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.

"He Who Drowned the World" is book two. I enjoyed the first but this one became a DNF.

Thank you NetGalley and TOR publishing for bringing this title to us readers.

ARC provided by the publisher TOR Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A heart wrenching sequel that challenges the concept of gender expectations. A queer story that champions identity, unbending will, and delicious painful yearning. He Who Drowned the World is the ending of all endings that makes every page worth relishing.

When the new year rolled in there was only one book that I am anticipating in 2023 and that book is He Who Drowned the World. It is the sequel to one of the three in the Sapphic Trifecta that grabbed the attention of the fantasy enjoyers, She Who Became the Sun. A debut that challenged the strict gender roles implemented within the historical background of China under Mongol rule. Following the extraordinary journey of the rise of a nameless peasant girl that took on the fate and name of Zhu Chongba, her brother, carving their path of greatness challenging the fates.

Since the initial release of She Who Became the Sun in 2021 the book has been recognized and highly acclaimed amongst readers. Shelley Parker Chan has won multiple awards and the debut book achieved the #1 spot on the Sunday Times best sellers list and translated into 15 languages. When He Who Drowned the World was announced during the end of 2022 many readers, including myself, were excited to read the conclusion of The Radiant Emperor duology.

Personally, the first novel blew me away and left me awestruck as one of the best books I’ve ever read in my lifetime. When I received a digital ARC from TOR through NetGalley I had to prepare myself mentally before diving into the book. I tried starting the book in March but decided to delay it until now. From the stars that are included in this review it is safe to say that He Who Drowned the World is an absolute masterpiece.

He’d found his fate and his end, and with it he’d made all his suffering—his pain, and betrayals, and sacrifices—worth it.

Before diving into the review I would like to appreciate the cover artists that contributed for the US and UK covers of the book. For the US cover it is done by Jung Shan, the same artist that has done the cover for She Who Became the Sun and other books such as: The Poppy War trilogy by R.F. Kuang and The Avatar book series, The Rise of Kyoshi and The Dawn of Yangchen by F.C. Yee. For the UK cover it is done by Lucy Scholes, a senior illustrator and designer at Pan Macmillan UK. Readers are treated with these two beautiful covers to decide which to include into their collection or maybe just get both (like what I did). If you have preordered He Who Drowned the World there is a preorder incentive of an exclusive adult short story featuring Wang Baoxiang and General Ouyang. Though this short story is fan fiction and isn’t canon. Submit the preorder receipt here.

For readers that have not read She Who Became the Sun and are interested in starting because of this review please check out my review here. Also this will be the point when I will tell you to not read any further to avoid being spoiled because I will be mentioning events that happened in the first book. For readers who are continuing the series I would like to happily inform you that the first two chapters of He Who Drowned the World includes a bit of recap of what happened and all relevant to the players that are involved. A trigger warning is due as well as He Who Drowned the World contains some graphic descriptions and scenes of rape, self harm, torture, death, etc. For a full detailed list of the trigger warnings please click this link.

It was a single pulled thread snarling other threads; a whole structure, beginning to distort. It was all as it should be.

Chan’s writing is still as beautiful as it was in She Who Became the Sun. There is no decline in the quality of prose in this sequel compared to its predecessor. Passages upon passages I highlighted because of how masterful Chan’s writing is in narrating this epic tale. Chan’s ability to write such emotionally charged inner monologues for the characters added layers to the characterization that made them more fleshed out. There isn’t a moment that these monologues felt as though it was dragging the book, it is full of intent and purpose in giving shape to the characters journey towards their end. Things unfolded satisfyingly from start to end as the stakes became gradually more tense and stressful with each turn of the page. Even with the long chapters Chan’s writing never fails to pull me back into the world and characters. As vile as the characters are in this series I was entertained by them as each of them are fleshed out masterfully and they each get a conclusion that is worthy of their journey.

In He Who Drowned the World there are more aspects of magic compared to She Who Became the Sun. The form of magic incorporated in the series is the glowing proof of the fates called the Mandate of Heaven. As mentioned in the first book, people who are deemed worthy by the fates to become Emperor are people who possess the mandate. The magic of this mandate wasn’t explored much aside from the ability of seeing ghosts and spirits. For this sequel Chan shows the mandate being used by the characters for certain things and it also takes on different shades in colour depending who is blessed with it.

This was what he had now. It was exactly what he wanted, and when the rest of it was finished: it would feel just as good as this. It would make everything worth it.

