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A review by niamhgill
The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
5.0
this trioloy may be the best thing i’ve ever read
Fang Runin is one of the best characters I have ever read. She is driven by this rage from everywhere and all around her. She’s driven by the rage of her past and her experiences, by her time in Tikany and at Sinegard, by Altan and the Cike. She’s driven by her rage of her heritage, of those who have come before her, of those who have sacrificed and given in, of those who have died and been complicit in the destruction and atrocities of Speer. She’s driven by her rage at her present, her rage at Nezha, at Souji, at power, politics, fear, the Hesperians, her rage at Kitay and Jiang, her rage against herself and the state of Nikan. She is enraged and terrified of the future and what it will bring. As the books go on she is driven by the madness brought by the phoenix, the paranoia which is growing inside of her mind because of her race, her situation, her desires, her past. She is tortured for being Fang Runin, The last Speerly, the last Shaman, by her love for Altan and Nezha, her bond and deep love for Kitay. Her ending and the ending of the book are perfect, they are the only option, it was a perfect choice by R.F Kuang
Thinking back to where we started with Rin to where it ends I’m shocked. The girl scared and burning herself by candlelight is gone by, possibly the second half of book one, but definitely by the end. They bear almost no resemblance of each other apart from their passion and rage. The characterisation in these books is insane. Every. Single. Character is so developed and thought-out. Characters we meet for practically seconds leave imprints on us that are unforgettable. I am a lover of “unlikable” and complex characters, R.F.Kuang has written possibly the best one ever written. Rin is the perfect, most memorable anti-hero and character i have ever read.
The topics and depths of the themes in these books are also mind blowing. The themes of race, colonisation, poverty, death, war, power, religion are so central to the books. They are conquered in such frighteningly complex and detailed manners. They seem so true to our world and culture, our horrific and bloody histories and echo truths of what is happening around the world right now.
At the end of the dragon republic, im not going to lie i was not as blown away as i had been at number one and even though i loved and soaked up the dragon republic with everything i had in me i was left wanting more. This was more. more than i could have possibly asked for and everything that i have ever needed. this book has genuinely blown me away. everything about the writing is masterful and i am just amazed at everything about it i don’t know what to say
these are so stupid but these are my only qualms with the book.
- how tf did she get to tikany? i kept thinking that would be explained and im not sure if i just missed it but how did she get to Tikany in the first place? because she wasn’t with shiro surely so how did she get to Tikany??? HOW DID SHE GET OFF SPEER!!!
-secondly, who were her parents? i think it is Jiang and Hanelai who are her parents( which ew wtf that makes Altan her literal COUSIN!) but like are they? idk i guess it’s defo hinted at and things im just curious to whether or not it’s actually true
lmao that’s all the “spoilers” in this review but im always cautious.
I could say so so so much more and probably will never stop thinking about this series but im aware of how rambly and nonsensical i sound already so I’ll stop. I’m going to go and cry and scour the internet for everything i can find on this series and cry some more.
Fang Runin is one of the best characters I have ever read. She is driven by this rage from everywhere and all around her. She’s driven by the rage of her past and her experiences, by her time in Tikany and at Sinegard, by Altan and the Cike. She’s driven by her rage of her heritage, of those who have come before her, of those who have sacrificed and given in, of those who have died and been complicit in the destruction and atrocities of Speer. She’s driven by her rage at her present, her rage at Nezha, at Souji, at power, politics, fear, the Hesperians, her rage at Kitay and Jiang, her rage against herself and the state of Nikan. She is enraged and terrified of the future and what it will bring. As the books go on she is driven by the madness brought by the phoenix, the paranoia which is growing inside of her mind because of her race, her situation, her desires, her past. She is tortured for being Fang Runin, The last Speerly, the last Shaman, by her love for Altan and Nezha, her bond and deep love for Kitay. Her ending and the ending of the book are perfect, they are the only option, it was a perfect choice by R.F Kuang
Thinking back to where we started with Rin to where it ends I’m shocked. The girl scared and burning herself by candlelight is gone by, possibly the second half of book one, but definitely by the end. They bear almost no resemblance of each other apart from their passion and rage. The characterisation in these books is insane. Every. Single. Character is so developed and thought-out. Characters we meet for practically seconds leave imprints on us that are unforgettable. I am a lover of “unlikable” and complex characters, R.F.Kuang has written possibly the best one ever written. Rin is the perfect, most memorable anti-hero and character i have ever read.
The topics and depths of the themes in these books are also mind blowing. The themes of race, colonisation, poverty, death, war, power, religion are so central to the books. They are conquered in such frighteningly complex and detailed manners. They seem so true to our world and culture, our horrific and bloody histories and echo truths of what is happening around the world right now.
At the end of the dragon republic, im not going to lie i was not as blown away as i had been at number one and even though i loved and soaked up the dragon republic with everything i had in me i was left wanting more. This was more. more than i could have possibly asked for and everything that i have ever needed. this book has genuinely blown me away. everything about the writing is masterful and i am just amazed at everything about it i don’t know what to say
these are so stupid but these are my only qualms with the book.
- how tf did she get to tikany? i kept thinking that would be explained and im not sure if i just missed it but how did she get to Tikany in the first place? because she wasn’t with shiro surely so how did she get to Tikany??? HOW DID SHE GET OFF SPEER!!!
-secondly, who were her parents? i think it is Jiang and Hanelai who are her parents( which ew wtf that makes Altan her literal COUSIN!) but like are they? idk i guess it’s defo hinted at and things im just curious to whether or not it’s actually true
lmao that’s all the “spoilers” in this review but im always cautious.
I could say so so so much more and probably will never stop thinking about this series but im aware of how rambly and nonsensical i sound already so I’ll stop. I’m going to go and cry and scour the internet for everything i can find on this series and cry some more.