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a_wandering_thinker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Das Worldbuilding und die Parallelen zur echten Welt waren gleichzeitig das beste an den Büchern als auch eine Schwachstelle. Zum einen habe ich so viel über Krieg und Staatenbildung gelernt wie bei keinem Buch zuvor. Darüber, wozu Menschen fähig sind, was Revolutionen kosten, über Religion, Kolonialismus und Abgründe der Menschlichkeit. Auf der anderen Seite musste ich mich bei jedem Element der Story fragen, welches reale Ereignis es wohl inspiriert hat, dass sich die Handlung manchmal wie eine sehr ausgeschmückte Allegorie für Real-Life-Events anfühlte, anstatt zu etwas Eigenem zu werden (was immer noch viel über unsere echte Geschichte und Kulturen aussagen kann, aber ohne davon zu dominiert zu werden).
Ein anderer Kritikpunkt, vor allem von diesem Band, ist, wie Dialog-lastig es war. Ich hätte mir ein wenig mehr ruhige Momente gewünscht, die die Handlung nicht mit Macht vorangetrieben hätten, etwas mehr bildliche Beschreibung von Szenen. Trotzdem war die Story extrem immersive und packend.
Insgesamt ist die Trilogie eine 4.5 ⭐️ für mich. Absolut beeindruckend, realistisch, packend, und ich liebe es, wie mit vielen Tropes gebrochen wird. Ich freue mich schon, als nächstes Babel zu lesen.
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Colonisation, Gore, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Vomit, and War
Moderate: Eating disorder, Trafficking, Sexism, Death of parent, and Excrement
bookishedi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Rape, Violence, Vomit, Addiction, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Torture, and War
Moderate: Abortion, Abandonment, Animal death, Emotional abuse, and Cannibalism
lindseyhall44's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Confinement, Death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Grief, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Gore, Miscarriage, Racism, War, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Kidnapping, Rape, Religious bigotry, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
nataaaliya's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicide, Child abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Addiction, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, War, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism and Cursing
alestotle's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
As always Kuang’s depiction of war, the chaos and uncertainty of battles and its impacts both on individuals and the country are some of the most realistic that I’ve ever read. She never romanticises it or skips over the brutal aspects of it that so many other books do in order to glorify it. Some victories are not won with a triumphant cheer but by a pure twist of fate and chaos.
My favourite character, Jiang, comes back which I’m glad about. A lot of the characters in what are meant to be emotional moments don’t say anything they either sit in silence or get cut off. And she seems to always understand what they mean to say before they have to discuss any of their issues or feelings and i honestly find it a bit of a cop out to not let any of your characters converse with one another each and every time. But I’ve always thought that Kuang’s character writing is weak and is the only thing holding this book back from being a 5 star read for me.
Rin however continues to be one of the most interesting characters to read from. I understand all of her decisions and despise them at the same time. She did what she had to do to survive but it drove her to insanity, and I think that’s the only plausible way someone in her situation could’ve ended up. She’s insane but only because the world around her is insane. I called the ending. I knew that she had to die in the end, I thought she would go too far give into the phoenix and Kitay would have to kill himself to stop her but it was more satisfying to see her catch herself right before she set the world aflame and end things before she could. She never could have ruled Nikawa it’s not what she was built for. All she ever wanted was to stop the people who were causing the wars and suffering, she did - she toppled systems - and now she can rest before she becomes the very thing she hated.
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Colonisation, and Child death
lglais's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
R. F. Kuang, assim como em Babel, sustenta um personagens que desejam o melhor para o mundo, que almejam uma revolução humanitária. O problema é que, assim como no mundo real, o futuro do mundo está na mão dos seres humanos, pessoas egoístas que desejam apenas o bem para si e a sustentação de seus desejos e confortos.
Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Colonisation, Death, Body horror, Xenophobia, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Blood, Grief, Racism, Sexism, War, Murder, and Violence
kjsears's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Gore, Violence, Colonisation, Rape, War, and Murder
anispaperbacks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Watching Rin and the decisions she made throughout The Burning God was so fascinating. You know she's making choices that a morally sound person would not really be making but you can't help but enjoy it with some kind of sick satisfaction.
Spoiler for both this book and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes lmao:
Anyway, this isn't much of a review yet, more just me sharing some thoughts I had. So:
Overall, this was a great last novel in the trilogy. Despite the fact that I do feel a little unsatisfied and jarred at the ending, its the way things should have probably gone. I didn't enjoy (if enjoy is the right word for The Horrors experienced) The Burning God as much as I did The Dragon Republic, which is still by far my favourite in the trilogy, but this still rakes up 4 stars. I just feel like a lot of the book, I wasn't as invested in what was going on? I guess it just felt like there was a fair bit of reading to get to the bits which were just a bit more interesting to read, which IS fair for the topic of the book and understanding the gravity of everything going on, you can't have a book about war without large amounts of chapters on the military movements and engagements. It didn't diminish the book for me but The Burning God just wasn't quite what The Dragon Republic was to me.
I'm never going to forgive R.F Kuang for what she has done to me. In my review of TDR, I'm pretty sure I said I would kill myself if anything happened to Rin and Kitay so I better get onto that then. /lhj The trilogy was devastating and the characters are just so believable and complex. I adore how R.F Kuang writes and I'm not sure what to do with myself now that I've finished all the books. These books just amazingly well show the absolute horrors and brutality of war. The absolute devastation it leaves in its wake. How it changes people and what it drives them to do. The Poppy War trilogy has got to be one of my favourite fantasy series I have read, they are so well done.
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Murder, War, Xenophobia, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Death, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Cannibalism, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Vomit, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Grief, and Racial slurs
Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infertility, Bullying, and Excrement
annabel_winter's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, War, Gore, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Xenophobia, Suicide, Torture, and Rape
kiwibird5's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Vomit, War, Blood, Child death, Rape, Torture, Sexual assault, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Cursing, Death, Self harm, Cannibalism, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Suicide, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Violence