The main theme in He Who Drowned the World centres more on the characters’ psyche after the things that happened in the first book and preparing for more mental toll to come. Each character experiences a form of mental trauma from what they did, directly and indirectly, to be a step closer towards their goal. As readers we get to see each of them go through more pain and trauma as they come to the result in their painstaking work to achieve their goal, even though the result isn’t always what they expect.

He Who Drowned the World also included some entertaining battle scenes that are interesting and explosive in delivering the climax of the book. The essence of this series at its core is the military machinations and strategies that became the background for the broken characters. Zhu is still as creative and eccentric as ever in inventing solutions during a pinch. The scene that makes this book is a certain nautical battle that feels like a throwback to the river battle in She Who Became the Sun. But this battle is much more brutal and emotionally palpable on page that left me gasping for air because of how tense Chan writes the scene unfolding.

In my review of She Who Became the Sun I praised Chan for writing a story that is a love letter to the queer community regarding gender. It is no different now because if She Who Became the Sun is a direct challenge towards the ideas of gender roles and expectation, in He Who Drowned the World it is the weaponization of gender expectations by the characters and a direct attack towards the idealisation of the very concept gender. To simplify it is a big f-you and the most punk form of storytelling that takes characters who are historically cisgender and straight yassifying them to become their most queer form. Aside from that Chan also highlights both body and gender dysphoria associated with being gender fluid, non binary, and gender queer from traumatic experiences of the characters for presenting a certain way.

He could feel the blackness leaching out of him as he lost control. It was drowning the world, and himself along with it.

At the end of She Who Became the Sun, Zhu Yuanzhang a.k.a Zhu Chongba proclaimed herself as The Radiant King to the world promising to lay waste to the empire of the Great Yuan and is on her way to expel the Mongols from the land. Now Zhu is planning her next move to achieve her goal whether through alliances or force. The key players that are a threat to her goal is Madam Zhang and Rice Bucket Zhang, Chen Youliang, and a few other new characters within the Great Yuan and an unexpected character that is moving behind the scene, a personal favorite of mine, Wang Baoxiang (the younger brother of Esen Temur and the new Prince of Henan).
There are multiple POVs in He Who Drowned the World compared to She Who Became the Sun that mainly focuses on Zhu and Ouyang with a scattering of POVs from other characters. In this sequel two other POVs will take center stage, joining Zhu and Ouyang, is Wang Baoxiang. As Chan has mentioned Wang Baoxiang is the reason why they titled the sequel He Who Drowned the World. The introduction of Wang Baoxiang into this sequel as a main character gives the story a whole new colour. In the first book Wang Baoxiang’s presence was minor but had a huge impact in the plot. It was clear that Chan setup Wang Baoxiang as a character to be reckoned with and oh boy.. he delivered until the end.

Wang Baoxiang’s characterization took a turn for the unhinged, wretched, and full blown insanity. In a way Wang Baoxiang’s manifestation of pain, grief, and trauma propelled him to embrace his identity to its fullest, though it leans more towards the twisted side. What led Baoxiang on his path of destruction is the countless times he was shunned for being different and ridiculed by his closest family for not being the man they expected him to be. In the first book he was beaten, insulted, tormented, and pushed to his limits which made him completely snap at the end. Everything in the first book led Baoxiang to become who he is in He Who Drowned the World, a person who is hungry for destruction and is out to defile what the world deems as a worthy image of a man.
Baoxiang’s motivation crackled with a darker form of ambition and drive that is fueled by the rawest form of pain and suffering. He used everything about him (by everything I mean EVERYTHING); from his skills in governing, his flamboyant attitude, his not so masculine body, people’s perception of him, and so many more, to his advantage. And Baoxiang is willing to do anything, even if it’s against his true nature as a person if it means achieving his goal.

“Our suffering wasn’t a payment. It was a gift. We gave it to you so you can achieve your fate. And your fate isn’t just the throne, or greatness. It’s greatness enough to change the world.”

The two main characters that run parallel with each other, Zhu and Ouyang, as foreshadowed by Chan in the previous book, in He Who Drowned the World their fates finally collided. The collision, though I expected it, is presented through an in depth lense. Chan peels back each layer of their characterization showing aspects of themselves that are vulnerable and presenting them through their POVs as they come to realisation of each other. Their euphoria in finding part of themselves in each other was a glorious display of Chan’s masterful lyrical prose and writing. Their characterization achieved a new level of realness compared to She Who Became the Sun, before they seemed mythical in their grandiose will, but now they show a more human side underneath their veneer.

