Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

165 reviews

meggspence's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This was my first adult fantasy series that I've read in years and man I ate it up. Once I was 150 pages from the end I plopped on a couch and finished it in a sitting. This trilogy taught me so much about the history of China from WW2 - Cultural revolution and British colonization. 

I loved Nezha and Kitay, and as complicated as Rin was, I still loved following this story through her perspective. I will also say (spoiler free) the ending somehow brought me an unexpected relief despite such a disastrous situation. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Drug use, Cannibalism, Classism, Death, Religious bigotry, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Genocide

See other people's TW!!

melitrophium's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-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

Graphic: Drug abuse, Colonisation, Violence, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, War, Death, Medical trauma, Animal death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cannibalism, Torture, Racism, Classism, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Minor: Self harm, Alcoholism, and Incest

leaflit's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Just really not into this series personally. This one felt like it dragged on even more than the others I was just waiting for it to be over. So violent. This one had cannibalism too. Just march, fight, repeat. Bunch of characters died. Not really sure about the ending. Overall this book is not for me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Classism, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Suicide, Animal death, Child death, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Cannibalism, Toxic friendship, War, Gore, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Torture, and Body horror

sierraclimbs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• 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

4.0

I don’t even know what to say about this book… this entire story is so sad & challenging… I’m glad that I read it. But I’m not coming away from it wanting to recommend it to people. 
Rin is such a frustrating protagonist to follow… she makes very human mistakes & I think as a reader you are not always used to your protagonist making mistake after mistake. It makes the story feel very real & raw. But I’m also upset & frustrated. 

I so badly wanted these characters to have a happy ending… and I’m sure many people would interpret that they did… just after so much suffering, all I wanted was for Rin & Nezha to come back to each other in peace & love even if it was platonic… but it wouldn’t be realistic… a girl can hope though!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, Body horror, Religious bigotry, Cannibalism, Child death, Suicide attempt, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Drug abuse, Murder, and Animal cruelty

daisy2050's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Blood, Body horror, Torture, War, Racism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Animal death, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

ginalucia's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

 I gotta say, this book doesn't hold back - it's brutally honest and dark, making it kinda tough to fully connect with the main character, Rin.

As our main protagonist and antihero (the whole book is pretty much from her perspective), she’s hard to love. I know this was intentional. Her purpose isn’t to make us love her, it’s to teach us something about war.

While it achieves this, it does get stuck in a loop. Rin seems to be going over the same struggles and thoughts without much progress, which can feel a bit repetitive after a while. At times, I felt my brain drifting off as she came to the same conclusion over and over again.

The power dynamics in the story constantly shift, which adds to the complexity - but it can also feel messy and overwhelming at times. 

And when it comes to the big climactic moments? I gotta admit, I felt kinda detached. Like, I was expecting this big emotional punch, but it just didn't hit me the way I thought it would. But maybe that was the point - to show how you can become desensitised to war. In which case, nice work R.F. Kuang.

The Burning God, and The Poppy War series is a challenging read. It's not always easy to digest, but the honesty and depth of the storytelling are absolutely worth it. While this last book didn’t quite hit like the first two for me, I’m absolutely happy I took the time to get through it.

For more reviews and book recommendations, check out my YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/ginaluciayt 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Murder, Genocide, Death, War, Violence, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Suicide, and Hate crime

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Vomit, Classism, Xenophobia, Animal death, Toxic friendship, and Forced institutionalization

ellaxo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Violence, and War

Moderate: Cannibalism

kmae314's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Religious bigotry, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, War, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Genocide, and Suicidal thoughts

bookishedi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

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 against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

• 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

I am so incredibly sad right now. Thank you R.F. kuang for creating one of the best fantasy series I have ever read. There is so much to be learned from these books, both of history, today, and tomorrow.

---

Content Warnings

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