Shelley Parker-Chan: He Who Drowned the World

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

Shelley Parker-Chan: She Who Became the Sun

Hi everyone

I finished She Who Became the Sun, the first book in The Radiant Emperor duology by Shelley Parker-Chan. I read this on my e-reader.

"In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…
In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.
When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.
After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu uses the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness."

This was a medium good book. I didn't really like the characters (they were very one-sided and unlikeable) the story and world were interesting enough. Ouyang especially was very dramatic and kept thinking the same things over and over. Everything gets repeated so many times.

But the story was really good. It's a reimagining of the rise of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, something I know nothing about so I can't say how much is based on facts. It is easy to read, the story engages you, I really wanted to keep reading because I wanted to find out what would happen next. So, even though I didn't connect with the characters, hated most of their acts, I enjoyed the book because of the writing, the world and the plot.

Happy reading
Helena