Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

79 reviews

andromeda_1998's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• 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

I really liked the poppy war and even though I loved this book as well there is a reason the Dragon Republic get 4 stars instead of 5. 

As the people who read my review of the poppy war will know, I love the character and worldbuilding in this series. R.F. Kuang shows us the brutality of war in a really graphic way. And I believe this is the only way to make people see the history of humankind.  A lot of readers have problems with the gruesome depictions of war in this series but this is how war looks like. The most horrendous things have been done in wartime’s and we have to acknowledge the fact that humanity could have been spared a lot of horrors if we would just accept each other. R.F Kuang says it best: “They believe in a singular and all-powerful deity, which means they cannot accept the truth of other gods. And when nations start to believe that other beliefs lead to damnation, violence becomes inevitable.” 

Why did I give this amazing book 4 stars instead of five? The start of this book is slow. At around a hundred pages the story picks up but around 300 pages it falls flat  and I had to fight till around 500 pages in for the plot to pick up again. 

This book could have been better and I feel one of the reasons that this happens is because there isn’t a lot happening between the characters. We don’t really get scenes where they get to know each other. This book focuses on the war talk and the strategy behind fights and sometimes you head just needs a break and some human interaction between characters could do the trick. 

I would still recommend this series though! The books are amazing but before you start reading them check the triggerwarnings! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Miscarriage, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

fiveredhens's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.25

favorite quote:

"Our dead don't leave us," said the Sorqan Sira. "They'll haunt you as long as you let them. That boy is a disease on your mind. Forget him."

"I can't." She pressed her face into her hands. "He was brilliant. He was different. You'd have never met anyone like him."

"You would be stunned." The Sorqan Sira looked very sad. "You have no idea how many men are like Altan Trengsin."

better than the first in the most brutal way possible

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy

morevna's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

3.75

 I cannot really rate this for I don't know what to do with it. It felt plotless and pointless up to about halfway in, and I hated Rin's character "development", also why does she feel absolutely nothing towards the Cike? they're the only people backing her up, being honest and real with her. that was bs. what happened to them, too. so anyway everything sucked up to that point, but then it got more interesting when Rin finally started to THINK and that ending sure got me intrigued. but yeah, I s'ppose that leaves this book with 3,75 stars for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence

fearsparks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is the sequel to The Poppy War. It was just as dark, if not darker, than the first book in this trilogy. And I love it. This section includes spoilers to the first book in the series, The Poppy War.

This book is unpredictable and raw. Many things chocked me and was hard to accept. 

We continue to follow Rin, as she deals with the loss of Altan and adjusts to her new role as commander over the Cike. This book is also filled with war, death and destruction, just as the first. But since we’re already familiar with the world, the world building doesn’t take as big a part in this sequel. We see Rin meeting new people, forming new alliances and forging new friendships. The relationships in this book are so dynamic, and really illustrate who is the “dominant” one or who’s in charge. The writing was also intriguing, and kept dragging me along, making the book impossible to put down. However, I found the middle of the book to be a bit slower and harder to get through. But both before and after, it was a page turner!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Blood

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Murder

fennel's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder

olivialandryxo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

Starting an adult fantasy novel whilst in the middle of a reading slump might not have been my best idea. Despite that, I was immediately immersed in this book, as if there hadn’t been a several month gap between me reading The Poppy War and me reading The Dragon Republic. Kuang masterfully writes complex, morally grey characters, and weaves multiple subplots into a story that’s fascinating despite it’s occasionally slower pacing, also integrating discussions of heavier topics relevant both in Rin’s world and our own. So many mind-blowing things happened in this book, and I look forward to picking up The Burning God as soon as I’m in the mood for fantasy again.

I love Rin and Kitay’s friendship. I loved seeing Venka and Rin become allies and then friends. Rin and Nezha’s dynamic was also very interesting to me. I know this series is a military fantasy inspired by real Chinese fantasy and it isn’t at all focused on romance, but can I just say that there’s SOMETHING going on between those two? Is that just me? While I like the way his character was written, I don’t love Nezha the way I do Rin and Kitay. I’m in a love-hate relationship with him at the moment. I’m excited yet concerned to see what unfolds in the final novel, given that every single review of it I’ve seen just talks about how heart-wrenching it is. I’ll get there eventually.

Representation

• protagonist of color
• some side characters of color

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Medical trauma

Minor: Ableism, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, and Abortion

goldengirlbookclub's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Abortion

kaylamoran's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I found the first book of these series to be extremely predictable at times.  I did not have that problem at all with this book.  It's a rare example of a second book that's better than the first, and the first was excellent in its own right.  I think this one was slightly less violent and bloody, but the plot was so much more gripping.  I loved this, and I can't wait to see where the next book goes.
R.F. Kuang has a unique ability to get me to worry and care about awful people.  Rin and her friends have done some really terrible things, and yet I still care so much about what happens to them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Vomit

emerynmader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit