This is a very dark book with terrible (as in bad people) characters doing terrible things to each other. But that is really the underlying message- is striving for your fate/destiny truly worth the cost? Or does there come a time when the costs are truly too high? I really appreciated Zhu’s growth as a character throughout this book. I think the relationships (or the lack thereof) also really builds the story. I would recommend this book, and obviously book 1, but just be prepared for a dark and thought provoking read.

I was absolutely riveted by Shelley Parker-Chan’s first novel, SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN–by the fierce strength of Zhu Chongba’s desire and how that propelled her to survive and then climb to the heights of power, by the insightful and fascinating gender interpretations, and by the incredibly compelling plot. So, I was excited to pick up this sequel, HE WHO DROWNED THE WORLD.

Unfortunately, I didn’t remember all the characters from the first novel, and the author’s opening summary (combined with the Wikipedia plot summary) didn’t sufficiently reorient me, so I spent the first part of the novel tangled in a nest of characters whose relationships and motivations I couldn’t quite parse. Zhu, my favorite character, didn’t have much page space until the very end of Part 1. (If you’re picking this up without rereading the first novel, I recommend reading this review to reacquaint yourself with the characters: http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/she-who-became-the-sun-by-shelley-parker-chan/.

As the novel progressed, however, I settled back into the relationships. The same queering look at gender that made the first novel so original and refreshing continues. Questions of gender roles–including what would today be defined as queer relationships and trans identities–are convincingly rendered inside the setting of late Yuan dynasty China.

Other aspects are slightly different: this novel goes further into the psyches of other contenders for the throne, such as Ouyang, Baoxiang, and Madame Zhang. There is a deep investigation of pain, self-hatred, and the desire for revenge–sometimes to such an extent that these dynamics threaten to overtake the novel. Zhu is present, but her intense will to power often takes the form of clever subterfuges and military campaigns. Some of those scenes, though, are breathtaking in the way they illustrate the pure strength of her will.

Although I was less interested in Ouyang and Baoxiang and wished for more of Zhu, I was still drawn into this world and kept turning the pages, appreciating the insightful interpretations of gender and the suspense of political machinations in Yuan dynasty China. I look forward to more from Shelley Parker-Chan.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an amazing, worthy conclusion to Shelley Parker-Chan's debut duology. I was captivated from the very first word untilt the very last, extremely fitting sentence that came out of Zhu's mouth.

Parker-Chan is an absolute master at characterization. This book picks up where the first left off; Zhu has the mandate of heaven, and now has to defeat her rivals to become the true Emperor of China and begin a new dynasty. This book follows her defeating each man who stands in her way. My favorite part of the book was the last quarter. Ma, Zhu's wife, really gets her time to shine in this novel, and it was incredibly moving to see how much Zhu and the ones who trust and love her are willing to sacrifice in order to allow her to achieve her destiny of greatness. I would truly read anything Parker-Chan puts out after this masterpiece.

I enjoyed this book and I could not put it down. I really enjoyed the characters and the writing was really well done. It made you want to keep reading.

...once he let it out, it wouldn’t be just the world that was drowned, but himself.



