emestes 's review for:

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

5.0

---

Both these books were a delight, but I think the second is even better and builds so well on the first. I love the tone of the books, the history, and how there’s elements of fantasy but more in how exceedingly lucky and clever all the characters are. There’s a lot of action but also a lot of deep exploration of power, ambition, gender, and gender roles, done beautifully and tenderly. Great story and really good writing.