Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

He Who Drowned the World

Audiobook
8 of 9 copies available
8 of 9 copies available

"Narrator Natalie Naudus is an admirable guide through a complicated plot with multiple points of view...She illuminates the few tender moments amid the overall violence and sets a quick, smooth pace that never lags." —AudioFile
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...
A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

  • Creators

  • Series

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • 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.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Natalie Naudus narrates the conclusion to The Radiant Emperor Duology. A fierce power struggle is underway to reign as emperor in this retelling of the Ming dynasty's rise to power and wresting of control from the Mongols. Naudus is an admirable guide through a complicated plot with multiple points of view. The characters include a collection of cruel and manipulative people, including a eunuch general, a number of nonbinary individuals, a son seeking vengeance, and a woman who is trying to seize the throne for her husband. Naudus makes them all distinct. She illuminates the few tender moments amid the overall violence and sets a quick, smooth pace that never lags. J.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Loading