Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

166 reviews

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

This is such a strongly-written series, both character and plot-wise. I almost have no words except, this series is SO GOOD. I strongly encourage reading the content warnings though before deciding to read the series. The second was my favorite of the series because of how well I know the characters by this point. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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!


Expand filter menu Content Warnings
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

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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Even better than the first one! You know the characters already, so they gain so much more depth in this book. The plot is much more consistent as well, creating a coherent story. The plot was much more enticing over all. I really liked the first book, but I loved this one.

Characters: 10
Plot: 9
Setting: 10
General appeal: 10
Writing style: 9
Originality: 10
Ending: 8

Spoiler free, The Poppy War trilogy review: https://youtu.be/H0xdme4atzo

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings