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Rin was a really interesting character, her evolution through the book is crazy and i think eventually i'll read the other ones.
Edit.
ok a few months have past and i think this deserves 4.5 stars at least because the 40% that i didn't got it was because i wasn't paying enough attention but it made total sense and i loved the academy part too much to lower a whole point.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Colonisation, War
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Graphic: Addiction, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Violence, Colonisation, War
I knew vaguely that this book was based on real Chinese and Japanese history, but had no idea how deeply it drew from the Sino Japanese War and the Nanjing Massacre, which compels me to know more about this time in history (whenever a book makes me want to read more, particularly to seek out nonfiction, that is a huge accomplishment!). Obviously, because of this history, this book got dark and gruesome and hard to read, but I think Kuang included these parts (particularly chapter 21) tastefully and with a hope for the reader to understand the brutal gravity of war and informed Rin’s complicated response to it.
Rin’s character is so moving, I was prepared for a “morally gray” character but I think got so much more than that. She is funny, furious, sharp, naive, scared, brave… the list goes on, and I can’t wait to continue her character arc. I loved watching her, and the people around her, wrestle with history, with evil, with what one should do with power, and what one owes to their country. This touches on colonialism and racism in a way I think Kuang expanded upon and did much more interestingly in Babel, but it was cool to see those roots here.
I cannot wait to talk about this one in my bookclub, I think this will make for a great conversation, and I equally cannot wait to get into the rest of the series!
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Rape, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Colonisation, War
There were a couple parts that lagged for me
I think the book does a great job of walking us through complex and hard ideas and world building.
For a story that covers so much ground and has something of a tone shift when a military school story turns into a war story, it didn’t feel disjointed. It’s not hopeful. It doesn't make you feel warm about humanity. There’s not much “goodness” in this.
I don’t think it’s the best book to pick up if you’re in a place of deep anxiety or feeling fragile personally. It didn’t nothing to help with my general anxiety, which was already peaking, during the week I was reading it.
I’m halfway through The Dragon Republic and I’m have more criticisms of that one. I don’t know about the whole series, but I do think this first book was very much worth the read- if only for the execution (of the story.)
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism