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.

This duology, and this second book in particular is absolutely striking. There is so much depth to the characters and the historical setting is immaculate. By far one of the most impressive books I’ve read in a while.

I always feel odd reviewing the second book in a duology while trying to avoid spoilers- suffice it to say this book picks up where the last left off, with Zhu continuing of her quest for power. It’s very obvious while reading how important and intentional every scene is. This is a masterwork of political drama running the plot. Yet at the same time the characters are what creates impact, and genuinely by the end you are feeling the blood, sweat and tears the characters have put in to make their political gains.

I truly can’t recommend this enough. That’s all I can say; just wow.

It’s rare for book two to be even better than book one, but Parker-Chan absolutely delivered in this one! There were so many jaw dropping moments. The pacing was fantastic, and the worldbuilding was even more lush!

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!

This really was an epic fantasy, and so brilliantly written. I fully expected one of my faves not to make it to the end and yet I was still screaming and crying (metaphorically) when it happened. Honestly, what a dynamic, canon-blast of a sequel (especially the second half). It explores the sacrifices we have to make if we want power and the huge cost that comes with rising to the top, as well as digging into raw, unfiltered human desires and the need to be understood and accepted.

A phenomenal follow up to one of my favorite books. I can not express how wonderful this series is as a whole.

this audiobook was an ansolute masterpiece. Natalie blows it out of the park every time and this book is no exception. This is the sequel to she who became the sun and i was nervous that the multiple POVs would make it less enjoyable but it added so much depth and enjoyment to the story. i loved the growth of each character and the seamlessness of the story. this duology was absolutely fantastic!

I wanted to love this. Like really wanted to love this. I really enjoyed Sun, and what I loved most about the was the intrigue. Drowned just didn't have the intrigue that I needed. The writing remains strong, the worldbuilding is fantastic. Also Natalie Naudus is a brilliant narrator.

A very dark but fitting followup. I enjoyed this one more than the first one, but still struggled with the writing style. The way the author writes traumatic events doesn't make me feel anything, but I do think the series ended well.

This was an incredible follow up to She Who Became the Sun. I didn't know how I would feel encountering the complex and morally-questionable characters of SWBTS again, but I missed them more than I thought I would. He Who Drowned the World is especially interesting in how it forces these unlikely allies together against their enemies, who do not consider either Zhu or Ouyang alone as threats.

This was an action packed ride, full of conniving strategy, political maneuvering and winning wars with smarts as well as strength. As in her debut, Parker-Chan does such a beautiful job of linking queerness and otherness in society, by using motifs such as ghosts and things not of this world. This duology was a stand out and I'd highly recommend it.

Naudus narrates this book well. While the voices she assigns each character is distinct, I didn't think them so out-there that they distracted from the book, rather than enhancing it. This was definitely an audiobook you could lose yourself in.

This was a fantastic end to the Radiant Emperor duology. Sometimes a sequel is even better than the first book and I think this might be one of those times.

4.5/5

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

It's not you, it's me? Plenty of my friends loved this, including Stephanie. Zana made me feel better for not liking this series.

As the author is nonbinary and Chinese Australian, I will look to future works and hope those click with me instead. A gender bent Mulan retelling sounded exactly up my alley, but as we keep seeing, perhaps retellings aren't for me.

What was it about this series that didn't work for me? I go back and forth with enjoying Zhu's storyline. I don't like Ouyang's chapters. I know this is about the Mongolian takeover of China, but it feels very disingenuous toward the Mongols.

I think I'll take a break from Tor. It doesn't seem to be working out.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Dang. This was brutal. But also awesome. I was on the edge of my seat stressed out and couldn’t put it down.
The writing is beautiful and evocative (obviously). I love what the author did with the characters here and the queer representation. Will definitely continue reading whatever they write.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillian audio for sending me a copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

Honestly, I was just here for the vibes by the end. I can barely tell you the names of any characters, what any of them were trying to do, why they were doing it, literally anything about the book. Other than that Zhu was a badass full of female power.

I really wish that I had been able to keep up with this book, and I wonder if reading the physical copy instead of the audiobook would have helped. It was hard for me to stay focused on this story and engaged, wanting to know what would happen next. I was so interested in it to start with, but alas, there was nothing that kept my mind engaged.

