Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

51 reviews

tinyjude's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

It was all there, laid out between them. All their shared fury, vindictiveness, bloodlust, and guilt. Her cruelty. His complicitly. Her desperation. His regret.

One of the most brutal fantasy trilogies I have ever read. I am rendered speechless, trying to absorb everything that happened, and feeling ultimately devoid of emotions and at the same time, overwhelmed because it has been such a haunting, horrifying and memorable journey. I knew that ending was coming for a long time, yet no amount of mental preparation saved my heart from sinking in those final pages at the complicated bond all these characters shared. So many bold decisions and unphantomable turns later, I have (been) finished (by) this trilogy, yet I regret none. The incredible historical and social commentary, the parallelism to real history mixed with such a complex and compelling fictional world-building and unforgettable characters, the writing style, the harshness and pain that flooded these pages as more and more lives were lost in so many different ways... 

I wish I could forget about it just so I could experience it all over again.

Rin has become one of my favourite irredeemable main characters of all times and I know I will miss her dearly from now on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Blood, Colonisation, Murder, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Body horror, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, War, Xenophobia, Grief, Rape, Child death, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Drug abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Alcohol, Medical content, Misogyny, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Suicide

hailsatan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Alcohol, Medical content, Cannibalism, Cursing, Sexism, Ableism, Addiction, Antisemitism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Violence, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, War, Abandonment, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Grief, Sexual content, and Torture

praaliine's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-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

this book resulted in one of the most horrendous ugly crying episodes i’ve ever had. i can’t even put down my thoughts rn because its 6am, i just finished this book and i haven’t slept.

<16 hours after>
it was a tragedy unlike anything i’ve ever read, and there were times when the story was just so overwhelmingly depressing. i actually read over the final chapter again after work and i wept even harder.

rin vexed me on several occasions, that girl was brave and stubborn, stupid, strong yet so fragile at the same time. i loved kitay, i really did, so so much. i hated nezha like never before, but i felt so sorry for him it hurt. rf kuang has this gift for creating insanely complex yet unique and realistic characters, and stellar writing. i’m also angry with her for doing what she did with this book, it was honestly painful.

i can’t believe this series was her debut, it was incredible. rf kuang has just changed the way i view the fantasy genre and has set the bar so incredibly high.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, Torture, War, Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Child death, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Alcohol

ephemeralzen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

i cried a lot reading this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Genocide, Addiction, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Violence, Xenophobia, Torture, Physical abuse, Vomit, Emotional abuse, War, Rape, Religious bigotry, Racism, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Blood, Suicide, and Slavery

justlilah's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

5.0

Never again in my life will i find something like this. Never again will a book leave me so thoroughly devastated. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, War, Xenophobia, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexism, Self harm, Racial slurs, Murder, Death of parent, Violence, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Animal death, Cannibalism, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Physical abuse, Gore, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Rape, Racism, Hate crime, Colonisation, Misogyny, Mental illness, and Medical trauma

madisonbell_'s review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Child death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Classism, Death, Blood, Child abuse, Sexism, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, and Misogyny

ellenisntcool's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Body horror, Racism, Sexual violence, Sexism, Emotional abuse, War, Murder, Violence, Self harm, Xenophobia, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Colonisation, Child death, and Blood

Moderate: Blood, War, Animal death, and Vomit

chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-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

4.0

I don't know where to begin. Kuang is an excellent writer and creator of characters. I fell in love with Chen Kitay and his bond with Rin was the most moving aspect of the story. Rin's ending felt fitting, inevitable, and unsettling. It feels so cruel that Nezha is the only surviving character out of the dozen or so we came to love. He was so well written, but I wish more was done with his character ultimately. The third installment felt so very rushed and frustrating at times. I'll be thinking about this for a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Misogyny, Racism, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Gore, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, War, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, and Alcohol

Minor: Pregnancy and Abortion

lovelymisanthrope'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

I read the first two books in The Poppy War trilogy last year, but I waited to pick up this conclusion purely because I did not want this series to end. As soon as I started this book, I could not put it down, and I was entirely blown away by this epic conclusion to a truly fantastic fantasy series.
"The Burning God" begins where "The Dragon Republic" left off: with Rin ready to do anything and everything in her power to win this war and protect the southern providences. She has overcome betrayal, hardship, death, and destruction, and she will not let the Dragon Republic be victorious. Will Rin be able to win the war without using the power of the phoenix to destroy the entire world in the process?
 

I am so glad I read this book, and I am even more glad I did some research afterwards, because going into this book I was not a huge fan of Rin. I felt like her character progressed really negatively throughout "The Dragon Republic" and I was disappointed to see her become what I felt was corrupted by power. I am sure that anyone would struggle with gaining such immense power as she did, but she really became so consumed with the need to win that she made unnecessary sacrifices. For example, at the beginning of "The Burning God" she decides to burn an entire temple down despite the fact that there were innocent hostages inside. She has lost her humanity throughout this process and sees the death of a few as acceptable because it is for the greater good. Rin really has a redemption arc in my mind with this final installment and I feel like she is finally able to see that she is not the leader everyone needs.
Upon finishing this novel I watched some discussions of this story on YouTube, and my eyes were completely opened to the fact that though this is a work of fiction, these conversations about war and colonization are rooted in history. More often than not generals and other higher ups in military forces are so great at what they do because they have a strategic war mind. They are able to be ruthless and lead a team to victory at any cost, which is great and important. However, this mindset and leadership is not what people need after the war ends. This mindset is too extreme and idealist to properly lead a country through recovery post war. The characteristics I did not enjoy about Rin execute this point perfectly, and I have a newfound love and appreciation for her character development because it sparks an important conversation about war leaders.
R.F. Kuang is an immensely talented author, and I am so glad I gave her books a chance. This story is thought-provoking, eloquently written with beautiful prose, and provides important insight into a side of war rarely talked about. 

 
I look forward to reading more from R.F. Kuang in the future because she has rapidly become a favorite author of mine! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, War, Drug use, Death, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Toxic relationship

sunsetcity's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Misogyny, Animal death, Classism, Murder, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Racism, Rape, Vomit, War, Body horror, Child death, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Addiction, Cannibalism, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Torture