Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

73 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

fantastickath's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad 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? Yes

3.5

Very good book, and a great sequel, but I think this series delights in pain and suffering in a way I don’t enjoy, personally. The addiction narrative was very effective though, and I’m invested enough to read the third book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

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

redthistle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book is a good continuation of Rin's story from the Poppy War.
Overall I enjoyed it, although I admit there were sections which dragged pretty hard for me and I struggled to want to continue reading, which isn't surprising given the books 650+ pages.
I struggled particularly because

I hate the 'hero losing their powers' trope

and a good section of this book this occurs which left me feeling frustrated and bored.

The story continues to be a brutal depiction of a country ravaged by war, young people thrust into positions of unimaginable power the consequences of which they do not fully grasp or allow themselves to consider (mainly Rin but others as well), and the ultimate reminder that those in power are willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to gain and keep what they desire.

While the narrative does show a window into Rin's mind as she tries to deal with what she had done and continues to do in the name of winning a war, I did feel that she lacked much actual development. She never really changes. Whether that is because of the nature of the pheonix and it's rage or because its the only way she can live with what she's done I'm not sure. I admit I had hoped for some sort of develop or growth from her which I personally did not see.

One thing I loved and kept me reading was the development between characters and their relationships. I have gotten much more attached to many of the ensemble characters than I had in the Poppy War and loved to see their friendships grow.
Thoughts on individual characters have spoilers:

I got particularly attached to Nezha and his betrayal was honestly awful. I loved his friendship with Rin and I really wish he had been strong enough to break from his family's grasp and stand on his own two feet. I hope that maybe in the next book he will. I want to believe that he did what he did because he thought he was protecting Rin and not that he fully sold her out.

I was so glad that Venka got to be in this story and that her and Rin have become allies. It warms my heart that Rin supported her and helped to to fight and I'm excited to see their relationship developed in the next book.

I loved the development of Kitay and Rin's friendship. I was getting pretty bored of the story before they became Anchored and that's when it turned back around for me. I've always loved their friendship and that he loved and accepted her from the very beginning of her story at the Academy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

ireadinbed's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I am really loving this series. There is so much lovely character work and good description. They aren't exactly lovable. Sometimes they are down right *unlikable* but I still can't stop reading. 

I found the relationships in this book so much better developed and interesting and the action sequences were really fun to read. Plus the ultimate villains are TERRIFYING. 

But I will say I kept feeling like I was missing stuff occasionally. Like stuff that should have been in page was off page or something? But I also read it in three big chunks so could be user error. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Self harm, Blood, and Abortion

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

gdenav's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

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

janinab's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Violence, and Blood

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