Reviews

The Nine Curves River by R.F. Kuang

mat_hyperborealwolf's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

glyf's review

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

lanternatomika's review

5.0

I'm surprised that Goodreads doesn't mention that this is part of The Poppy War universe anywhere. It pretty unambiguously takes place in the same setting. I also can't recommend it enough to readers of that trilogy who'd like to see the Nikara Empire in a different light.

This story was first published in the period between The Dragon Republic and The Burning God. And good grief, when was the last time there was any lasting peace in this troubled nation? That's one of the great joys of reading (or, in my case, listening) to this story - it shows us what things are like when the country isn't in turmoil.

We head to Arlong as we follow the story of a pair of sisters. We've never seen Arlong as anything more than the bastion of the Dragon Republic, a belligerent in the never-ending mess that's engulfed Nikan.

But The Nine Curves River isn't just great in relation to The Poppy War trilogy. It's just a really nice and sweet short story that gets really bitter towards the end. R.F Kuang doesn't stab you in the back with the ending - you're always aware that this isn't going to end well. But you just hope to be proven wrong, and the hope'll get you nowhere. Even LeVar Burton was upset about the ending.

Speaking of him, not only is this audio narration of the story free on Apple Podcasts and probably elsewhere, but it's a beautiful presentation, too. Burton is obviously an accomplished narrator, and the story is embellished with music and sound effects and voice processing. It made me want similar productions on the books themselves.

I think Kuang has really cemented herself as one of the great writers of her generation. I'll always be looking forward to what comes next.

spangky's review

emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

hafiansari's review

5.0

Rebecca Kuang is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors after both this story and The Poppy War trilogy.

joshuaperry's review

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

danisbookshelfx's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

queenofsundays's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Whose fault is it that our monsters are lonely?"
how does she always do this 

ineedtokeepmymouthshut's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

vanillafire's review

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0