He Who Drowned the World

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. (Aug.)