Reviews

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

cerys_m's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad 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

booksbyel's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

Fang Runin is the queen of making bad decisions. She never thinks things through, blindly rushes into things because she is a shaman and apparently doesn’t need tactics, is extremely callous when it comes to civilian lives, and she is selfish and power hungry. To be fair, at some point Mezha refers to her as a monster and I have to agree with him. Kitay and Nezha on the other hand are my favorite characters and I would have loved to read their POVs as well.

The plot was lacking in some parts (the trifecta, the parts with Altan, Hanelei) and the ending was not satisfying but I couldn’t stop reading so I am giving it 4.25 stars

buhreeface's review

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

5.0

selida's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.5

alissyaxo's review against another edition

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5.0

Epic end. Simply awesome.
The end of the story and we definitely got a finale. War doesn’t just truly end and neither does this story.

Amazed at how Kuang simply just keeps writing better and better. Every battle gets more intense, more unique, and more legendary.
A remarkable story with magic and mystical shamanistic battles that will leave you in awe. A refreshing use of characters to show how people are multidimensional through the use of war. You both root for and against certain actions the characters take throughout every single book and it’s an innovative and realistic approach to people in general who are faced with hard choices.
Book 3 definitely plays with this concept more and flips everything Rin thought she knew. Each book introduces more and more atrocities and unspeakable acts that exist in war.
I love how it showcases and demonstrates what war is actually like; the humanity and inhumanity that both sides are capable of in the pursuit of what they desire and deem right that Kuang refines to a higher quality each time.
I feel proud of Kuang and what she accomplished through this journey. She grew as a writer through this series and it was evident through her getting more and more comfortable with storytelling and finding the healthy balance of pairing it with her expertise on history and martial arts with each book.

meg_and_cheese's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

vicncheese's review against another edition

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2.0

Spoiler****

Finally done. The prologue tried to make up the 34 chapters but it did not work.


The trilogy should’ve ended with one book instead a cruel long burn of failure. The main character is reckless, violent, and unlikable yet she still thinks she is a simple village girl. She couldn’t see her violence ever coming to an end and never seeing her life without war.  


adrianaa3's review

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dark reflective sad

5.0

lucyboggs's review against another edition

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5.0

Enemies, to friends, to almost lovers, to enemies who can’t seem to kill each other
AND
The best example of platonic love

Kitay deserved so much more.

debitoni's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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