He Who Drowned the World

He Who Drowned the World blew me out of the water. Deep, dark and peopled with deliciously complex characters, this book will draw you irresistibly into a world of tragedy and triumph. Shelley Parker-Chan is a geniusJen Williams, author of Talonsister

A powerful historical fantasy filled with complex people and high stakes. . . . Paying equal attention to fierce battle scenes and deep conversations and filled with desperate decisions and brutal actions, this book is immersive and intimateLibrary Journal, starred review

A heart-racing, emotional story that is also heartrending and shocking . . . 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 canonBooklist, starred review

Even better than the first . . . 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. Parker-Chan’s characters struggle to break this cycle, and the nuance with which they’re portrayed makes us root for them. In the end, Parker-Chan seems to suggest, power belongs not to the most ruthless but to those who are most successful at self-forgivenessThe Washington Post