A review by shoni
He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious 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

If it wasn't for the holiday season and getting into a reading slump I know I would have finished this book a lot quicker. Once I was able to pick the book back up, I could not put it down and always got annoyed when anyone would interrupt me. I love Shelley's writing style as it's everything I love. Especially the dynamic between Zhu and Ouyang.

It was one of my favorite things in book one and I love that we got to see them interact so much more here. They are such great foil characters as they both have the same capacity for ruthlessness and determination even if their goals are slightly different. They both strengthen each other
 but also are the other's weak spots because no one knows their weakness better than someone who's just like you. 

As much as I hated seeing Xu Da and Ouyang die at the end I do think that was exactly what the story needed. Zhu had too many things working for her so it was interesting to see how she would deal with losing people dear to her.
Every single time we were in Zhu's POV you believed in her, knowing she would achieve what she wanted because nothing has stopped and nothing would. Which was an interesting contrast from the other's POV.
I also loved how as the reader you were always with each of the mandates of heaven candidates but it wasn't until it was further into the story you realized so much of what occurred was all due to Baoxiang. GENIUS writing because I seriously did not expect him to just kill the Third Prince, especially since it was a part of his plan all along. GENIUS


I also loved that we had more of Ma, she is such an underrated character that I'm glad they brought more attention to
I also love the scene where Ma lets Zhu know that both she and Xu did what they did because they believed in her. Zhu didn't have to ask things of them because they had the same beliefs and knew that in a world where Zhu would be accepted and loved like they loved her would only be brought by Zhu herself.


I could discuss the dynamics, the writing, and so much about this book nonstop. I know for sure I reread them to properly do a character study as I always imagined my OCs to have a similar dynamic as Zhu and Ouyang who need one another to achieve what they want even if they don't want to accept it. 

I tend to hate endings because I don't want things to end, but Shelley managed to write it in a way that all things were wrapped up in such a nice way but still left a slightly open ending, it gives you an idea of what to come. Especially if you know a little about the dynasties. 
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