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Title details for He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan - Wait list

He Who Drowned the World

#2 in series

by Shelley Parker-Chan
ebook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 6 weeks
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0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 6 weeks

USA TODAY bestseller, #1 international bestseller, and Indie Next Pick
Best of 2023 Pick for Autostraddle and BookPage; a Recommended Reading List Pick for Locus; Locus Award Finalist; Dragon Award Finalist

The sequel and series conclusion to She Who Became the Sun, the accomplished, poetic debut of war and destiny, sweeping across an epic alternate China. Mulan meets The Song of Achilles.
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...
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

  • Creators

  • Series

    The Radiant Emperor

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 22, 2023

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781250621832

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781250621832
      • File size: 6692 KB

  • Accessibility

    The publisher provides the following statement about the accessibility of the EPUB file supplied to OverDrive. Experiences may vary across reading systems. After borrowing the book, you may download the EPUB files to read in another reading system.

    Ways Of Reading

    • No information about appearance modifiability is available.

    • Not all of the content will be readable as read aloud speech or dynamic braille.

    Conformance

    • No information is available.

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      March 1, 2023

      Following the LJ best-booked She Who Became the Sun, Parker-Chan continues her reimagining of the Ming dynasty's founding with Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, having successfully wrested southern China from Mongol control and eager to crown herself emperor. The only problem: courtesan Madam Zhang wants the throne for her husband. With a 200,000-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 29, 2023
      Parker-Chan follows She Who Became the Sun with this intricately plotted and devastatingly brutal historical fantasy, the finale to the Radiant Emperor duology set in 1356 China. A five-way power struggle simmers between former monk and current “Radiant King” Zhu Yuanzhang, revenge-driven eunuch General Ouyang, the Zhang merchant family, Red Turban rebellion leader Chen Youliang, and Henan’s prince Wang Baoxiang. Zhu makes peace with Ouyang, promising he can have his revenge and kill the overthrown Mongol ruler, the Great Khan, if he will first help Zhu defeat the Zhangs. Meanwhile, Chen offers his assistance to the Machiavellian Madame Zhang, even as Baoxiang, who skillfully manipulated his way into the Great Kahn’s court, now aims to ingratiate himself to the Zhangs himself. Parker-Chan admirably continues the nuanced and compassionate examination of gender, sex, and desire that began in book one while simultaneously dialing up the intensity and frequency of the graphic violence, torture, rape, and sadomasochism. Indeed, Chen’s habit of sending mutilated severed hands to Zhu and the scenes of Zhu assisting Ouyang’s sexualized self-harm feel borderline gratuitous. Though Parker-Chan successfully steers the complex political machinations to a satisfying conclusion, readers will need strong stomachs to handle this gory window into the worst of human behavior.

    • Booklist

      Starred review from July 1, 2023
      In this satisfying sequel to She Who Became the Sun (2021), Parker-Chan brings their historical-fantasy retelling of the rise of Chinese emperor Zhu Yuanzhang to a conclusion. As the action begins, Zhu Yuanzhang is on a quest to remake the world into something that would accept her for what she is--a man but also a woman, a woman but also a king. Unfortunately, other players are also at work. Eunuch general Ouyang is determined to stamp out Zhu on his way to kill the Great Khan. Madam Zhang seeks the throne for her man--whoever that might be--and a new player, Wang Baoxiang, is playing a game in the capital that risks collapsing the empire entirely. This story is part Game of Thrones and part tale about desire and revenge--when hate is what drives someone, what happens when their goals are achieved? Parker-Chan has written a heart-racing, emotional story that is also heartrending and shocking precisely because readers will, by the end, know the characters and their aims and loves so well. The conclusion of the Radiant Emperor duology makes use of every last word and stamps this series onto the map as a new must-read of the fantasy canon.

      COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Library Journal

      Starred review from July 1, 2023

      Zhu Yuanzhang has started her path as the Radiant King, but she faces a larger battle to become emperor. Even with the success of her forces, many others stand in the way of her path to greatness. General Zhang commands a stronger, larger army and is guided by his sharp, cunning wife, Madam Zhang. Zhu knows that to survive this hurdle, she will need to bring the eunuch General Ouyang to her side, no matter the enmity between them. Yet beyond these powerful players is one who can subvert all of their goals--the scholar Wang Baoxiang, who has placed himself in the capital to create a long game of revenge and death for everyone's path to the throne. Paying equal attention to fierce battle scenes and deep conversations and filled with desperate decisions and brutal actions, this book is immersive and intimate. VERDICT Parker-Chan's sequel to She Who Became the Sun is a powerful historical fantasy filled with complex people and high stakes.--Kristi Chadwick

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • BookPage
      When I reviewed Shelley Parker-Chan’s She Who Became The Sun in 2021, I had no doubt it would top all the best books lists of that year. Some books just have a gravitational pull, each sentence drawing you closer to their core. Parker-Chan’s sequel, He Who Drowned the World, matches and at times exceeds its predecessor; its darker tone, deeper intrigue and visceral set pieces more than live up to the promise of book one. Be warned: No one will be left unscarred in the war for supremacy in northern China, even the reader. Despite her victories over the Mongol legions, Zhu Chongba, now called the Radiant King, knows the work has only just begun. Though her forces control the southernmost part of the Mongolian territory, she and her people are not safe as long as the Mongolian khan and his armies still threaten from the north. Meanwhile, the traitorous General Ouyang also seeks vengeance against the khan. Can Zhu and Ouyang, two mortal enemies, realize their shared ambitions and work together for a common victory? Perhaps, but unbeknownst to both, a cunning member of the Mongol court is secretly spinning a treacherous web. She Who Became the Sun had to build up to the multifaceted, continent-crossing thrill ride it became, but He Who Drowned the World starts as a beautiful, brutal ride and never lets up. Military and political intrigue drive the plot forward as characters whiz across the map fighting battles, sneaking into hidden bases, charming pirate kings and so on. A helpful refresher opens the book, and Parker-Chan’s organization and clarity ensures that readers won’t ever lose track of the multiple opposing factions.  The sharpness of each character’s ambitions, the depth of their emotion and the sheer beauty of the writing will grab hold of readers from the very first page. Sentence by sentence, Parker-Chan’s prose is unrivaled in modern fantasy. It’s so consistent in its richness, so precise in its sequencing that even the grimmest of moments become enthralling and vital. Several scenes between Zhu and Ouyang positively crackle with energy, supercharged by Parker-Chan’s writing as these two titans finally see each other for the first time. The fearless Parker-Chan pulls no punches, repeatedly pushing characters to their limits and beyond. Their motives range from murky to outright despicable as Parker-Chan examines how identity and personal trauma drive ambition. Like flint against steel, characters spark against one another, often producing flames both literal and figurative. This may be the strongest lasting impression He Who Drowned the World leaves behind: The pain we carry reacts to another’s, and those who master their pain will rule.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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