He Who Drowned the World

Disappointing after She Who Became the Sun. Much more intrigue and plotting and betrayal (yawn), many more plot twists, and almost zero tension: a few chapters in, you realize that no matter how dire the predicament, Zhu will face it with a gleeful "my fate is to win, so I will win." One or two dei ex machinae later, plus some knob tweaking on the Infinite Improbability Drive, and the crisis is solved. On to the next one.

Much more snappy repartee. Cute, fun, but awkward. More expository dialog. Too many wild coincidences to keep track of. Much more slaughter and cruelty, and a few (too few) tossed-in handwringing moments about the horrors of war, then back to more war. "It's for a noble cause." Two stars overall, but good ending pushed it up to three.