Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

11 reviews

klbreyfogle's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

I’m giving this a 4 for the quality of the writing, characterization, and the political intrigue. I love morally grey characters but my goodness these characters were too morally grey for me.
We hit the second child murder in the series and the violent rape scene and it was just… a lot.
I also think for all the horrible things the characters did and experienced the author could’ve leaned further into an ambiguous ending, it felt a little like the last 5 pages transferred from a more traditional happy ending after 400 pages of plotting and intrigue. Lot of trigger warnings in this one, so definitely believe those. I wanted to like the characters more than I did. If you’re really into political intrigue and like an immoral (or amoral) protagonist then you’ll like it. Normally I support gay rights and gay wrongs but this is a few too many gay wrongs for me, personally. Also… everyone is super into using sex to get what they want.

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blumoonie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

I've had this book for a while, but I was waiting for the perfect time to read it. as I was reading, I wanted desperately to finish it (so I know how it ends and can revel in it), but also feared the concept of ending (I will never read this for the first time ever again). there are few books that make me feel these complex emotions just by thinking ‘I should really read that soon…’

I grew fonder of the characters who I was already attached to, and found a new liking for others as well. ‘liking’ perhaps isn't the best word… maybe ‘admiration' and ‘pity’. the plot unfolded in ways I could not have imagined, including:

- watching someone descend into madness from a perspective that feels far too personal and uncomfortable
- multiple resurrections, though none are truly what they seem at first
- the use of pain to blur the line between one's humanity and animal instincts

and so on, and so on. of course, themes of gender, diaspora and queerness are as important to this novel as they were in the first.

I love this series, and I loved this book- possibly even more than the first. I want to go back to when things were simpler and hurt less, but I can't help the urge to go forever fowards.

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jesshaleth's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

If there had been slightly fewer moments meriting a content warning it would've been 5 stars for me, so maybe it will be for you. But yeah - I think it ticked more content warnings than it didn't, so, at your own risk.

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sabrinz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

WHAT A RIDE!
Honestly, there was so much going on in this book - not necessarily plot-wise, we still follow Zhu and her quest to become the Great Khan to remake the world, but for each individual character who's POV we see or may see as part of another character's POV.
The focus of the book shifts slightly to Wang Baoxiang and his machinations, but we still get a lot of page time from Zhu and Ouyang as well as Madam Zhang - all of them striving for power in different and yet so similar ways. The amount of mirroring and contrasts is amazing in this book.

It's a lot to take in and while it does get dark at times there is still hope, and that hope is also there at the end so that you close the book (still slightly reeling from Part 3) with a positive feeling.

This book is really worth the read - just like the first one - and such an excellent take on what is gender if not what we make of it.

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and_opossum's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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

4.0


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cheye13's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-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

Cohering my thoughts about this book and the duology together is a herculean challenge. It was not a pleasant reading experience, in that horrible things are happening to all characters at all times. It is one of my favorite books in that a vice was slowly, constantly contracting around my lungs until I finished it.

Even more so than the previous book, the transness in this one is tangible. A number of lines were clearly written in response to current events in our world. The interweaving of the ensemble is just as masterful as the first book. Beginning this book, I was afraid that it would fall short because my favorite element of book one couldn't continue (
that being the ouyang/esen relationship, when one of them is dead
), but my fears were unfounded. Not only did that thread continue, but it was intensified amongst other threads.

My options discussing this book are to break it down entirely and speak at length, or to simply say it's magnificent, and I suppose I'll settle for the latter.

(I strongly recommend checking content warnings. If you would prefer not to, keep the tone and events of book one in mind and know book two pushes a little bit further.)

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spootilious's review against another edition

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

4.0

 Read: December 22, 2023
 Title: He Who Drowned the World 

Series: The Radiant Emperor #2 

Genre: Fantasy / Historical Fiction / LGBT 

Rating: 4 / 5
 Review: 

I occasionally come across a book that I really struggle rating and I was shocked to find that this is one of those books. 

I came into He Who Drowned the World with very low expectations. I didn’t care for She Who Became the Sun, for a number of reason listed in my previous review. 

However, almost everything that made me dislike She who Became the Sun didn’t make it into the sequel which I am very thankful for. To be honest, I was concerned with the massive amounts of recommendations I received in regard to this series and how many awards She Who Became the Sun has won. I was praying that He Who Drowned the World would make up for what (I felt) was an extremely lacking novel. I was not disappointed. 

Parker-Chan is a beautifully talented writer (Which I knew from book 1) and tends to lean towards the very dark and morose. In fact, a bit too dark for my usual taste which may be why I wanted to give this book (He Who Drowned the World) a 3.5 and not a 4. However, Parker-Chan’s ability to write horrific imagery in a such a simplistic and straightforward manner makes the imagery all the more effective. This includes a number of sexually explicit scene, which paints sex as nothing more than a tool, punishment, or means to an end which, while I once again did not like, I can respect. The reader’s response to a story is just as much of a plot device as the sentences on a page. I was appropriately repulsed. 

I will also say that I didn’t care much for the lack of morality in ALL the characters in the novel. It left me without a ship to sail and was, perhaps, the main issue that I still hold over from She Who Became the Sun. 

All that being said, the fast pace and action-packed plot had me devouring this book, and I could not in good faith rate it lower than 4 simply due to my distaste. (i.e. the 4 star rating is more my personal rating of 3.5 and the acknowledging that some of the reasons it’s a 3.5 is because of my own personal biases against the lack of moral characters, rape, and very dark tones). 

Overall, one of the best books I’ve read this year. I will definitely recommend to individuals who love reading Dark Fantasy and Historical Fiction. 

 

 

QUOTES: 

“The most dangerous person in a game is the one nobody knows is playing.” 

“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?” 


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madmadmaddymad's review against another edition

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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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grets_reads's review against another edition

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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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aidareads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I've been thinking about writing a proper review for this one because it's been a while and this book, quite honestly, deserves the effort. Prepare for a long ass ranting, though.

First of all, the writing style was so, so captivating. I remember heavily highlighting the first book, but I still feel like Shelley Parker-San has improved a lot as an author, not only in their writing style, but also in their technique. Humor, for instance, worked better for me here than it did in the first book. Also, the way Parker-San intertwines characters and their fates is mesmerizing. The way they write characters in itself is so compelling and masterful. I love morally grey characters, and all the people involved in this story are so fleshed out; they feel so real. Ouyang specifically was very challenging for me because of his trauma and his issues and I bet it was hard to write as well, and I think the author did a fantastic job.
However, I must admit that triggering content is medium to heavy in this one, at least for me, especially because self-harm is so frequently brought up, explored, and graphically described. The same goes for sexual abuse/rape, among others. However, regardless of my subjective reaction to these topics, I still believe they were dealt with very well, and I don't think they were included for shock value at all - they are, in each and every scene they appear, relevant and highly meaningful for both the plot and the characters.
I also really, really loved the third part of the book, as well as how it ended. I personally value the overall experience when I read a book, but a great ending is definitely a huge part of the rating for me, and this one was fantastic.
Lastly, please check all the trigger warnings before reading this book. Take care, and sorry for the rant.

psa: i started this review with a 4.5 star rating, but after reading what i've just said, i don't think i have any reasons not to give this a solid 5 stars. i genuinely don't have anything negative to say about this. i'm not a fan of historical fiction myself, and i thoroughly enjoyed it (although the reiterative queerness definitely helps lmao) <3
 

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