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A review by legs_n_chins
He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan
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
4.25
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.
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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Grief, Outing, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail