Shelley Parker-Chan utterly knocks it out of the park with this phenomenal sequel to 'He Who Became the Sun'. This fantastic queer fantasy historical book takes the themes, ideas and characters of the first book and somehow brings them to an even richer, deeper place. I'm beyond excited for more people to have the chance to pick this book up.
I will suggest to readers that they look up content warnings for the story before reading, like many similar books depicting times of warfare there may be scenes that are upsetting to some readers in particular the attitudes of men towards women. This is definitely something treated as a bad thing by the text but assess your own comfort level before reading.
My favourite aspect of this story was the exploration of gender. Those who have read book one will know it doesn't shy away from the nuances and complexities of the gender spectrum and this book is no different. In this instance I appreciated seeing more characters grappling with the rigidity of the societal construct and it was fascinating to draw parallels between characters that I wouldn't have considered particularly similar to one another. I now have to go back and reread book one to see if those similarities were there beforehand too.
I cannot comment on the more historical aspects of this story as I do not know this period well enough but, like book one, this book did make me want to learn more about the period which is always a sign of a good historical (inspired) book to me.
The complication of a history-based story is that it never feels like it ends - because history of course does not actually have clear delineations of when things start and end - so I found myself entirely ready for another book despite the fact that this is a duology. I personally don't see that as a negative, always leave them wanting more, but some who prefer a strong sense of closure may want to bear that in mind.
Overall I would not only recommend this book to those who enjoyed book one, I would also use the fact that it is just as exceptional as book one to persuade all those who have yet to get to 'She Who Became the Sun' to pop off to the bookshop and grab themselves a copy today!
My rating: 4 stars
I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

This was a much darker read than book one. It meant I took a bit longer to read it as I had to pause at times. Still incredibly well written and four stars.

This was an excellent follow-up to She Who Became the Sun. I wish I had been able to read them back-to-back, but I did not re-read the first book before starting this one. Nevertheless, I feel like this book refreshed me well enough on the important events of the first book. We pick back up with our characters who are seeking their destinies, all of whom are seemingly willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it. As a reader I continually and naively hoped that the characters wouldn't do the supposedly necessary things that they had committed to, but I knew that of course they were going to. The conflicts were weighty, the tragedies were heart-rending, and the ending of the duology was fitting and satisfying.

She Who Became The Sun is one of my favorite books ever. It was a delightful surprise so I'm very happy that the second installment in the duology is equally fantastic. All the stars!

Wow. I'm not even sure where to begin. I am a huge fan of She Who Became the Sun and had no idea if the sequel could live up to it. It does. Building on the dramatic, historical story of the first book, He Who Drowned the World is an incredibly compelling sequel that should not be missed. This story is filled with a wide range of characters, all with different motivations, gender identities, backgrounds, and desires. Having such a wide range of characters helps make the story feel incredibly real and compelling. Somehow Shelley Parker-Chan manages to weave together a vast array of stories that, without spoiling anything, all tie together in the end. I would highly recommend He Who Drowned the World to anyone who enjoyed the first book. It is a unique, and often dark, take on history that has a good blend of interesting characters and a highly compelling plot. Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing for providing me with an ARC.

I really loved She Who Became the Sun, but He Who Drowned the World manages to outpace the first novel with an expanded POV cast, a tighter emotional core, and all the politicking and genderqueer dynamics that made the first novel so unique. This novel MOVES! Whether it's from one battle to the next, the conquering of a territory, or the heart-wrenching betrayal, Parker-Chan never lets up on the throttle. I suppose that's the nice thing about a duology: you can cut the fat on the middle book of a trilogy.

Zhu, Ouyang, and Wang Baoxiang all return with a few added characters to round out the cast from the first novel. Where new characters are added, their perspectives may seem at first to be at a remove from the rest of the goings-on, but rest assured that they're all neatly tied together towards the novel's end. There were many twists and turns throughout the story, but what made them land so effectively was the bleeding heart at the centre of each betrayal. Parker-Chan writes the internal emotional states of the characters with real resonance, even if it does dovetail into melodrama that's a touch too rich for me at times.

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.

Though I'm sad to see the end of this series, I'm totally on-board for whatever comes next from Parker-Chan. I exchanged a few messages with the author (so cool!) while reading the novel and I'm excited to see what they do with a a story that doesn't feel so bleak. With that said, while the novel is quite dark, it ends on a high and inspirational note. If you know your history, you already know where the story will end, but the journey is well worth the experience.

Thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this novel.

I must first start by thanking NetGalley as well as Tor books for my eArc in exchange for my honest review.
Mesmerizing! Full of conflict, drive, and sacrifice. Though I enjoyed the first book more, I cannot wait to get to the conclusion. A wonderful epic story that is worth every page you read.

It is with heavy heart that I write this: He Who Drowned the World did just not live up to expectations set by She Who Became the Sun. This was a good book, to be sure, but it never quite reached the heights of the first. Call it second book syndrome, if you will, although perhaps this only applies to me. Perhaps everyone else will have an entirely different experience. Who can say.

First of all, I would like to say that I really appreciate that this book opens with a reminder of what happened in She Who Became the Sun. In broad strokes, of course, but enough for me to dust off my memory of it after two and a half years. More books should do this! It helps so much!

I will do my best to be non-spoilery in this review, and hopefully that’ll be quite simple, because a lot of what I have to say I can say in reasonably vague terms. Let me start with this: I did really like this book still. Despite my brain’s best efforts (wtf brain), I enjoyed it! I didn’t love it quite to the extent that I did the first book, for reasons which I might briefly theorise on, but I still enjoyed reading it.

As before, the characters are compelling. Mostly, the POV characters are a mess, with perhaps Zhu the only one who you might say has her shit together, and this is probably what makes them so fascinating to read about. I want to put them under a microscope and examine them deeply. In terms of their arcs though, I would have to admit that Baoxiang’s was the only one which I was truly interested in. Zhu’s arc I found a little boring, to be frank, and mostly it seemed aimed at keeping her away from the capital before the rest of the plot had been laid out (this could be cynical of me, I know). Ouyang’s was not that much more interesting, tethered for the most part as it was to Zhu’s. Baoxiang was, for the bulk of the book, what kept me reading (this sounds harsh but. Yeah). His dynamic with the Third Prince was probably the highlight. My theory for all of this was that I found Esen and Ouyang the most compelling part of the first book so, without Esen, what am I left with? That and the fact that Zhu and Ma really do not get much time together in this. Ma herself barely features, which disappoints me greatly.

So let me talk about the plot progression for a bit. As I said, Baoxiang’s is what kept me reading. Zhu’s, in contrast, seemed to be a plotline that was simply there to flesh out the book at points. I don’t know if this is what happened with the real life Zhu Yuanzhang, but it kind of bogged the book down at points and there were several times I thought that the sole reason for an event was simply to stop Zhu reaching the capital too early since, at that point, the book would have been over. On top of that, it felt as though a certain character had a lot of power and it wasn’t entirely clear when they got it. Even more so, it’s not clear why other characters decided to tether themselves to this character, since they hadn’t exactly had power of their own up until the start of the book. And neither did they seem to be particularly good at talking others into believing in them. But, I suppose, I might suspend my disbelief a little here. Perhaps I am nitpicking overly.

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.

However, as I said, I’m probably nitpicking here. Undoubtedly, people who loved She Who Became the Sun will love this one just as much. It’s fascinating historical fiction, with a compelling cast, and I can’t wait to see what Shelley Parker-Chan has to offer next.

Zhu's relentless drive has taken her from starving waif to mighty warlord, but not even an army, a supportive wife, and the Mandate of Heaven are enough to make her emperor of China when the competition is so fierce. Madam Zhang has the economic clout to elevate even her oafish husband. Scholarly Wang Baoxiang is so ruthlessly cunning he doesn't even need an army. The wildcard is Ouyang, who just wants to kill the current Great Khan. All of them weave endless plots and commit appalling atrocities in their quest for power. Absolutely brutal but riveting.

Okay, I love when duologies have two very different books. I enjoyed She Who Became the Sun but was not particularly surprised or impressed by it, but He Who Drowned the World is decidedly delightful.

This one has so many more moving pieces, politicking and backstabbing, with many of the schemes being pretty genius and bizarre. I assume it’s because Parker-Chan didn’t have to spend time on world-building and building up their huge cast of characters, so they were able to immediately launch into the story. The three big factions gunning for the throne are Madam Zhang, Wang Baoxiang, and Zhu Yuanzhang. The reader is set up to root for Zhu, but Madam Zhang and Baoxiang are so compelling and complex that it’s difficult to remember that you’re supposed to hope for them to fail. What’s especially good about He Who Drowns the World is that each faction is using a totally different strategy: Zhu has her armies, Baoxiang has his ledgers and economics, and Madam Zhang has her little men to manipulate. Part of my personal conflict was that I love to see the economics play out and wanted that strategy to be the winning one, but also love Zhu (or really, Zhu’s wife)... 

The only problem I had was that given how many moving pieces & characters there are, it was quite difficult to remember all the plot threads going into the second book. I read a lot of sequels with a year plus gap from the original, but I don’t think that’s really possible with this one. 

Thank you for the ARC!

Shelley Parker-Chan does it again in HE WHO DROWNED THE WORLD. Another edge-of-your-seat ride full of gender euphoria and plot twists that successfully ends the series begun in SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN.

