Hi everyone
He Who Drowned the World is the second and last book in Parker-Chan's series The Radiant Emperor.
I read this on my e-reader.
You can read my review for the first book here.
"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."
This was so, so, soooo boring and repetitive. I can't tell you how many times we were told the same things over and over about events or charactertraits. Both the reiterations and being told about them instead of shown angered me. I wanted to finish it to find out how it ends but I had to pace myself because I would either nod off, loose all interest in reading anything or get angry.
Next, it's too sexually explicit. I agree it is part of the story and sometimes necessary but not as much as it is put in the book.
Lastly (I think), it's too dark in tone. There's not one moment with a glimmer of hope. I enjoy grimdark fantasy but I still need something to believe in, to hope for and to root for but there's nothing here.
So yeah, not a great read.
Happy reading!
Helena