He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan Series: The Radiant Emperor #2
Published by Mantle on August 22, 2023
Source: Publisher
Genres: Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, Own Voices
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He Who Drowned the World is the sequel to the Sunday Times bestseller She Who Became the Sun.
What would you give to win the world?
Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory – one that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor.
However, Zhu isn’t the only one with imperial aspirations. Courtesan Madam Zhang plots to steal the throne for her husband. But scorned scholar Wang Baoxiang is even closer to the throne. He’s maneuverered his way to the capital, where his courtly games threaten to bring the empire to its knees. For Baoxiang also desires revenge: to become the most degenerate Great Khan in history. In the process, he’d make a mockery of the warrior values his Mongol family loved more than him.
To stay in the game, Zhu must gamble everything on one bold move. A risky alliance with an old enemy: Ouyang, the brilliant but unstable eunuch general. All contenders will do whatever it takes to win. But when desire has no end, and ambition no limits, could the price be too high for even the most ruthless heart to bear?
Filled with political intrigue, morally grey characters and lots of yearning, He Who Drowned the World offered a fantastic follow up to the first book. As a gender queer retelling of the Ming Dynasty’s ruler, there’s enough twists and turns here as the three main characters vy for the throne.
The three characters are Zhu, the self-titled Radiant King who was born a woman, Ouyang, the eunuch who is out for revenge, and Baoxiang, the queer scholar who stays close to the royalty but has an agenda. Each of these characters are dealing with a multitude of pain, trauma, self-doubt and ambition, but they’re also incredibly flawed.
The book is slow paced, but its action scenes are also detailed and filled with tension. My heart reached out to Zhu wanting to protect her brother and her followers, and also felt for her wife who would back her always. Zhu is always one step ahead of her enemies, but has definitely made many of them in her fight to become a ruler, so she has to watch her back in this one.
We see Zhu and the warlord Ouyang enacting a tentative alliance, despite their colourful past. They have a tenuous connection and tension-filled powerplay, which veers from connection and understanding to the complete opposite.
Then there’s Baoxiang. There’s so much self loathing as he puts his body on his line for the sake of ambition. There are some uncomfortable, and potentially triggering scenes as he engages in shameful sex. It can get quite graphic as he talks about his pain and humiliation and past.
Overall, He Who Drowned the World is a fantastic successor to the first book, with a satisfying but also precarious journey to ascension. Everything comes to its eventual fruition, but not without suffering major consequences in the quest for glory.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia for sending me a review copy!
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