Shelley Parker-Chan can do no wrong. This book was absolutely magnificent and worth the extended wait. 11/10

I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to really immerse myself into this because it had been a while since I’d read She Who Became The Sun. Turns out my worries were misplaced. It’s like the author laced these pages with carck because I was HOOKED from the very first page. The political intrigue and character development was all so well written. Shelly Parker Chan never misses.

Reading She Who Became the Sun, I repeatedly felt the urge to grab the main characters by the collar and yell, “for the love of god, get some fucking help”. The sequel excited no such compassionate impulse in me; instead, I was left wondering if bathing in holy water would be a viable solution to exorcise the monsters summoned by Shelley Parker-Chan.

There is no other way to put it: most of the characters in this novel are straight up demonic. There is villainy, and then there is Wang Baoxiang. I have never before read a fantasy book that could have so easily been a product of Dostoevskij’s imagination. The main cast members constantly one-up each other in terms of cruelty and depravity; just when you think it can’t possibly get any worse, someone shows up with a jar of pickled hands and you lose another shred of faith in humanity. I’d truly like to know what the author was going through while drafting this, because despite her claim that she doesn’t write grimdark, He Who Drowned the World very much reads like grimdark to me. It’s not so much that the violence is especially graphic, it’s that there is almost no respite from it.

The tone is markedly darker 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 grim 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.

It helps that the plot is fast-paced and action-packed, full of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. Despite knowing from the beginning how the series would end—this is, after all, a retelling of the first Ming emperor’s ascent to power—I could never predict what was going to happen next; in fact, I realized at one point that I had fifteen pages left in my e-book and the story hadn’t wrapped up at all. I think it’s truly a remarkable feat to keep one’s readers guessing until the last chapter of a five-hundred page tome.

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.

This won’t be a book for everyone. If you like your characters to be at least partially redeemable, you might be better off skipping it. It was, however, a book for me. At the end of the day, I am a simple Wuthering Heights stan who incessantly gravitates towards tormented villains doomed by the narrative.

Haunting and yet beautiful, with an ending that felt harrowing but gloriously deserved. It's easy to write about pain and despair but one of the hardest things to try and lift characters out of it, but HE WHO DROWNED THE WORLD does both with deft skill and incisive confidence. Parker-Chan brings us to the darkest depths before offering a brilliant pinpoint beam of light back out.

Major thank you to Shelley Parker-Chan, Tor, and NetGalley for the DRC of this book.

Zhu Chongba is a girl who rose from nothing, assumed her brother’s identity, as well as his destiny for greatness. She took his destiny into her own hands and skyrocketed from a lowly peasant girl to the King who tore Southern China from Mongol rule. Now she has her sights set even higher - taking the entire Mongol Empire and crowning herself Emperor of China. Yet, she is not the only one with such ambitions. Her shattering of the Mongol’s control of the South sent ripples throughout all of China. Now, she not only has to contend against the Great Khan, but also several others with the Mandate of Heaven who see themselves on the throne. Zhu isn’t the only one willing to risk it all for a new dynasty - and she will have to prove that she will do whatever it takes to seize her newfound destiny and truly become the Radiant King, Zhu Yuanzhang.

Okay I cannot rave about this book enough. Parker-Chan shattered my expectations for the sequel in the best way - this was different from the original but the character development and depth is unparalleled. Truly, if you have any interest in alternate histories, Chinese history, Mulan, or LGBT+ stories - you need to read this.

I will say I was shocked at the crazy amount of kinky twists and intimacy in this one. But I mean that in a good sense - I was enthralled in these messy characters and their messy relationships. I was hooked and never wanted to put it down.

I really enjoyed how much this highlighted perspectives and stories from other characters. It was fascinating to follow Zhu's opponents and counterparts, and to really get a sense of the stakes. I also loved the depth that we got between Zhu and Ouyang.

This book really kicks you down and doesn't let up. It's juicy, it's messy, it's violent - and if you live for drama, BOY is there drama.

I can't say I love it as much as She Who Became the Sun - but I can say it is a sequel that lives up to its predecessor and makes for a satisfying duology.

As opposed to She Who Became the Sun, this book felt grander with higher stakes. Zhu, while still very much at the forefront, felt more like a piece in the puzzle rather than the sole focus. She was very much an important piece, mind you. But where the first book seemed to heavily focus on her with deviations from other POVs from time to time, He Who Drowned the World focuses a lot more on other POVs. And what's really interesting is how they all still point back to Zhu.

