Review by toughmilk - He Who Drowned the World

toughmilk 's review for:

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

3.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

Following She Who Became the Sun, this sequel closes off on the duology in a satisfying way (for me). We continue following the perspectives of previously introduced characters Zhu and Ouyang while introducing two new perspectives from Wang Baoxiang and Madam Zhang. I was compelled to keep reading to see how Zhu miraculously overcomes impossible odds against her in a world that doesn't favour women. I also was intrigued at the three different ways characters show their anguish and pain:

Ouyang through self harm; Wang through self hatred; Madam Zhang through compartmentalization

. While I was engrossed by the slow descent into darkness that

Wang

goes through and am gladden that Zhu found a better way, I felt like the third part of the novel remedied

Wang's

darkness a little bit too hastily. I could have easily read another 200 pages for the end to feel more built up but the pacing of the third act also made sense. Like a black hole where all the events coalesce into a single point before a super Nova explosion. An engrossing book, even if the characters routinely challenged me. A fitting sequel to She Who Became the Sun.

Content Warnings