If you like epic fantasy, you might want to give this a try though!

I had technological difficulties and was unable to download the book before it was archived. Thanks for the review copy.

A worthy follow-up to "She Who Became the Sun". I really loved getting to fall back into this world and see how the characters' journies continued. I also really liked getting to see how Parker-Chan expanded on the "unlikeable" character traits from the first book. The narrator gave a great performance and they helped to distinguish from the various characters and povs.

Actual Rating 3.5

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan is the sequel and series conclusion to She Who Became the Sun, one of my favorite books of all time. Both HWDTW and SWBTS tells the story of war and destiny, sweeping across an epic alternate China and told in the most beautiful prose.

Parker-Chan has the most elegant Asian-inspired writing style that never fails to bring me to my knees. In this book we continue to follow Zhu, Ouyang, and Ma while even more full-bodied characters are introduced in the novel. This book is about the struggle and battle for power between all the characters with each of them trying to outplay and outmaneuver each other. This sequel is even more magic-heavy than the SWBTS and delves much deeper into the psyche of these extremely flawed characters.

Natalie Naudus is a brilliant narrator and once again, she proves why she is the most sought after narrator to date. She once again flawlessly executes this book with great emotion and depth.

My biggest gripe with HWDTW, was this novel felt so must less balanced than SWBTS. I loved SWBTS so much because SPC was able to create a perfect balance between militaristic strategies, romance, darkness and gore, and the slow maddening descent into immorality topped with a sprinkling of fantasy and horror.

However, in SWBTS, while I found so much to love about this book, I also did not feel like it had the balance that I was looking for and hoping to read again. In this book, I feel like balance was tipped far more into the trauma for trauma's sake rather than trauma that adds to the drama. There is a lot, and I repeat a lot of graphic rape scenes illustrated from the point of the victim. And the rape happens to multiple different characters and between different genders, and it happens over and over again. As it never was from the aggressor's perspective, the reader ends up living in the shame and the trauma and manipulation in these characters heads repeatedly, throughout the novel. Sex was used both as a tool and as a weapon so repeatedly that a lot of the times it felt unnecessary to expound on each scene it happens in.

While I do understand SPC using this as a tool to illustrate the horrors of war, especially since in history, it did happen a lot, as well as using these graphic rape scenes to drive character and plot, I do feel like the *amount* of it was unnecessary to get those points across. There were also certain times that the internal dialogue of the characters during the rape scenes contradicted each other and it became truly confusing what SPC really wanted to achieve. In this case, I feel like less is more would have been a lot more impactful in truly portraying the horrors these experienced.

Nonetheless, SPC will continue to be an auto-buy author because the world they have build and the characters they have chosen to portray are intensely complex and I do enjoy reading their writing so much.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review:
He Who Drowned the World (The Radiant Emperor Duology #2)
Written by Shelley Parker-Chan
Read by Natalie Naudus
Book 179/200
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Format: Audio/Digital, ARC
Pages/Time: 496/18hr 57min
Published: 2023
Rating: 8/10

"My husband's reputation may precede him, but a weak man, well managed, is a woman's greatest strength."

Holy s*** this book is DARK. Maybe I need to start a Grimdark rating for darker books, because if I did I feel like this would be a 9 or 10. He Who Drowned the World goes almost directly from She Who Became the Sun, and details the gruesome and bloody war for the Mandate of Heaven. Parker-Chan's writing is on point! Prose, characterization, and dialogue are all well done and deliver a fitting end to this duology.

HWDTW follows three factions and their choices and concessions as they wage war against each other. And Parker-Chan depicts this war terrifyingly, brutally well. I'm just going to say, if you have a trigger, it is in this book.

Thank you to netgalley and Macmillian Audio for the ARC of this book.

I reeeeaaaally wanted to love this book, but I found the same flaws in this book as I did in the first. Zhu's character was just my biggest let-down. I felt like their character just fell flat, and I'd gotten that sense with the end of the first book too... but it was just re-solidified here. It was definitely interesting and worth a read, but this one just felt stagnant to me. I also wanted to see so much more of Ma. She was one of my favorites in the first book, and I felt like she just got left out this time around.