Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

181 reviews

tinyjude's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I'm emotionally and mentally exhausted lol what a ride. Some parts felt a bit too slow and made me feel disappointed with the treatment of the Cike overall in this book. The trauma exploration and Rin's journey through anger, grief, admiration, obsession and hunger (for blood) are the highlights of the book. The worldbuilding again is incredible, although I want to know much more about shamanism (maybe in the 3rd book pls???).

Also the huge and constant roasting to white colonizers. Get them!! I am with Rin all the way down through her desire to burn everything down.

Venka, Kitay and Ramsa, my beloveds.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Abortion

stefy27's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ephemeralzen's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Classism

codifyy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Could not believe Nezha. I love Kitay and Chaghan. I think I really got to understand a greater depth to their characters. I almost cried at Baji, Suni, and Ramsa. I knew Vaisra's betrayal was going to happen but the brutality of it was shocking. Not sure how I feel about the slight attempt of redemption for Daji's character but I think the twist of the Hesperians being the ultimate enemy instead of the Mugenese is telling. Niang's scene was really poignant and the whole fighting against your classmates is challenging to overcome. The more the book went on the more I disliked Altan which I know is not really fair because of his experiences but I could not help it. I hope that now Rin is fighting for the South she finds herself more and becomes more dominant in her opinions because, as a normal foot soldier, she seemed to be simply an avatar to be used for battle. I hope Chaghan returns in the third book and I learn more about Kitay because I am worried that he will become simply an extension of Rin now. I can't really find myself to care for Nezha despite his backstory so I hope that something in the third book will make that change for me. Sometimes I found the civil war and its details slightly confusing because I think that there was a lot happening politically. I think that Rin realising that it's always been the North vs the South will hopefully help her find herself and develop a more headstrong standpoint.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Alcohol

Minor: Physical abuse

madeleinebay's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

shaunaxx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism and Cannibalism

Minor: Abortion

violetlunablossom's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.75

I really enjoyed The Poppy War but The Dragon Republic made me love the world and characters that R.F Kuang created even more. It was a little slow for me at the beginning, but it wasn't an absolute slog. Things quickly picked up towards the middle and by the end, I felt like I had ran a marathon because of how fast my heart was beating. Seeing Rin's growth was really rewarding, and while it felt like she was taking one step forward and two steps back most of the time, when she became more level headed and knowledgable of the political games being played, it was fantastic to see. I also developed a newfound love for Kitay! He wasn't really someone who I was that invested in back in The Poppy War, but now that he has a much more prominent role in the storyline, I've come to love him and his sweet demeanor. It really balances out Rin's more fiery temperament.

Su Daji gets a section of her own because my god, she's such an amazingly complex character. She had only two scenes in this book but they were spectacular. Even when she wasn't physically there, her presence took up space in every chapter. You understand why she did the things she did but you also kind of hate her because of all the brutality we saw back in The Poppy War. Out of all the shamans, her powers are definitely the most interesting to me and they really suit her well. I'm so excited to see what kind of role she plays in the final book.

The brutality was definitely upped in this book too. There were multiple scenes that had me setting down my book because of how upset I was, and with the introduction of the Hesperians (who are a fill in for the British), both the racism and physical violence had another layer of grossness. Kuang did a really good job of getting me to hate them, even if it was pretty easy for me to dislike them from the get go.

I'm very excited to tear into The Burning God soon. I've been told to save my tears for that one so I'll be buying a box of tissues before I start reading it.

REBECCA HOW DARE YOU MAKE THE CIKE SUFFER. YOU TORE MY HEART OUT WITH QARA'S DEATH BUT BAJI AND SUNI TOO??? I had to take a snack break because of how upset I was

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Racism, Rape, Violence, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Genocide, and Mental illness

Minor: Abortion

ka_ke's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

Omg. I can’t imagine this series ending with the next book. The Dragon Republic is a rollercoaster of emotions. One minute Rin is in desperate need of rehab, the next, she’s all powerful. Then she’s not and so on. Also… what the fuck Nezha?!!? 

The world building continues to amaze as R.F. Kuang weaves a politically and socially devastating tale of colonialism, war and peace. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Genocide, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism, Dysphoria, and Deportation

thiskelsey's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

5.0

why would R.F. Kuang do this to me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism