Take a photo of a barcode or cover
yuck1209 's review for:
The Burning God
by R.F. Kuang
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
God, Rin really is the worst. There were so many points throughout the book (and I guess series overall) where I was astonished by her shortsightedness and delusion. Though (presumably) intelligent and Sinegard-trained, Rin and her allies are woefully unprepared for basically everything they set out to do. They don’t know how to do guerrilla warfare. They don’t know how to work with local leadership. They don’t know how to manage the administrative functions required for running a government. As we’ve seen, time and again, Rin has been so focused on just winning she hasn’t spared a thought for what comes next.
One could argue that there’s different types of leadership that are called for in different situations. As an example, Gurubai might have been better-suited as a leader during peacetime. Rin, however, is a terrible leader in almost every situation she finds herself in. She’s improved somewhat since her time as commander of the Cike, but not enough given the scale of humanity at her disposal. Her singled-minded approach towards total victory demands a cost, one measured in human lives and dignity. It frequently puts her at odds with Kitay, who remains loyal despite his reservations about Rin’s choices.
One could argue that there’s different types of leadership that are called for in different situations. As an example, Gurubai might have been better-suited as a leader during peacetime. Rin, however, is a terrible leader in almost every situation she finds herself in. She’s improved somewhat since her time as commander of the Cike, but not enough given the scale of humanity at her disposal. Her singled-minded approach towards total victory demands a cost, one measured in human lives and dignity. It frequently puts her at odds with Kitay, who remains loyal despite his reservations about Rin’s choices.
They had fought like this before. […] It always boiled down to the same fundamental impasse, with a hundred different manifestations. Kitay found her callous. Astonishingly careless with human life, he'd once put it. And she found him weak, too hesitant to take decisive action. She'd always been convinced that he didn't quite grasp the stakes at hand, that he clung still to some bizarre, pacifist hope of diplomacy.
By the end of the book, it becomes clear just how far gone Rin truly is.