Right now I feel so many things that I can't say; I want to burn the world, sob until I'm nothing but an empty dustpan and dance with the wild wind at the same time. So right now I feel everything and nothing, death and life, sorrow and happiness at the same time. I just finished reading it a few minutes ago and I can't get the words out of my head, I have so many thoughts about this book.

───────────────────

I have never read - and probably never will - another well-crafted book in my life. This story has a past, present and future. It tells about gods and mortals at the same time. The world itself was very interesting and I can't wait to go back there again, I'm not exaggerating when I say that although it was brutal (definitely not for those who can't stand blood and death, etc.) it still had its own beauty, something unfathomably beautiful in it. I really liked that the writer drew a lot from mythology and brought real nightmares to life.

Rin (Zsin in Hungarian) was a great main character, a real unquenchable flame. I simply loved that we could trace what fire, power and so much death were able to do to that innocent little girl. Runin was very nice to me at first and still is, but I feel that later on I will lose her, she will be burned by her own flames and I can't do anything to save her. The knowledge that history will (probably) repeat itself fills me with great pain. But actually I understood, I understood her soul, her whole damned being. Although she didn't do the right thing many times, in the end most of us would have done exactly what she did in these situations, even the strongest will break during a long fight (just like Altan) and I'm sure that sooner or later Runin will break too. It's fate, you can't avoid fate and finally you can't make a deal with it, but you can indeed delay it.

Nezha (Nö-Csa in Hungarian) I'm not lying when I say that I fell in love from the beginning, but really, but who's to blame? I'm begging you, this boy knows something, he chains people to himself, I'm not at all surprised that Runin falls in love with him later on. I liked his character. He goes through a huge development during the book (I've rarely seen character development like his). He went from being a spoiled and cruel tyrant to an understanding and relatively forgiving person. Basically, Nezha is an excellent fighter, but he doesn't always think through what exactly he wants. I want to know what happened to him and I want to let him know that he is not alone, that Runin wanted to go after him, that she was trying to save him even at the cost of her own life. I hope we get more of him in the next book.

Kitay and Venka are secondary characters, but they are very important in shaping the main character (Runin) into what she is. Despite everything, Kitay stuck by her, he was her friend and one of her most devoted allies in the academy and beyond. The voice of common sense, although he too was broken by the war, he did not forget that he is human, like anyone else, that he lives and breathes like any other living being and nothing is more important than that. A part of me died because of Venka and I haven't recovered from it since, it's unbelievable that one of the best students of the academy, one of the most dangerous girls, was treated like this. It's disgusting what they did to her, it's disgusting what they did to women, but in war there really is no such thing as a winner or a loser, only broken souls, I feel that she will never recover from what she had to go through, I think she suffered more than anyone else. I wish she had died, she would have been a real blessing compared to what they did to her.

Jiang (Csiang in Hungarian) is my guardian, my hero and my support. When I first read about the disappearance of the Gatekeeper, I didn't even suspect him, I saw him as a simple, a bit sloppy, but kind master (even after what was revealed), but then the gatekeeper who released monsters into the world started to suspect him, but he disappeared in from picture. And it made the seal even more suspicious. My heart bled for him in prison, he never deserved what the empress did to him, it was simply cruel.

Altan was so broken, so damned broken, it's a wonder he didn't fall to pieces. He still fought bravely for his people, his country and himself. I'm glad he got the closure he deserved, I'm glad he got the revenge he deserved and I don't regret supporting him at all, because he deserved everything and even more. They ruined his life, he carried more bleeding wounds than anyone else. He needed this, he really needed this, he needed to find peace and be reunited with his people and family.

I don't want to go into the Cike itself, but I loved them very much, each and every one of them with my whole soul. They are a real family, not just outcasts and not just criminals, they are a real team.

Betrayal is nothing new, especially not in books like this, but it still hurt, because a ruler's job is to rule her people, to protect them like gods, not to turn against them. Not only Rin wants to kill the empress but also me.

Other characters who died and deserve at least one mention:

Tir
Although we knew very little about him, I felt sorry for him and I feel that if I had been there, I would have tried to save him and help him.

Irjah
(Ircsa in Hungarian)
I thought my soul would never stop sobbing. He deserves a thousand times better.

Raban
my dear Raban, I am so used to his presence as to his air, my heart stopped when he died.

