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Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

41 reviews

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

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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dark

oh I feel sick to my stomach finishing this book. It’s an interesting and depressing and unfortunately accurate view of power and the things people do to acquire and keep power. I was happy that we got to see more of Venka in this one, although I understand that the overwhelming amount of male characters is a statement in and of itself. 

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

I am immediately starting The Burning God.

Talk about character development, complex relationships, both with family, friends, and even enemies! Twists? Check! Reveals? Check! Incredible suffering? Absolutely. 

I said it in my thoughts about the previous book, if you can't read about war and horrible violence, don't even try this one. 

While some stories that have military tactics and such aren't my thing, I was on board with this one. I needed to know exactly what and why certain things needed to happen. I was intrigued from the first page since we do get more backstory on characters from the first book while continuing with Rin's story. Rin... oh Rin, where will you end up? I'm terrified for her and also cheering for her to no end. 

Now, I could go to bed, but I'm starting the next one now. Wish me luck. 

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slow-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

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challenging dark emotional 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

I’m writing this review minutes after I finished the book. This review is written without having read the third book, and will evaluate the book not as a standalone novel, but as a text that functions as the second piece of a trilogy.

Second books in any series have the very difficult task of keeping the reader interested, especially after a well done first book (like the Poppy War). Especially in trilogies, they don’t have the excitement of beginning the story or the satisfaction of ending it. In my experience, most second books fail to deliver. The pacing is off, or it’s a shaky transition, or they re-open questions that were already answered.

The Dragon Republic is not like that. Kuang performs a seamless transition from one book to the next, making it almost difficult to believe that it’s a separate text. She maintains a consistently captivating narrative flow, one that kept my heart thudding the entire way through. Y’all I finished this book in the span of 12 hours. At the same time, Kuang manages to gracefully pivot to different thematic inquiries, interrogating different sides of the topics she discussed in the first book while simultaneously introducing new ones.

Read this book.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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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

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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adventurous 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

I loved this book!! Rin’s character development was so satisfying to see. 

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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings