Shelley’s writing and characters always go straight to destroying me in satisfying ways possible. It had me clinging on to dear life with so much stress and thrill. I will be needing time to recover.

He Who Drowned the World is an excellent follow-up to She Who Became the Sun. While I admit I enjoyed the first book more, I was eager to see how the characters developed and their lives unfolded. For those who want an alternative history with diverse genderqueer characters, this series is terrific.

I just finished He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan, and I have to say, it's an absolute masterpiece. This sequel to She Who Became the Sun dives even deeper into the complexities of power, ambition, and identity.

The characters are incredibly well-developed, each with their own intricate motivations and moral ambiguities. Parker-Chan's writing is both beautiful and brutal, painting vivid scenes that linger long after you've turned the page.

The plot is a rollercoaster of political intrigue and personal drama, keeping you hooked from start to finish. If you're into historical fantasy with depth and nuance, this book is a must-read

This is such an odd duology in that I think it's very well written, it's super interesting, there were moments where I was holding my breath from the suspense and yet I feel like the overall payoff isn't strong? I finished it and wasn't satisfied, now, maybe that's because I just don't know who I'm supposed to root for. Zhu Yuanzhang is the main character, but is she the hero? Hard to say.

It took me a while to finally read this book because I was scared nothing would live up to the first one, but I ended up loving it just as much! While many of the characters did not get happy endings, I thought their endings made perfect sense with the way they had been written. Overall, this was a great duology and I will be recommending it to all of my customers!

Life got in the way and I could not finish the book. Thanks to the publishers for the chance to read the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback

I loved this duology. The characters are so complex and well executed. The plot was full of political intrigue and chess-like moved. I can't recommend it enough.

Parker-Chan’s sophomore novel, the follow up to She Who Became the Sun is poetic, engaging and overall beautifully written. It deals with some heavy subject matter including war, sexual violence and other subjects that may be difficult for some readers. Overall, the follow up was not as strong as She Who Became the Sun, but I will certainlyu be keeping an eye on Parker-Chan’s future work.

I wasn't quite as hooked by this as I was with the first book, but I'm still so glad I decided to read it.

3.5 stars

It took me an unnaturally long time to finish He Who Drowned the World, but I think that has more to do with me than the actual narrative or writing. As my final read in 2023, it seems a fitting way to end the year and begin a new era.

There are a lot of twists and surprises here to keep you on your toes. Where She Who Became the Sun followed a more predictable direction, it was harder to guess who would finish on top and how they would get there this time around.

I like how deep the emotions are felt by every character. No light and breezy connections here. Every action and moment had meaning and significance. Even Madam Zhang’s lack of emotion is felt deeply in its absence.

The first time I read She Who Became the Sun I described it as ‘A lot of terrible people doing horrible things and blaming it on fate.’. He Who Drowned the World is where these people finally have to face the consequences of their actions. And it’s not always pretty. In fact, it rarely ends well. Which only made me enjoy He Who Drowned the World even more.

I won’t lie, He Who Drowned the World is not an easy read. It’s dense and detailed and it took me a long time to get through it. But the writing is beautiful, the characters are complex, and I never for one moment considered not finishing this story.

I found this sequel to be just as charming and engrossing as the original book. It was lovely to see how the characters lives move forward and the discussions of queerness, not fitting into the boxes that society creates for you, and the power to make a world of your own were all very important messages. Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book!

Shelley should teach a master class on world and character building. Like… WHAT WAS THIS BOOK!!! It was fantastic omg!

I read this book a while ago and now post my review belatedly. The sequel here takes the plot set by the previous novel and uses it to build an exciting continuation for the series. The protagonist became increasingly more interesting as the story deepened. It's something I'm going to continue to recommend to everyone!

A propulsive, heart-pounding finale woven with cinematic prose. This book—and this series—will stay with me for a very, very long time.

4.5 stars



WHAT a CONCLUSION!!!! It took me ages to get to this after my re-read of the prequel, but damn it did NOT disappoint!! I feel like it's not an exaggeration to say that Shelley Parker-Chan is one of the best historical fiction authors working today. Their attention to craft is spectacular; despite reading so much every year, I am struggling to think of the last book I read that compared to the sheer levels of literary intentionality that we find in this book.

While the book's attention to historical detail and Chinese literary styles was stunningly fantastic (at least as someone who has experience in that area but isn't an expert), Parker-Chan absolutely shines in their character work, on multiple levels. Everyone in this book is "so toxic" (to quote my friend Pam) and completely messed up -- why make good choices when you could make self-destructive ones instead? Yet despite almost every character being ~unlikable~ by the usual metrics, I absolutely loved each and every POV character. None of them are good people, but all of them are incredibly compelling, and you can't help but root for them. Parker-Chan also manages to complexly foil different characters against each other, drawing out different questions through each connection.

Absolutely loved this book, and I know it will stay with me for a long time; I know I will be re-reading this duology in a few years. Cannot wait to see what Parker-Chan has coming along next!

Thank you so much to Tor Publishing and NetGalley for an eARC as well as a physical ARC for this release.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / 5 stars

I really enjoyed She Who Became the Sun when I read it so I was excited for this sequel. This conclusion to the series was such a good way to end it. For the first time our main character has to face more of the direct consequences of her dream and desires. This book handles the brutality of war, grief, and being "other" so incredibly well throughout the book.

There are several moments that totally caught me by surprise and hit my emotions HARD. Shelly Parker-Chan is incredibly good at making me sympathetic to some of the most vicious characters I have ever read. I really enjoyed that while we spent a good chunk of the book in the POVs of Zhu and Ouyang we did get some other POVs in the book that really gave that additional depth. I really enjoyed when we got to see Baoxiang's POV because it was just such a contrast to our other characters. It was terrifying being in his POV and what lengths he was prepared to go to to achieve his goal.

I think the only thing I can see that may have been a benefit to this series if it had indeed been a trilogy instead of a duology. I think the last plot arc of the book could have been its own book and then we could have gotten some weight and punch to some of the intense moments that felt a bit more rushed.

An incredible follow up to one of my favourite books of all time. Parker-Chan is a masterful writer who creates such vivd characters, and the plot was engaging and unique. All in all, a spectacular finish to the duology!

This was a great sequel to She Who Became the Sun but ultimately, the pacing and story would've been amazing to read in a single tome. The emotional beats in Zhu and Ouyang's journey to reconcile with their fates felt slightly drawn out. Nonetheless, Parker-Chan is a genius and an instant addition to any TBR!

A truly staggering feat. The intricate plotting sweeps together into a mesmerising tapestry, driven by complex characters and breath taking battle scenes. This is absolutely spectacular.