Basically, the plot was easy to follow, but sometimes the time jumps really bothered me, we literally jumped weeks, months and years in just a few pages, which is fine, but I would have been very happy if the author had prepared me a little for these.It was terribly interesting, even though it took me so long to read it, although it is not exactly an easy afternoon's read with its 580 pages, and it dissects topics that cannot exactly be called easy. Despite the fact that this was the first book about actual war, torture and death that I read, I took the hurdle quite easily. I'm not a big fan of these acts of violence, but they didn't really bother me either, because they showed me what a bloody war is like, the unvarnished truth. I can't wait to read the next book!

Content Warnings

fozzybookmouse's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

inthemoonforcheese's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

rnbhargava's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book, a fantasy, fictionalized variation on China in WWII with the aftermath of the Opium Wars also in the mix, is frankly amazing. The writing becomes more dark and elaborate as the protagonist Rin ages and becomes less innocent through fighting in war at much too young of an age. The mythological aspects are very inventive and refreshing. The Cike is like a sort of Thunderbolts from Marvel or Suicide Squad from DC, if you’re familiar with these comic book teams. All of the characters that Rin is mentored by and/or befriends brings different aspects of her developing personality to the fore. I can’t wait to see what choices Rin makes in “The Dragon Republic” for better or worse. All of the characters are so intriguing and many of them easily could have been protagonists in their own rights. I got quite attached to everyone. This book is an experience. My only slight gripe is that many characters that the protagonist knows have a sort of low key plot armor so that they can be used to illustrate certain aspects of war later in the novel despite it seeming that they shouldn’t have survived some earlier world building regarding how the war is playing out in different fronts.

Content Warnings

bites_of_books's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

R.F. Kuang wrote a book that ticked all the things I've always wanted in a fantasy story. This is not for the faint of heart, if you don't like violence and blood, don't read this.

We start in a small town with Rin, a young war orphan who is about to be married off to a rich merchant, a future of stability but compliance to the world around her. Instead she decides to study for a very difficult exam to try and get into the top military academy and form her own destiny. Again, this is not a "oh the wonders of academia" story, not at all! Rin's worldview is very limited, as an orphan she doesn't quite have family history to know about, she doesn't have the social status that the other students have, the money, or the influence. She's an outsider trying to fit in but she also has the drive and mindset that she will get ahead and survive.

So far it just seems like a classic hero story but this world has a history of war caused by complex political machinations and fueled by the push of opium on the population. Based on Chinese history and the Sino-Japanese war, everything gets complicated for Rin very quickly. She is faced with the realities of class disparities, she needs to choose where she wants to fit into this society, or, if she'll completely break out of it and choose something completely different. In comes the magic aspect.

The magic aspect in this book is based on shamanism, the use of drugs to reach the realm of the gods and use their power. It's not as easy as them granting magical abilities, their power comes at a very high cost and it's also very difficult to control. Society has been taught to not believe that magic exists but at the same time the leaders use this magic to their own advantage, and not always with the best intentions. So, where will Rin go with all of this? Will she choose the path of least resistance to fit into this society? Or, will she make her own path? What will be the consequences of all these choices? For herself, and those around her.

Yes, this is a very complex story and I loved it for that. It mirrored our own society, how the education system is flawed and skewed so that only people with access and privilege can thrive in it; how politicians can just make decisions based on pride and wanting power, not on seeking the good of those they represent; how drug use is demonized and those that fall or are driven into addiction are seen as less than and not helped; how trauma can drive history to repeat itself over and over.

If any of that sounded interesting and you can take the very very violent acts in this book then do pick this up. Even if you don't dive deeper into the meaning of the story, the story is one that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Content Warnings

jlautry's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

A war orphan earns her way into an elite military academy, and becomes a shaman with the ability to call upon Phoenix, the god of fire.

This is the first in a series of three books. It gets rave reviews so I thought I’d give it a try. It was a good, solid read, even for someone like me who doesn’t really read fantasy. The storyline was good, the characters were interesting, and the world development was great. While I thought this book was good, I probably will not finish the series. I found myself skipping the parts heavy on the fantasy because it didn’t keep my interest. It is a long read (530 pages, small font, narrow margins), and the chapters are long, both of which are things I don’t like in books. Despite those things, it kept me, the non-fantasy reader, engaged for most of the book.

Bottom line: If you like fantasy, you will most likely love this book. Please check trigger warnings before reading as it checks off nearly every one of them. However, 95% is in chapter 21, so if you’re concerned but still want to read it, just skip that chapter.

Content Warnings

sknappy1's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

coolfool_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

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