In my review of She Who Became the Sun I said that opening scenes depicting the hunger actually served as a well-thought metaphor for Zhu's hunger to claim the greater destiny, to claim the power and the throne. And General Ouyang mirroring her in everything with the sheer determination and relentless pushing against the hardship, prejudices and mocking on his own destined path.
This book though, takes that up a notch, above the admiration you feel for their dedication and spirit and right into ugly, uncomfortable part of balance checks, of how much furthering their quests cost them. It's that realm where only a few dwell and that's what differentiate them from other contenders for the same prize: they will do whatever it takes and they are ready to give up anything for what they see as their destiny.
In a sense, Parker-Chan telegraphed that with ending of previous book where Zhu and Ouyang both committed harsh acts- they know it's not ok, but at the same time they know it's a crucial to bring them closer to their goal. So, yes, it costs them their love, their innocence, their personality, their pride, their body (if the scenes of sexual violence and exploitation are triggering, take caution, there are plenty and they are dark). Zhu simply does not see any obstacle as insurmountable on her way to claiming Great Yuan for herself. Her pov was the easiest to read and she seems the most put together, but in in all honesty, it's because she doesn't really dwell on her previous misdeeds or remorse which and without any doubt makes her the most ruthless character in this book. As for Ouyang, I will only say that reading his pain was the saddest part of the book and as perfectly they were mirroring each other, it's in this book that we see them diverging because Ouyang is anchorless. I always had a soft spot for him, and when your favorite hurt, you feel all the emotions book wants you to.
Which is where we have to mention other pretenders to imperial throne, who in their own path to the same goal with their own victories and failures depict the same as Zhu and Ouyang do: the heartbreak they are willing to endure and debasement of their own person for their goal.
As much as he was the part of previous installment, Wang Baoxiang was still a background character of Ouyang's arc. In this book, Parker- Chan gave him a bigger role, a perfect presentation of fighting on a cerebral level, not with armies on a field, but inside the court, causing havoc. He bodly steps into arena with his own arc and also takes away the title of the most self-loathing, and most angry and selfdesfructive cookie from Ouyang. Definitely the grimmest part of the book belong to him. Madam Zhang, the brain behind Zhang trading power is ambitious as all of them, but as woman she is weaponizing her beauty and charm to manipulate the men around her. It's the game you cannot have emotions involved in and when her fight is conducted by show of affections it's easier for feelings to get muddled in. All of these characters are broken beyond repair and some are handling it better than others.
That's what really makes this a much darker book than previous was. There are no heroes here, and perhaps the message on the wall is that there is no place for heroes on the throne.
I applaud author for showing the rawest and the worst from these characters. It's not pretty being in their heads, but it's what made it so compelling for me. If I would take issue with anything is the fact that previous book made so much effort of showing that predetermined gender roles are not so set in stone, while I feel this one kept insisting on them. The raised questions of identity by our characters and where they belong come second to their ambitions and aspirations which is ok, but I felt they were more intertwined in the first book.
If the previous book had all the exuberance of Chinese historical dramas, this one actually leans into that bēijù with how and where our characters ended. But trust me, Shelley Parker-Chan has a way with words so they made it beautiful to read.
Recommended.

She Who Became the Sun, Shelley Parker-Chan’s fantastical retelling of the rise of the Ming dynasty in China, was one of the buzziest books of 2021 and impressed me enough to land in the top third of my Hugo ballot. So the question wasn’t whether I would read the second half of the duology in He Who Drowned the World, just how soon I could get ahold of it.

[Note: He Who Drowned the World picks up shortly after the events of She Who Became the Sun and is impossible to review without referencing the general lay out the land at the end of the first book, though as always, I try to avoid specific spoilers.]

She Who Became the Sun was the story of Zhu Chongba, who stole her brother’s fated greatness and rose from starving, unwanted daughter to male-garbed monk to leadership within the Han rebellion against their Mongol overlords. But a secondary lead character was General Ouyang, a eunuch leading Mongol forces while biding his time to execute his revenge against those who killed his family and mutilated his body. He Who Drowned the World follows both characters, while adding a third major perspective character in Wang Baoxiang, a schemer whose power comes from his facility with account books and not with the sword. This may be Zhu’s duology, but it is Wang Baoxiang’s book. Finally, Madam Zhang rounds out the cast with a fourth major perspective character, alternately ally and enemy of the others as she uses the richness of her land and the military prowess of her lover to try to carve out as much power as she can.

The first book was an exploration of Zhu and Ouyang’s experiences of gender in a patriarchal society as much as it was anything else, with the political scheming staying mostly on the surface and the fantasy elements limited to an ill-explained Mandate of Heaven and an occasional ghost sighting. And book two certainly still has plenty to say about gender, with none of the four major perspective characters fitting the stereotype of traditional male leader, but it greatly expands the scheming and the fantasy elements. In many ways, it’s driven by the family ghosts—real and perceived—tormenting General Ouyang and Wang Baoxiang as they spiral farther and farther into their own internal abyss.