We get a lot from Ouyang who seems to be written as a sort of counterpart to Zhu—a "what if" in human form. What if Zhu wasn't confident in her own skin to know that her body is not the definition of her? What if she held resentment over everyone who assumed she was something she wasn't. Through Ouyang's perspective, we also see Zhu through the eyes of someone who does not know her. Zhu's pronouns are he/him in Ouyang's eyes, as opposed to the she/her that Zhu's or Ma's sections use. In this we see a reluctant sort of camaraderie: he sees himself in Zhu, or at least the person he thinks he is.

On a personal level, I found the book to be very enjoyable. I will say that while I thought the overall pacing was impeccable, some of the individual chapters and sections within seemed to drag. There was a lot of, "Yeah. Mhmm. K," going on in my head during those parts.

All in all, He Who Drowned the World tackles topics of self-identity, sacrifice, and confidence. Other characters certainly portray these elements separately. But Zhu embodies all of them at once, even if it means going through an existential crisis at what it means to sacrifice. The book is an excellent continuation and conclusion of She Who Became the Sun. Zhu's story will be unforgettable.

If I had to make a choice of She Who Became the Sun and He who Drowned the World I would have to go with SWBTS. I absolutely ATE UP that world building in the first book and by losing that in the second book it just made the story feel a little longer but it was still a great conclusion to the duology.
This story is dark - and you know the saying "it packs a punch" ? well, this book punches, and punches again, and doesn't let you back up, and then punches one more time for good measure. I had to read a fluffy fast paced romance afterwards just to wash the anxiety and dread from off of me. With that said, I loved it, haha.

A fantastic conclusion. Darker, more action-packed, more expansive and more introspective. A legit epic!

(1) First of all is it truly an epic sequel (pun intended) if it DOESN’T start with a helpful synopsis of whose armies and alliances stand where? I’m just saying, if you don’t need to give your audience that recap, you’ve gone wrong somewhere. Go back and add more battles, more alliances!!

For me this book was at the exact sequel sweet spot where I knew enough of the big picture that I never got confused but I still read it thinking “I bet this would be even better if I read it right after the first one so I remembered, say, *why* Chen Youliang is evil, or *how* Esen died” lol. Very promising in terms of reread potential.

(2) Love the Zhu Yuanzhang villain arc/Ouyang redemption arc overlap. So much of this book was “your beloved characters from book 1 finally meeting up/going to battle/teaming up/betraying each other/[redacted]ing each other/understanding each other like no one else can.” Call me Zhu because I ate that shit up like ******’s ***. 😜😂

(2) Wang Baoxiang…. 🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣 buddy. Buddy. 😰😰😰😰😧😧😧😧 He had me alternately screaming and cringing away from the pages of this book. Buddy!! Redefining toxic with literally every choice he makes, from the very beginning of this book he’s like “oh you think the bar can’t go any lower?? Gimme a sec” and then it keeps getting worse from there!! And for the record I did not expect to be this emotionally invested in a straight man, in this book of all places and yet here I am??

Also there’s a YouTube classical music compilation called A Playlist to Feel Like a 19th Century Villain Who Won the Game and honestly WBX needs one of those, the 14th Century edition. I mean what else is going to be the soundtrack as he swishes his way through Beijing?? (Other than the tortured screams of his enemies - and he’s already got that covered.)

(3) Look I love an old-school epic and this book just feels epic! The plot events are epic, the characters’ ambitions and motivations are epic, the scope is epic… I was legitimately worried that this book wouldn’t be able to match the high that She Who Became the Sun ended on - but He Who Drowned the World *starts* hectic, I was rapt *immediately*.

And actually there’s a sort of a mirrored tonal structure with the first book which I like a LOT. Of *course* these books had to be a duology, of *course*.

(4) This is a personal message to Ma Xiuying, please disregard if you are not Ma Xiuying. …Okay, Ma Xiuying, now that we’re alone and I can finally, finally relax - marry ME!! Melt MY cold cold heart!! Okay that’s all.

(5) And last but not least… Love an author who just goes for it frankly, all the way to the last word (which……!!). This is the right way to approach historical fantasy! Don’t just give me a basic narrative version of the historical record (or “record”), try to DO something with it!

Anyway, the tldr:

Me reading She Who Became the Sun: how can this author possibly top this in the sequel
This author: 🌞🌚

I've posted the review below on goodreads earlier but thought to pist it here to

Disclaimer: I got sent this on netgalley from Tor Publishing Group for a review but my thoughts and feelings are my own.

I read She who became the sun, last year and I was highly looking forward for the next one that comes out later this year.

The story hooked me like the first one and altough there is many characters it didn't feel confusing to read. The historic and action packed story felt epic, intriguing and very human. The characters in this book will stop at nothing or no one to get what they want, however cruel the situation might be. The characters are violent and ruthless but at the same time they show a lot of other emotions on the page such as grief, abanoment, selfdoubth and others which made the story feel very real.

But I will point out a containt warning on self harm.