Reviews tagging 'Death'

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

121 reviews

hanz's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Slavery, and Pregnancy

tayrod4594's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is beautifully written, but I'll be honest - the sheer emotional and physical torture each character faces is very difficult to wade through. I still love the way gender dynamics are put into play here, but the constant weaponization of and disgust toward feminity started to feel very heavy-handed by the end. There was still satisfaction to ve found, however, in the well-charted character arcs that feel both earned and complete by the novel's finish. I don't think I'll reread it, but I'm very glad I read it once. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

edelyra's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Miscarriage

linde_ahobbit's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

A great ending for this duology. Well and skillfully written. I really enjoyed the interactions between Zhu and Ouyang. I already want to reread this books, since it has been two years since I read the first one. And I'm hoping for a future book in which Ouyang and Esen find each other again in another time, pretty please!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, and Self harm

kukazashi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

jesslinkletter's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I will be emotionally devastated by this book for years to come. I found myself unable to put down He Who Drowned The World and was completely enraptured by all the twists and turns it took. The way Parker-Chan has captured such complex characters that you simultaneously empathize with their struggles and emotions but are horrified by the brutal extents their actions reach is unlike anything I've ever read. I cried my way through so much of this book as I saw what the characters went through and what fraught emotional states their trauma led them to. By the end, it seemed as though every character had descended into madness. This was an incredible feat of storytelling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Murder, and Dysphoria

Minor: Infidelity, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

ilqua's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Miscarriage and Misogyny

abnormal_shadow's review against another edition

5.0

The twists, the turns, the death, the life the way that the story interacts with itself. The way it fuels itself and how you can see and sense the characters losing their resolve or failing to achieve their goal. Additionally the Strain that desire puts on the characters and the people around them is just so amazing. This is the first time that I've seen wanting something and having desire pictured as something both good and bad, selfishness that can be wielded into determination.

I love how religion and the belief system of this period mingle in with the story so well how Buddhism is so effortlessly referenced consistently. And oh my God the ghosts I love the way that the ghosts interact with the story being both a conscious member of the plot and a subconscious anchor it is absolutely astonishing.

I absolutely love this book and it's probably one of the best duology I have read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Deadnaming and Abortion

Minor: Child death

kat42's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wowie! 
He Who Drowned the World is brutal but also so so good; I wasn't expecting it to make me as emotional as it did. It's an interesting exploration of being so absorbed with one desire and goal that you let it ruin your entire life and the lives of others, yet there's still some hope. I'm not sure if I can say I enjoyed this book, necessarily, but it's excellent and I'm glad I read it. Better than the first, in my opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Self harm

Moderate: Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, and Transphobia

Minor: Miscarriage and Fire/Fire injury

skienight's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Sexual violence