Make no mistake, this book is a train wreck, and it’s meant to be. Ouyang can fight, and Baoxiang can scheme, but their darkened and darkening minds lead them to destructive choices at nearly every turn. Their motivations are entirely explicable, and the combination of prowess within their own spheres and the torment of their pasts make for fairly compelling train wrecks. But there is little light to be found here.

Perhaps my biggest criticism concerns that little light that can be found. In the first book, Zhu Chongba proved to be as ruthless as anyone. And yet, she still fills something of a heroic role, seen by her followers—and to some extent, the narrative itself—as representing a hopeful alternative to the others struggling for power. And undoubtedly, she has a level of humility not shared by her rivals for power. But nevertheless, there were times I felt the narrative saw her as something more than she was.

One element of the first book that carries forward into the second is the inclusion of remarkably detailed sex scenes from the perspective of characters experiencing little-to-no sexual desire for their partners, though in He Who Drowned the World, it isn’t contained to one scene. It’s a fairly horny book, but with almost none of that horniness derived from the appetites of the perspective characters. These scenes run the gamut from entirely consensual to entirely nonconsensual, with a fair bit of ambiguous in-between, and the way the characters use their bodies in pursuit of their aims—and the ways this affects external perception—serves as a significant minor theme throughout the novel.

On the whole, it’s hard for me to imagine a fan of She Who Became the Sun not also loving He Who Drowned the World. The weaker scheming and fantastical subplots in the first book are buttressed in the second entry, but with no loss to the major theme of people striving for power in a society that scorns their failures of masculinity. There’s darkness aplenty, but none of that is new to a fan of the first book. There are times where I felt the narrative read the lead more optimistically than it should have, but there was enough excellent character work that this misstep was far from a deal-breaker.

Recommended if you like: exploration of gender in a patriarchal society, epics, train wrecks, She Who Became the Sun.

Overall rating: 17 of Tar Vol’s 20. Five stars on Goodreads.

He Who Drowned the World is the second book in the Radiant Emperor.

I am going to be completely honest: I really did not like She Who Became the Sun and I know most of you are wondering: “Kayla why did you read this book of you did not like the first book?!” Well, the answer is because I saw a ton of potential in She Who Became the Sun and I was curious on what would happen in this book. But the main reason is because I wanted to see if I would end up liking this series.

Obviously I did not enjoy this book and can say with certainty that this series was not for me which does bum me out since so many people love She Who Became the Sun and I felt like I was an anomaly that did not.

First of all I think Shelley has a great imagination of creating this world and these characters. I think because of those elements make a lot of people love the books.

For me the execution feels off and I spend most of my time feeling bored due to the writing feeling really dry. I found it to be more telling than showing. I felt it was hard to connect with the characters and felt their connections to have no chemistry. When I looked up my 2021 review of She Who Became the Sun I cited that I felt like the romantic relationships were forced and to lack chemistry. So I stand by this for this book two years later. I do say in that review that I was bored most of the time which is something I did say up above.

Even though this book was not for me I can definitely say this will appeal to many people with the political intrigue. I think some people will and do view these characters differently than me and that’s okay because reading is subjective and we will all enjoy or not enjoy things differently. Did I wish this book/series was for me? Yes, yes I do and I love that this is a reimagining and is queer but ultimately this was not for me.

When I posted my review of She Who Became the Sun a couple of people mentioned they were afraid to read He Who Drowned the World. Friends, you are right to be afraid. As Shelley Parker-Chan tweeted recently, “emotional books that feel like a gut punch”—hey, that’s my brand!”

Because we know that this series is a retelling of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, we know that our protagonist, Zhu Yuanzhang, will defeat her enemies by the end of the book, and that her wife, Ma, also survives. And that’s it. That’s all the comfort you get. I cried. I curled up into a little ball of emotions. And yes, I recommend that you do the same. Prepare to be gutted and read it anyway. The very, very, very end of the book gave me a sense of solace that I needed desperately.

