Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

22 reviews

madmadmaddymad's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book. Zhu became so ruthless in her quest to become the emperor and rule the world! And I wasn’t prepared for how much loss we had to suffer for her to get there. 

I really liked how this book had more villains, and more queer people, and more intense moments of wondering if the ones we’re rooting for are really doing the right thing after all. Can fate can be ours to make, or does Heaven have it all planned out from the start?

Ouyang was my favorite character in this book. I loved how trans the book felt when it was told from his point of view, and how he always awarded Zhu he/him pronouns. He’s problematic as heck but I sure love him. And I also loved the very deeply uncomfortable moments of masochism, where Zhu needed to help him ground himself. I was really rooting for these two to get along, and I felt so betrayed when Ouyang left because he didn’t believe Zhu could become Emperor! 

The ending tied it all together nicely but I still hurt for the things we lost when Ouyang lost faith in her. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, and Violence

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

Minor: Suicide, Torture, and Slavery

tiernanhunter's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Self harm, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Drug use, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Torture, Violence, War, Blood, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Body shaming, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

careliza14's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.75

4.75/5 stars

An incredible conclusion to this gruesome, heartbreaking story of resilience, determination, and revenge against all odds (especially when the odds are definitely *not* in your favor).

This sequel hit all of the best notes in character development and continuation of the plot. The interpersonal relationships grew significantly and the action scenes where even better (and more gruesome) than the first book. I really enjoyed adding more POVs and really getting into the heads of our main characters. 

The "mandate of heaven" was still not super well explained, which I think was probably intentional. Also Shelley did us dirty with the deaths in this one, and I'll leave it at that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Rape, War, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Transphobia, Torture, and Physical abuse

Minor: Pregnancy

kristinallard's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Blood, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Death, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Misogyny, Slavery, Pregnancy, and War

leonormsousa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Sexual content, Abortion, Classism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Infidelity, Body horror, Grief, Self harm, Sexism, Gore, Sexual assault, War, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Slavery, and Violence

jordiehp's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

4.75

Shelley Parker-Chan is dangerously talented. I found my heart aching for characters who are, for all intents and purposes, terrible human beings. Terrible... and yet still human beings. Parker-Chan walks a delicate line of never excusing or justifying the heinous acts of some of these characters. (The characters themselves definitely try, though, and it costs them dearly.)

The Radiant Emperor duology is a beautiful exploration of gender, ambition, grief, and hope. Highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Grief, Dysphoria, War, Sexism, Self harm, and Misogyny

Moderate: Murder, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Ableism, Homophobia, War, and Violence

Minor: Miscarriage, Dysphoria, Gore, Child death, Torture, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Slavery

lizziaha's review against another edition

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

good fucking soup. The way that Shelley Parker-Chan writes about people and the relationships they have is just so delicious. I can’t wait to read more from them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Homophobia, Ableism, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Rape, Kidnapping, Child death, Physical abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Slavery, Sexual content, Transphobia, Pregnancy, Classism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing

dananana's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Death, Torture, Violence, War, Grief, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Abortion, Homophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, and Pregnancy

Minor: Slavery

grets_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Transphobia, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Torture, Grief, Sexual assault, War, Suicide, and Sexism

Minor: Abortion, Slavery, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Domestic abuse

softanimal's review against another edition

dark hopeful sad tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Rape, Vomit, Body shaming, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, War, Sexual content, Bullying, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence