He Who Drowned the World: the epic sequel to the Sunday Times bestselling historical fantasy She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor, 2)

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Madam Zhang murmured, “Is that what you want? To be great?” Her tone was as smooth as the trailing caress of fingertips along skin. “Then accept me, and let me make it happen.” 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? 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. Listeners...will find themselves enjoying a deeply and subtly emotional saga brought to life with passion" — AudioFile on She Who Became the Sun

Ma went blank in surprise. Then she laughed and replied in the same language, “Better than you, apparently.” With a surge of delight, she said to the faceless woman behind the curtain, “I don’t want to be great.” Even though this list may look confronting, I should say: I don’t write grimdark (in the sense of fantasy with extreme, explicit violence, such as Game of Thrones). Surely it requires no extended consideration,” the woman’s voice said from behind the stirring gauze curtain of the carriage. “Why not give me your answer now, Zhu Yuanzhang, and save us both the time?”What enriches the already ingenious conversation on gender (alongside this addition of perception) is that of performance. We see performance used in Baoxiang's perspective as he fits into the role they have decided for him, we see it in Zhu's perspective as she plays into and adjusts the world's perceptions to achieve her end, we see it in Madam Zhang and her porcelain surface, as well as in so much more. zhu yuanzhang was a fantastic main lead with her gritty determination and outlandish plans. ouyang and madam zhang's POVs had me feeling pity and understanding but also frustration and anger. ouyang is a pretty memorable character in just the utter tragedy of his existence. ma xiuying was a breath of fresh air (and maybe i wish she had better choices).

None of the main characters are particularly likable, nor do they have a single good bone in their body, except maybe Zhu. But even then, some of the things she did had me raising my eyebrows more than once. Despite that, I was rooting for her to win because compared to Ouyang and Baoxiang, she was considerably better. Even though her path to meet her goal was bloody, she was determined to make a world where no one is shunned or ostracized for who they are. The book is about Zhu’s struggle against the other main characters, the alliances that are formed and then broken and what happens. There are questions asked about how much suffering is required before an action is no longer worth it? Does your fate seal your future, or is it possible to change fate and become someone else? Each character plays such an important role in the story and I found the addition of new perspectives to be so interesting. Each one brought something completely different to the story, yet Parker-Chan controlled all of these narratives with such refined skill, spinning these webs together, drawing parallels and contrasts, twisting each moving part until every action became bigger than what it was. In linking these characters together through this narrative, their every action became enlarged into the vastness of the question, what does this mean for the others? The links and subversions added upon this duology's themes created such a fascinating opportunity for exploration. He Who Drowned the World took everything that She Who Became the Sun said and delved deeper. I do want to issue a warning that this book is a lot darker than She Who Became the Sun so please look up the content warnings (I'll have them listed on my Storygraph) and read with care!Zhu said dryly, “When the histories are written, such a title will surely commend me to their authors as a great man.” All the contenders are determined to do whatever it takes to win. But when desire is the size of the world, the price could be too much for even the most ruthless heart to bear…

The story centers on four major groups in the search for power. Zhu Chongba, former monk and her wife Ma (Zhu is a woman who took her brothers identity after he died and became a monk) are one group. The Zhang family ruled by a king but actually run by Lady Zhang is a second group. General Ouyang, former slave, and out for revenge on the Khans is the third and finally Lord Wang Baoxiang the prince of Henan and master at planning is the fourth. The first 3 groups all have their own armies, while the final main character choses to manipulate the chess pieces.Baoxiang believes that through his pain he will find something worth its suffering. He believes, like Ouyang believes, like Zhu believes, that what he endures now will be worth it later. But his experience is immensely different to theirs and adds a whole new layer to the fascinating conversation this duology has around gender.