One of the things I saw in several reviews of SWBtS was people talking about Zhu not being “likable” or feeling like there was no one to root for. Zhu is no more likable here than she was at the end of SWBtS. But we aren’t rooting for her because she’s a good person, we are rooting for her because she is challenging fate and seizing the greatness that would be denied her because she was born a girl. Shelley Parker-Chan isn’t modeling good behavior for their readers, they are making us look at the hero’s journey with a girl who will do anything and sacrifice everyone as the hero. Zhu is defying heaven. Shelley Parker-Chan is upending our concept of hero.

It’s such a compelling read. Parker-Chan creates moments that make me gasp, sometimes with pain. There’s a moment when Zhu is kneeling in the snow, certain of her own failure, and even so she knows she will lead herself and her whole army to slaughter because giving up on her quest for greatness isn’t possible. In a book full of heart wrenching suffering, that moment is so calm and clear.

I’m copying Shelley Parker-Chan’s own list of content warnings:
Self harm
Suicidal ideation
Marital rape
Pregnancy loss
Drowning
Torture (not overly graphic)
Child harm and death (young teen)
Internalised homophobia
Ableist language

I would add, all the misogyny and emotional devastation.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Tor Books and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

Thank you to Netgalley, Tor, and Macmillan Audio for the eARC/ALC. This is an honest review. The audiobook was exceptional. I would highly recommend it. Great narration.

"He Who Drowned the World" by Shelley Parker-Chan, the sequel and conclusion to "She Who Became the Sun," delves deeper into a world of imperial ambitions and incredibly ruthless desire for power.

The narrative continues to unfold around Zhu, the Radiant King, who hungers not only for victory but also for the throne in order to change the world. Yet, she's not the sole contender in this battle of power. To outmaneuver her opponents, Zhu forges an unlikely alliance with the enigmatic eunuch general Ouyang, while other contenders circle with their own places in place. I adored the interactions between these two in particular. The characters, while broken and often completely reprehensible, possess a certain allure that manage to captivate readers as strongly as in the first novel. The pacing is relentless, hurtling the narrative forward with action. The complex relationships and intricate machinations of these morally ambiguous characters create a compellingly dark atmosphere. Zhu, with her sly humor, acceptance of her true self, and love for Ma stands out amidst the cast of characters.

As the series concludes, "He Who Drowned the World" leaves an indelible mark with its dark complexity, unapologetically flawed characters, and an exploration of the insatiable desire for power. The series dives deep into the psychological abyss of ambition and its consequences, resulting in an ending that is both fitting and satisfying.

Oh my GOD. This was everything I wanted and more. The scheming and politicking and the criticisms on gender and sexuality and just. *chef’s kiss*

For anyone who was concerned that Shelley Parker-Chan wouldn’t be able to pull off the beautiful feat of literature that is She Who Became the Sun a second time, don’t worry — He Who Drowned the World is absolute perfection.

All I wanted from He Who Drowned the World was more — more Zhu, more Ouyang, more Ma, more Xu Da, more of everyone and everything in that incredible debut novel. This book delivers tenfold. It is poignant and heart wrenching, at times gruesome, surprisingly hopeful. It is laugh out loud funny in the way that real life is, and has such a sense of legacy and history that it will leave you breathless.

Parker-Chan is a talent for the ages, and to say I’m excited for what comes next would be the most ridiculous understatement. He Who Drowned the World is an absolute triumph, one I’ll be shoving into the hands of everyone around me for years to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such an amazing sequel to an amazing book! I feel like this world is so vast and unique. I feel like this is great for fans of The Cruel Prince who want more queerness, adult themes, and more intrigue.

3.5 rounded up.

A sweeping, queer retelling of the Great Khan saga that's full of romance, intrigue, betrayal and adventure as warring factions compete to rule. A solid follow up to the award-winning She who became the sun. I love the diversity of characters in this series, with excellent trans and disability rep!! This was really well done on audio narrated by my fav Natalie Naudus but I admit it was hard to follow at times with the alternating POVs and large cast of characters. Definitely a time commitment worth making and something unlike anything you've read before!! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital and audio copies in exchange for my honest review!!

