A review by jayisreading
The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

4.5

Wow, what a trilogy. The Burning God was so engaging, and it was clear that Kuang pulled all the stops with this one. She knew she had her readers’ full attention. Well, she certainly had mine, considering the nights I decided to forgo sleep in order to find out what’s next. I admittedly feared that it would fall short because I didn’t enjoy The Dragon Republic as much (though, reflecting on my reading history, I think it’s fair to say that there’s some bias there because I never seem to enjoy the second installment of any trilogy, haha). I’m glad it exceeded my expectations.

One of Kuang’s greatest strengths is her worldbuilding skills. She put so much thought into the lands, cultures, and peoples in The Poppy War trilogy, and that never fell short. Similarly, she has considerable skill in creating complex characters that fall everywhere across the spectrum of morality. It’s why I think Rin, the main protagonist, makes for a fascinating character because I’m not a fan of her at all. I can appreciate the deliberation in making Rin so complex, though, since it made her interactions with other characters and the world around her interesting. One criticism I do have is the dialogue. It sometimes fell flat for me which, in turn, affected the surrounding text and made the writing choppy. I also found the ending a little predictable, but that didn’t bother me at all since I was absolutely invested in the journey itself, not the destination.

Despite some shortcomings (though nothing huge), I’m fully aware that this is only the start of her already-incredible career, and there’s only room for improvement. I look forward to her next story, whatever that may be. 
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