Although I had several minor problems with the execution, the emotional complexity of the three main characters was interesting enough not to make me regret giving this a try. It helps that the plot is fast-paced and action-packed, full of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. Both She Who Became the Sun and He Who Drowned the World have relatively slow pacing as the characters arrange pieces to enact their complicated plans.

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.

We are as connected to them as they are to each other and so we root for this connection to hold true, for it to mean something, for it to forge a new path—a path that we can follow them down. The sunshine sawdust smell and the breeze flowing unchecked through the construction sites; the uncluttered sky that seemed bigger and bluer than anywhere else Zhu had lived: the possibility contained in all that newness thrilled her to her bones.

Ouyang reaches into this place of pain to shield himself from a greater wound weeping inside of him. These novels beautifully capture the feedback loop wherein queer-coded characters are reviled, which drives them to unbearable viciousness, which in turn fills them with self-loathing. I cried, I laughed, I wanted these characters to pay for all the awful things they’d done, I desperately yearned for them all to have happily ever afters, and I was always always so impressed and touched by the themes of self-acceptance and fate and how they were woven into the story.Despite knowing from the beginning how the series would end—this is, after all, a retelling of the first Ming emperor’s ascent to power—I could never predict what was going to happen next; in fact, I realized at one point that I had fifteen pages left in my e-book and the story hadn’t wrapped up at all. I would have loved to see this bond built up over an entire book and it would have made the ending even more emotional. Not that I was unmoved by the end of part two, but it did feel like this was the emotional crescendo when the plot itself hadn’t yet finished. Uyghur wasn’t a world away from Mongolian, which put Zhu in mind of the eunuch general Ouyang and his flat, alien accent when he spoke Han’er.

As they passed yet another building shrouded in bamboo scaffolding, she said admiringly, “I wasn’t even away that long. Whether it's from one battle to the next, the conquering of a territory, or the heart-wrenching betrayal, Parker-Chan never lets up on the throttle. Paying equal attention to fierce battle scenes and deep conversations and filled with desperate decisions and brutal actions, this book is immersive and intimate. We know as well as she does that 'desire is the cause of all suffering,' and that 'the greater the desire, the greater the suffering, and now she desired greatness itself,' but how much is too much for Zhu to bear?There are many ghosts that haunt the characters of this story, there are many torments that the world wounds them with, but the most fascinating element of this discussion around pain is when we witness the pain the characters inflict upon themselves. Most grimdark really falls down for me because atrocities in the story occur on a surface level, wallowing in physical blood and guts without ever interrogating the long-term consequences that follow. The other, General Zhang, of lesser height and build, but carrying himself with the reserved confidence of a man with the life experience of Zhu and her general put together.

He Who Drowned the World is a heart-wrenching study of grief, power, and pain that will keep readers on the edge of their seats from the first page.A gripping tale of rise to power, fate, betrayals and the bloody beginnings and endings of dynasties. Zhu, The Radiant King, finds herself feeling unstoppable after her victories and wants to crown herself emperor. Though I'm sad to see the end of this series, I'm totally on-board for whatever comes next from Parker-Chan. 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.