Genre: historical fantasy
China, 1356

Picking up where the events of She Who Became the Sun left off at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, He Who Drowned the World witnesses Zhu Yuanzhang, styling herself the Radiant King, grappling for power and facing her obstacles with sheer determination of will. She believes in her own destiny, the Mandate of Heaven to become Emperor, and will stop at nothing, not even death.

Stunning, powerful, and impressive. Those words can be used to describe every POV character in the book or the whole of the itself. There is an underlying strength to the force of the narrative, as all of the characters grapple with fate.

Shelley Parker-Chan utilizes sex and gender as commentaries on power through their duology. Zhu, born a girl but from a young age taking over her brother’s destiny and becoming a monk and then a general and a king, lives as a man but utilizes her female body when that serves her purpose. General Ouyang is the eunuch general, rising to power in spite of popular opinion that eunuchs belong as servants in the women’s quarters. Wang Baoxiang, calling himself Prince of Henan, in search of his own power, seduces Third Prince, son of the Great Khanh. Madame Zhang, wife of the Emperor, uses her body to trade for warriors, weapons, and power. It’s war and intrigue, passion - both inflamed and detached - on the driving road to establish a new Empire.

The fantasy in this duology is a light touch: the Mandate of Heaven and the ghosts that follow the main characters are as much religion as they are magic to them. The Radiant Emperor Duology is deeply researched with rich worldbuilding, fully transporting the reader to the late Yuan Dynasty, to the end of the reign of the Khans. It’s character-driven in its intrigue, and slower moving despite the intensity of some of the battle scenes.

I first read She Who Became the Sun when it came out, and was glad to take the time to re-listen before embarking on He Who Drowned the World. (There is a short synopsis at the beginning to re-position the reader to the major threads of political and military power, but not a fully summary.)

4 stars, an exciting conclusion

He Who Drowned the World picks up right after Zhu claimed the mantle of Radiant King. While her rule has solidified in her home city, she still has several rivals left she must defeat if she wants to become the emperor. Much of the novel is devoted to her fervent plotting to become the ruler of the known world as her scheming endangers friends and backfires occasionally. The political machinations of this story are where Parker-Chan truly shines as a writer. Their knack for weaving complicated characters into the story in ways that provide great plot twists but don't obscure the main thrust of the plot is quite incredible. Truly every character in this book gets a moment to shine and feels like a fully fleshed out person whether they appear for a hundred pages or a paragraph.

My big complaint about this book is that it feels a bit rushed. Especially in terms of pacing, the story just races ahead at speeds that kind of undersell the danger Zhu faces in her rise to be emperor. She has about 5 big rivals left with some version of the Mandate to potentially win the throne but every 60-80 pages she defeats another rival after a single pitched confrontation. Eventually her foes stop feeling menacing or like substantial threats with how easily and quickly they keep falling in terms of page count. I think I would rather there have been fewer rivals but they all be built up as true menaces rather than have so many who feel like insubstantial obstacles.

HWDTW is still well worth a read despite that issue. I look forward to seeing what Parker-Chan attempts next and I have a feeling that they will have quite an influence on future political fantasy books.

"Nobody would lift a finger to change the world for us. To make a place for us. What choice did we ever have, but to do it ourselves?"

He Who Drowned the World was one of my MOST anticipated reads of 2023 and it completely blew me away. I have been so eager to return to this world and when I was ecstatic to get an ARC. Not a single word in these 500+ pages is unneeded and I cried multiple times throughout as we learned more and more about the fates of my favorites (including my toxic fav Ouyang).

We pick up with Zhu - on her life's journey to become the next emperor. There are many obstacles in her path - others who want the throne, others who want revenge and those who do not see her as worthy because she's not a man and her loss of limb. Even with all this in her way - she knows that this is her destiny and refuses to let anything get in her way.

There are so many moving pieces in this book - which is why I'm glad that we get so many different POV's. It really adds to the depth of this story to see the character's internal thoughts and dialog through all the key moments. Shelley writes incredible characters - and they're all individually broken but full of single minded goals and ambitions but together create a beautiful, action packed story. There's a lot of military strategy and court politics in here too that I very much enjoyed.

All in all, He Who Drowned the World is the perfect delivery of a duology that both raises the stakes and expands on the characters. no notes. go read this one ASAP!

rep// Chinese & Mongolian cast, nonbinary lesbian mc, gay mc, amputee rep

cw// Self harm, Rape, Torture, Miscarriage

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wowza, what a ride. It’s hard to talk about all the things I loved about He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan because it’s the second book in a duology and it’s hard to say anything without risking potentially spoilery details about the first book, but if you haven’t read this series yet, you’ll want to add it to your tbr asap.

I reviewed She Who Became the Sun back in June so check my grid if you want an intro to the first book, but this duology tells the story of Zhu Chongba, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty who overthrew Mongol rule in 1368. Except in this telling, the Hongwu Emperor started life as a peasant girl who disguises herself as a boy and finds shelter in a monastery after she’s left orphaned. Parker-Chan’s Zhu Chongba survives on her wits and cunning and goes on to become the leader of the Red Turban rebellion and claim the Mandate of Heaven as one of a number of potential successors to the throne.

He Who Drowned the World picks up where She Who Became the Sun leaves off, in a state of disarray as alliances shift and those contending for the throne continue to make hard choices about how far they’re willing to go and what they’re willing to sacrifice. Things get pretty dark, and Parker-Chan provides a list of content warnings that can be found on the book’s Goodreads page. But the violence never feels gratuitous, and the characters are written with incredible consistency from beginning to end. And even though the ending leaves you wanting more, it feels like a satisfying conclusion for each of the journeys we witness throughout the two books.

A gloriously perfect conclusion to a glorious duology. I was shocked to discover that She Who Became the Sun was a debut - it's effortlessly strong, wholly absorbing, and He Who Drowned the World more than lives up to the promise of the first book. It's dialed up to eleven, a raw, visceral, muscular piece of writing, whether sinking to the depths of grief, gleefully dissecting what it is to be possessed of a body in a corporeal world, or shuffling the pieces of a grand political and imperial game.

I absolutely cannot praise this duology too highly. She Who Became the Sun was one of my favorite books of 2021, and He Who Drowned the World is easily one of, if not my absolute, favorites for 2023. Stunning, dramatic, expansive and yet intimate, and truly radiant.

Thank you to Tor Books for the advance review copy.

I’m so glad I read this right after reading She Who Became the Sun. This book picks up right where the first one left off and continues the epic story of Zhu Yuanzhang, now the Radiant King, and General Ouyang, who now both seek to overthrow the Emperor. This book is so full of depth and richness, emotion and drama, flawed and complex characters, that it feels impossible to do it justice. A truly epic story which leaves you thinking about it for days to come!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
He Who Drowned the World brings Shelley Parker-Chan’s Radiant Emperor duology to its conclusion, and to say this book fulfilled my expectations would be an understatement. It builds perfectly on the first book, advancing the narratives of returning characters, Zhu, Ouyang, and Baoxiang, in an impeccable manner, and interweaving new characters whose purpose and connection to the others are slowly revealed.
Tonally, this installment feels much darker, challenging the characters in deeper and more intense ways than seemed possible, even considering that things weren’t necessarily sunshine and roses in book one. Many of the central characters is reckoning with pain, and the narrative sees them make some morally questionable decisions as a result. Zhu and Ouyang’s stories continue to parallel and contrast each other, with Zhu going down a path toward villainy, and Ouyang on a path of revenge and redemption.
While there’s a lot of depravity and intensity, making it a lot to take in at times, I nonetheless ate it up. I was fully engrossed from start to finish, almost unable to pull myself away. There’s not a single word wasted here, and it’s truly worth its length.
This is a truly epic duology, and I can’t wait to read whatever Shelley Parker-Chan writes next! I enthusiastically recommend these books if you’re into any of the following: historical fantasy, especially about imperial China, or darker fantasy (Parker-Chan doesn’t define their work as “grimdark”).