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

dark emotional 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

This book is not going to be for everyone.

The tone of this novel was markedly darker than its prequel, but you can’t help but be transfixed by the main cast and their descent into darker and darker waters. Each character plays such an important role in the story as a whole, but with each new perspective you can’t help but see how they’re all doomed by the narrative in their own unique ways since they exist in a world that is designed to prevent them from winning. 

While this story focus a lot on themes of bigotry, social rejection, and self loathing (especially when it comes to gender identity and expression), it also highlights the incredible power that self acceptance holds in a world that despises those who are different. Despite this story being absolutely riddled with tragedies and loss, it does go on to show that not all new beginnings are heralded by one last terrible act.

My only complaint is that the third part of the book (the last 80 pages) felt a little rush in my opinion. I would have love to see Zhu’s finale plan develop a little bit slower and I wanted to see more of how the world reacts to the very last scene in the story. This book is already incredibly long, and there certainly wasn't enough material to stretch the series into a trilogy (it also wouldn’t be as hard hitting), so I do understand why the final wrapping up of all the loose ends was fairly quick.

By and large, this duology hits hard and it places a heavy focus on how bigotry and self loathing can destroy not just the individual, but society as a whole. There is a glimmer of hope for the future, but you certainly wont get to see that hope carried out here.


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