A character which POV is a breath of fresh air to step into is Ma Xiuying. Even though compared to She Who Became the Sun her presence is much less stronger than before but her role is still crucial in achieving the throne for Zhu. Ma’s characterization from the start is consistent from the first book as the character that carries more empathy amongst the anger and cruelty of the other characters. Personally, I adored Ma Xiuying in the first book and it is no different in He Who Drowned the World. Ma is the only character that retains her sanity and humanity throughout the story. She delivered some lines that sets the mood and ties in the fates of every character in the story to convey hope of a new reign.

Those losses and sacrifices now formed the soil from which her new world would sprout.

Final thoughts, He Who Drowned the World is the gloriously painful ending to an unapologetically queer historical fantasy reimagining that solidifies Shelley Parker-chan’s status as one of the best modern fantasy writers. There are so many memorable moments in The Radiant Emperor that left me feeling all kinds of emotions. I highly recommend this series to anyone that wants to read a historical fantasy that is hardcore queer, intense and high stakes, beautifully written, and is just screaming with yearning so painful that it will make you feel like you ran a marathon.

Reading the conclusion of The Radiant Emperor series is a bittersweet moment that I will remember for a long time. This series has formed an attachment with me since I read the ARC of the first book and now that the second book will be released.. I am sad yet excited for other readers to experience the same brain rot. For readers that have read She Who Became the Sun, if you think that book was like a stab in the heart this book will pulverise every aspect of your mental and emotional being.

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

Zhu Yuanzhang is at the top of her game. She's successfully led an army against the Mongols and has freed southern China from the Mongol's control. But Zhu isn't satisfied with this unprecedented success. Now she want to take the throne for herself and become China's emperor.

Zhu isn't the only one who is feeling ambitious though. Madam Zhang wants her husband to sit on that throne, and Madam Zhang might wield more power than even Zhu. But there is also Wang Baoxiang, a scholar going after the throne using a different method. Rather than brute force, Wang is playing a political game that might have southern China fall right into his hands.

The first book in this duology, She Who Became the Sun, was a stunning surprise to me. I was so impressed with the language and the power of the story and the determination of the characters (particularly Zhu) and I was so eager to read this. Unfortunately it is about as 'opposite' as one can get in almost every conceivable way.

There's no real ambition here. you might think so, given my ultra-brief summary, but Zhu isn't looking to become emperor for any sort of noble reason or to step up and do what's right even if it means bucking tradition. She wants it because ... she's become greedy. This doesn't seem like the same Zhu at all. And that's a HUGE disappointment because it was her drive and humble altruism that really had the first book sing.

This book is full of dark episodes. Think about what might be the worst thing you could possibly imagine happening to you - go on, think about something. Yeah. That, right there, what you're thinking about ... that's in this book.

I highly suspect that we're meant to look at these books together and that they represent the yin and the yang. The "opposite but interconnected, mutually perpetuating forces." (Thanks, Wikipedia [I've already donated].) I'm not sure, though, why Zhu has to represent both sides. And while it's a nice conceit (if that's how we're supposed to look at these books) I'm not sure what we're supposed to get, specifically, from this book. The yin and yang meanings are clear and present in these books (dark/light, night/day, cold/hot, weak/strong, retreating/advancing, winter/summer, passive/active, etc) but the story, to get us through the Yin, is not at all clear to me (is that another part of the yin/yang? - murky/clear).

Looking for a good book? Though I can appreciate the symbolism and tremendous effort to connect He Who Drowned the World (by Shelley Parker-Chan) with the previous book in the set, through an ancient Chinese philosophy, the actual story-telling aspect and morality of all the characters was hugely disappointing.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

It's been a while since I last read the first book so I feel like I missed a few connections when I jumped into this book, but generally, I was able to enjoy it and I mean ENJOY it. It was such a good read!! I loved getting to (more closely) meet all of the characters even though I was hurting 90% of the time. Was the first book as gritty and painful as this one? I had too many emotions and by the end, I was chanting, "more, more, more". There's a lot of plotting, thinking on our feet, and when someone else may have given up, our three mains in this book PERSIST.

I really wanted to love this. After reading She Who Became I couldn't wait for He Who Drowned. I think it was missing the political intrigue I adored so much in Sun. The writing remains stunning and the worldbuilding is fantastic, but the plot just did not work for me this time.