He Who Drowned the World: the epic sequel to the Sunday Times bestselling historical fantasy She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor, 2)

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She has the quality of drawing out the good in people, did you feel it, when you were with her? That you were becoming your best possible self” (spoken about Ma) The tone is markedly more somber than in the prequel, and the narrative is permeated with a sense of oppressive hopelessness and despair. I can already tell that the main criticism readers will level at this book is that it’s too depressing and cruel. While I understand where this sentiment comes from, I’ll admit that I wasn’t overly bothered by the turn things took. While the story could have come off as voyeuristic trauma porn in the hands of a less skilled writer, Parker-Chan managed to craft such three-dimensional and compelling characters that I found myself morbidly fascinated by their horrifying descent into madness.

I can’t shake the feeling that, if I had been able to read this one immediately after the first, a lot of the emotional beats would have hit more. Not that I was unmoved by the end of part two, but it did feel like this was the emotional crescendo when the plot itself hadn’t yet finished. As such, the final part of the book, instead of being a build up to an explosive ending, was a bit drab and overly extended. Why does that seem so surprising? You’re a very capable woman.” Zhu indicated the hammering, shouting chaos on all sides. She switched to one of the languages she’d learned in the monastery (but never practiced) and said very badly, “You can speak Uyghur, can’t you?” With a surge of delight, she said to the faceless woman behind the curtain, “I don’t want to be great.” She realized she’d been too callous when a flash of pain crossed Ma’s face. She knew Ma still grieved them. Not for who they’d been to her, or how they had treated her, but simply as human beings. Even after a full year of marriage, Zhu still found Ma’s compassion mysterious. When they were together she sometimes thought she might understand—might even feel it, as if it were being transmitted by the vibration of Ma’s tender heart against her own—but as soon as they were apart, it faded like a dream.In terms of violence, I think of both She Who Became the Sun and He Who Drowned the World as roughly equivalent to the Asian historical dramas on Netflix: you'll see some splatter during fight scenes, but rarely full-on gore. Torture is mostly implied. However, Drowned is substantially darker in tone than She Who Became the Sun and contains one moderately detailed depiction of sexual violence. I have to stress that it is not a young adult book! I absolutely devoured this story, I couldn't get enough of it and never wanted to stop reading! I cursed my body for needing sleep. I have never loved a series so unfalteringly, there is truly nothing that compares to it. My love for the characters is so exceptionally strong (Xu Da steals my heart as always) and I cannot exaggerate how viscerally I relate to them and how heart-breaking this book truly was. One thing I can say with absolute certainty is you guys are not prepared for this one! I do want to issue a warning that this book is a lot darker than She Who Became the Sun so please look up the content warnings (I'll have them listed on my Storygraph) and read with care! The sequel and series conclusion to She Who Became the Sun, the accomplished, poetic debut of war and destiny, sweeping across an epic alternate China. Mulan meets The Song of Achilles. Here too is the rich and nuanced portrayal of gender fluidity, sexuality, and identity. As a cis-gendered white man I'm not the best person to say that a novel is representative, but what I appreciate here is the lived experience of the characters who struggle with social norms, expectations, and still manage to thrive or despair depending on the character. Zhu in particular manages to inhabit a world that is neither entirely male or female and succeed in part because of that distinction. I read most often to see a world and internal world that isn't my own, to broaden my horizons. In that sense, the novel succeeds immensely, but to someone struggling with their identity I think that this type of book will resonate.

What enriches the already ingenious conversation on gender (alongside this addition of perception) is that of performance. We see performance used in Baoxiang's perspective as he fits into the role they have decided for him, we see it in Zhu's perspective as she plays into and adjusts the world's perceptions to achieve her end, we see it in Madam Zhang and her porcelain surface, as well as in so much more. What really made the book so enjoyable for me, however, were the characters. While the protagonist Zhu is definitely morally ambiguous, her antagonists reach such hellish levels of perversion that she almost seems like a well-adjusted human in comparison. I was captivated by their tragic arcs, their Machiavellian schemes, and their supremely twisted relationships with one another. Ultimately, this is a story about the value of self-acceptance and the devastating consequences of social rejection and self-hate, particularly in relation to gender identity and expression. I think the author effectively showed how self-loathing and bigotry can destroy not just the individual, but society as a whole. Zhu and Ouyang have always been the most interesting to me. In She Who Became the Sun we see their similarities discussed alongside their vast differences, but in this book we are allowed to see their connections in an even sharper light. We are allowed the clarity of their sameness, the ache of their joint wounds and sorrows, we feel the reverberations of that string pulled taut that binds them. And so it is with even greater betrayal that we see the jagged edges of their differences once more.zhu yuanzhang was a fantastic main lead with her gritty determination and outlandish plans. ouyang and madam zhang's POVs had me feeling pity and understanding but also frustration and anger. ouyang is a pretty memorable character in just the utter tragedy of his existence. ma xiuying was a breath of fresh air (and maybe i wish she had better choices). It is to Parker-Chan's credit that they write with such skill and mastery that I *felt* all that horror. They truly can capture emotion in such a striking way and satisfying way, but, god, did I ask to feel all that? Maybe I did. lol. But please heed the TW list they provide in their own comments here. I would also rate this very adult. This is for 18+ for sure. Ouyang reaches into this place of pain to shield himself from a greater wound weeping inside of him. He is haunted by his duty, by his need for revenge. He drives himself onwards, against reason, running headfirst to his end. He wants to achieve this vengeance and have it be done, he wants this gaping wound inside of him to stop flowing out blood, he wants to reach the end before his pain bleeds him dry. He wants everything that he's done to get there to be worth it. As brilliant as Circe . . . a deft and dazzling triumph’ – Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne