Reviews

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

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carlysgrowingtbr's review against another edition

5.0

She who drowned the world by Shelley Parker Chan, is one of the best endings to a duology I've ever read in my life.

We continue with the same dark and compelling historical fantasy that we had in the first book. The first book was amazingly written, and definitely have your attention. The second book took it even further. I absolutely hate up the second book to the duology.

We continue to follow the same cast of characters that we followed in the first book. The character development is so rich and the world building so flawless. The representation throughout this book felt so organic and well executed.

This is going on my shelf is one of my top reads of the year

zekereadshorror's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

li002na's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

riley_rose's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

poisonousdart1's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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? It's complicated

4.0

cassidy_c's review against another edition

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4.0

"The reason that I follow him is because out of everyone I've met, he is the only one that when the world didn't allow a place for him as he was, he refused to accept it, and vowed instead, to change the world."
- Ma

I liked this book a lot, even though I didn't know what was going on half the time. I loved that we got to know a bit more about Ouyang and their relationship while kind of cute at first, became such a complicated and deep connection. I also just love Zhu so much, she is such a rich character, in every aspect of her life I feel very connected to her, and I really love her personality, wisdom, and spirit.

'A slave was supposed to be an unseen, voiceless object, but Zhu's pain spilling into the world, proclaimed her a person.'

All in all, a devastating and complex story that carries a lot of hidden messages and even though my brain was fogging out toward the end, I will probably be thinking about this book a lot.

TW: sexual abuse/rape, graphic SH