Review: 'He Who Drowned the World' (The Radiant Emperor #2) by Shelley Parker-Chan
Pub. Date: 8/22/23
Publisher: Tor Books
How much would you give to win the world?
Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor.
But Zhu isn’t the only one with imperial ambitions. Her neighbor in the south, the courtesan Madam Zhang, wants the throne for her husband—and she’s strong enough to wipe Zhu off the map. To stay in the game, Zhu will have to gamble everything on a risky alliance with an old enemy: the talented but unstable eunuch general Ouyang, who has already sacrificed everything for a chance at revenge on his father’s killer, the Great Khan.
Unbeknownst to the southerners, a new contender is even closer to the throne. The scorned scholar Wang Baoxiang has maneuvered his way into the capital, and his lethal court games threaten to bring the empire to its knees. For Baoxiang also desires revenge: to become the most degenerate Great Khan in history—and in so doing, make a mockery of every value his Mongol warrior family loved more than him.
All the contenders are determined to do whatever it takes to win. But when desire is the size of the world, the price could be too much for even the most ruthless heart to bear…
Not to be trite, but with great power comes great responsibility. Zhu has stepped into the role of leader, and not just any leader. She is divinely sanctioned, inspiring those around her with fervent faith in her abilities. But the world is not hers yet and competitors are at every corner, each with their own measure of power. The emerging conflict is bloody and He Who Drowned the World as a result is a lot darker than its predecessor. Parker-Chan spares no one in this book and there is so much pain and anger shouting from the pages that is sometimes almost overwhelmed me. This is no book for the faint of heart. There is violence here, at every level, from the physical to the emotional and everything in between. What these characters are willing to do in the name of their destiny is horrendous at times, and as a reader you go through all of it with them. At times I worried this darkness would overwhelm the story, but Parker-Chan does have a plan for it, which becomes clear in the last third of the book. It's not just darkness, though. He Who Drowned the World expands the world of the story enormously, introducing new territories, characters, and powers. Through these new players, Parker-Chan continues their exploration of gender and power, taking it to new heights.
In He Who Drowned the World we continue the story of Zhu, chasing after her great destiny. Now that she has the Mandate of Heaven, she is surer than ever that greatness will be hers. But she is not the only one with a plan, or the only one with greatness in their future. As Zhu battles her way through China, she encounters friends and foes old and new, making alliances with some and breaking forever with others. As she comes closer to the throne, Zhu becomes confronted with the cost of greatness, with the sacrifice required for the ultimate victory. How much is she willing to sacrifice? How much control does she really have? I was totally gripped by He Who Drowned the World from the beginning. While She Who Became the Sun mostly focused on her, it also gave us the perspective of Ouyang and Ma. This continues in He Who Drowned the World, but we also get an insight into some other characters, like Baoxiang and Madame Zhang. This really expands the world of the books and gives the reader a sense of how many different things are at play. Zhu remains the beating heart of the book, although Ma comes out as a strong contender for a place in my heart as well. I missed Ma quite a bit in the first half of the book and was very glad (and scared for her) once she came back into focus.
Shelley Parker-Chan has really created something riveting and new with the Radiant Emperor duology. There is such a vibrancy to these books that you can't help but be keep going back to it. He Who Drowned the World definitely expands upon the first book and there is a lot happening. The pace is pretty quick, but it doesn't necessarily rush the plot. Rather, it moves steadily from one event to another, almost like a well-paced chess match. Baoxiang really came into his own as a character in this book, although I wasn't always entirely onboard with him. In the first half I also felt like I was losing Zhu a little, only to then realise that this was a part of the story. While her drive towards greatness was her entire raison d'etre in the first book, she now has a lot more in her life which she may not be willing to risk. Witnessing her having to confront this, being forced to make impossible choices, was rough but was also what made the book for me. The closer we got to the end, the more I worried about where she was heading and this really kept me stuck to the edge of my seat. This book deals with pain in a way I'd never read before and it wasn't always comfortable. I enjoy being challenged by books and He Who Drowned the World definitely did so. I have gained something from the experience, however, and have come out of it feeling a little lighter, somehow. I'm now heartbroken, however, that the duology is over and await Parker-Chan's next venture with bated breath.
I give this novel...
5 Universes!
He Who Drowned the World is an epic, dark, and almost mythological conclusion to the Radiant Emperor duology. Shelley Parker-Chan will take you to the very edge of what you can take, dangling salvation and greatness in front of you. I will definitely be rereading this duology in the years to come as I'm sure I'll keep discovering new things about it.
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