to Baoxiang instead of Ouyang..but I can't be, can I? And honestly in and out of itself, that's not a problem to me, just unexpected if anything. But I just wish that we would've gotten more of his POV in the first book if he was going to be the main player in the second book
Similar to Zhu, Baoxiang is potrayed as a very smart and ambitious man who is driven out of his false sense of belief that his brother had hate him throughout his life which in turns made him built this self-fulfilling prophecy that he has to do the worst in order to match Esen's perfection as his way to exact revenge on him. His ambition is further propelled by the same thing that drive Ouyang: that he thinks that he is less of a man due to his effeminate feature. But whereas Ouyang loathe to entertain even the slightest idea that he is what everyone think he is, Baoxiang is driven to place himself at the top mostly to embarass others that someone like him could be on top. So it really is more of a three-sided coin between Zhu, Ouyang, and Baoxiang.
As seen on the last book, Baoxiang was once again able to maneuver through the political landscape that is the Imperial Palace. My issue is that everything he did just feels like an absolute asspull. In contrast to Zhu who is written to be observant and uses it for her own advantage, Baoxiang's strategy was too vague and mysterious that it frustates me as a reader. There's not a lot of details on his action and his strategy and this book is supposed to be a political historical fiction so omitting these details just seem weird and took me out of the story. A lot of the backstabbing and subsequent murder/execution didn't have a momentum because of it and therefore loses its weight and meaning.
Another flaw of this book for me was how little the presence of women is in this bookm despite the book mostly delving in toxic masculinity and misogyny. I thought that Madam Zhang would've had more presence in the story but she really is just being depicted as an semi-ambitious woman who have a soft spot for her lover. I'm glad that Ma returns by the last part of the book because her section really elevates the book back for me with her tenacity. She and Zhu really is a match made in heaven and I'm glad that despite her ambitious nature that Zhu still couldn't bear to make Ma sacrifices for her and truly loves her.
Overall, even though I'm slightly disappointed with this sequel, I stand by my opinion that this duology is a fantastic read on gender exploration and trans resilience. Feels very fitting to pick this up during Pride Month.
I hope one day I too can live my truth like Zhu
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes