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linneak's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Death, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, Colonisation, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Classism, and Suicide
Moderate: Gun violence, Confinement, Eating disorder, Medical content, Xenophobia, Addiction, Alcohol, and Medical trauma
Minor: Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Child death, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Animal death, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Panic attacks/disorders
bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
R. F. Kuang's knowledge of colonial history is on full display here, as are her thoughts about colonialism, and those commentaries are a strong and often heartbreaking part of The Burning God.
I will say, however, that I wish that the world had felt larger. It's small in book one because Rin's knowledge of the world is small. It expands in book two. It fails to expand again here. I think there could have been more of a sense of the wider world (or just a sense that more than three countries had ever existed in it, honestly) without cheapening the ending. In fact, I think that the inevitable and heartbreaking ending would have felt even MORE inevitable and even MORE heartbreaking had there been other countries out there somewhere that simply would not or could not get involved in the Nikaran/Hesperian conflict.
Everything is so desperate here, and it somehow keeps getting more so. The problem is that after Golyn Niis and the end of The Poppy War, and after the utter, unending misery of so much of The Dragon Republic, neither the tone nor the content have the capacity to get much darker, and so they kind of don't.
Rin and Kitay's relationship continues to be my favorite thing, and the thing that fascinates me most. Kitay is a character who gives me so much hope, and Rin is a character who gives me so little, and I love how Kuang plays with that dynamic, especially given the nature of their relationship by this point.
Rin and Nezha are of course compelling as well, and in many ways their conflict and their complex feelings about each other form the centerpoint of the entire series. We certainly get the most of Nezha's perspective here, but I still find their dynamic in The Dragon Republic the most compelling out of the three installments.
I think that the character work and the writing are very strong here, and I'm rating it extremely highly because it did what it set out to do and affected me deeply, but there were just a few things that did not totally work for me, and the experience of reading it was more exhausting than anything else.
Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Suicide, Death, War, Gore, Drug use, Torture, Rape, Addiction, Body horror, Violence, Murder, Genocide, Child death, Religious bigotry, Cannibalism, Self harm, Colonisation, and Racism
rnbhargava's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
The Dragon Republic was a minor misstep but overall I would give the series a 4-4.5. I actually believe I’ll revisit this book series in the future. R.F. Kuang has a space in my heart as an author to watch. Good thing I already got Babel and Yellowface already for whenever I choose to read them.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Slavery, Confinement, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Death of parent, Hate crime, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Torture, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racism, War, Ableism, Abandonment, Addiction, Child death, Classism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Terminal illness, and Violence
Yes, there are all the triggers. In particular, there’s mob violence because the country is going through famine, illnesses, devastated towns and cities ruined by war and further problems that come about because of governmental instability. It’s all very graphic. This is late stage war. There’s even poisoning of water sources among other things. Basically every issue you can think of with war toward the end of it is here. Brace yourself or read something else.codifyy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Murder, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Xenophobia, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Violence, and War
Moderate: Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, and Torture
Minor: Slavery and Self harm
faraway_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"Let them think of us as dirt, Rin thought. She was dirt. Her army was dirt. But dirt was common, ubiquitous, patient, and necessary. The soil gave life to the country. And the earth always reclaimed what it was owed."
"And she still loved him. She’d never stop. But that didn’t matter.You’ve abandoned me, she thought as he wept with relief into her shoulder. You thought you could fool me, but I know your soul. And if you’re not with me, you’ll burn, too."
Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Genocide, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Addiction, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, and War
stephlikestoread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, War, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
ddnreads's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Me in 2023: oke let's see who knows the ending would be different. I'm reading the different language so yeah
Me finishing the book: 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡why would I even bother to re-read for real
Graphic: Drug abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Child death, Drug use, Genocide, Medical content, Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Cursing, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Torture, War, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Rape
tinyjude's review against another edition
- 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.
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
heartsbyzak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Grief, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, War, Animal cruelty, Child death, Drug use, Blood, Classism, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Self harm, Torture, Animal death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Racism
hailsatan's review against another edition
- 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
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