Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

183 reviews

nataaaliya's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

If it were possible, I'd get every word of this trilogy inked into my skin.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Gore, Death, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Ableism, Body horror, Grief, Racial slurs, Drug use, Violence, Sexual assault, Racism, Body shaming, Blood, Genocide, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Child death, Sexism, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Dementia, Pregnancy, Abortion, Toxic friendship, Infertility, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Death of parent, Self harm, Trafficking, Cannibalism, and Domestic abuse

ilovebarbie12dancingprincesses's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Misogyny, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Racism, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Drug use, Genocide, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Blood, Torture, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Drug abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Suicide, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

jhbandcats'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

3.5

This book was a disappointment after the glorious Poppy War, the introduction to Kuang’s fantasy world of early 20th C China. I struggled throughout the book because I found Rin, the main character, so annoying. In The Poppy War Rin is learning about how powerful she is. For a great deal of this book, especially the first half, she’s helpless and whiny and angry and impossibly rude. She is decidedly unpleasant at best. 

I found the battle scenes riveting, and Rin’s interactions with her closest friends the most powerful. I especially liked the increasing closeness between Rin and her best friend Kitay, and I loved the scenes with the contraption he makes for her. 

I still remain in awe of Kuang’s scholarship and writing. She is always an excellent author. I’m going to read the third in the trilogy with hopes that it will be more engaging than this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Racism, Torture, Colonisation, Classism, Confinement, Violence, War, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Addiction, Blood, Gore, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

kiwibird5's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, War, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Medical trauma, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Vomit, and Gore

krystaldelusion's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, War, Racism, and Genocide

Moderate: Vomit, Violence, and Rape

Minor: Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Body horror, Death, Drug use, and Drug abuse

getlitwithamy_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.75

R.F. Kuang’s sequel to the profoundly thought provoking POPPY WAR adds even more tension and impact when it comes to the effects of war. 

The story starts right where THE POPPY WAR ends. Rin is coming to terms with the events that occurred at the end of the previous book, and Kuang doesn’t hesitate to show her struggling with this.

She also shows Rin’s deep drug addled state where her reliance on opium interferes with her psyche.

As THE DRAGON REPUBLIC continues, readers see how important political alliances are in terms of war. Kuang does a great job at showing how ugly the behind the scenes discussions can be. 

This book dodged the second book syndrome. It was even more captivating than its predecessor, and it holds THE BURNING GOD to a high standard since Kuang provides so much buildup in the end. Much praise for her and this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Mental illness, War, Body horror, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Self harm, Sexual violence, Blood, Drug use, and Genocide

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy

desertbabe's review against another edition

Too slow. Too long of a break between the first a second books. May pick it up again in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug abuse

reads_with_rach's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, War, Violence, Child death, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Blood, Colonisation, and Genocide

hades_astor's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

If you are looking for a genuinely morally gray main character, you found her. I love Rin but struggle to stomach some of her actions and it makes me love her more. The end of this book felt like someone picked up a painting I had been staring at for a long time, flipped it, and made me realize I didn’t even see the focus of the painting at all. This is a wonderful look at war, dehumanizing the enemy, and how we justify the unforgivable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Torture, Body horror, Violence, and War

rubbertree14's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

It’s hard to rate this book, as the writing itself is good and the world building is good, and I love how the author has tied fantasy and history together. But, the book feels longer than it needs to be. I wish there were less characters to track and more delving into the ones that have front stage, especially the women in this book. All the female characters seem very one-dimensional, even our leading lady. I think the only well-developed character in this series is Kitay. The history and lore is amazing, but wish the plot and characters were there as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Addiction, Gore, Self harm, Abortion, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Medical content, Rape, Vomit, War, Classism, Colonisation, Animal death, Death, Body horror, Drug use, Genocide, Child death, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Violence

Graphic