Reviews with content warning for Abortion - The Dragon Republic

The Dragon Republic was HEAVY. Not dark in the way that TPW was (if you recall, TPW was a reminder of some of the more horrendous war crimes committed in the Second Sino-Japanese War), but heavy in that it was a very geopolitical view of the machinations of civil war.

I’m not entirely sure that this book fits into the fantasy genre. While the first book was very focused on shamanism and Gods and SPARKLE magical genocide SPARKLE, they took a back seat in The Dragon Republic, leaving the forefront for the war efforts - which were very much based on the movements of the Chinese Civil War of the 1940s. I would probably class this as historical fiction with a teensy bit of magic. For people who don’t enjoy historical fiction, this could be an issue. But maybe its a sneaky way for Kuang to teach us fantasy readers some things about our own world’s history 😂

I don’t read many war-based novels, but it presents an interesting dynamic when the main antagonist is absent through most of the book. This does tend to lessen the feeling of tension and lower the stakes a little, but… Kuang’s writing just does something to me. Would I usually be invested in a naval military fantasy with an absent antagonist? No. In fact, that’s why I stopped reading Game of Thrones. But the beauty of the writing in TDR kept me engaged.

I liked the portrayal of the MC. Rin is… not a good person (keep in mind she is Mao, in this version of Chinese history). She was a prideful, flawed and messy character (they all were!) and her experience of trauma and addiction is one that I thought was compelling and important.

However the MOST striking thing about this book was the representation of inequality, scientific/biological racism, and xenophobia. Every few pages I found myself inwardly cringing at the blatant reminder that throughout our world’s history, there have always been people who have been considered ‘other’, and ‘lesser’.

Content Warnings

jetix's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

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ellathorpe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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omfgeleanor's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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tinyjude's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I'm emotionally and mentally exhausted lol what a ride. Some parts felt a bit too slow and made me feel disappointed with the treatment of the Cike overall in this book. The trauma exploration and Rin's journey through anger, grief, admiration, obsession and hunger (for blood) are the highlights of the book. The worldbuilding again is incredible, although I want to know much more about shamanism (maybe in the 3rd book pls???).

Also the huge and constant roasting to white colonizers. Get them!! I am with Rin all the way down through her desire to burn everything down.

Venka, Kitay and Ramsa, my beloveds.

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ephemeralzen's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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codifyy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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

Could not believe Nezha. I love Kitay and Chaghan. I think I really got to understand a greater depth to their characters. I almost cried at Baji, Suni, and Ramsa. I knew Vaisra's betrayal was going to happen but the brutality of it was shocking. Not sure how I feel about the slight attempt of redemption for Daji's character but I think the twist of the Hesperians being the ultimate enemy instead of the Mugenese is telling. Niang's scene was really poignant and the whole fighting against your classmates is challenging to overcome. The more the book went on the more I disliked Altan which I know is not really fair because of his experiences but I could not help it. I hope that now Rin is fighting for the South she finds herself more and becomes more dominant in her opinions because, as a normal foot soldier, she seemed to be simply an avatar to be used for battle. I hope Chaghan returns in the third book and I learn more about Kitay because I am worried that he will become simply an extension of Rin now. I can't really find myself to care for Nezha despite his backstory so I hope that something in the third book will make that change for me. Sometimes I found the civil war and its details slightly confusing because I think that there was a lot happening politically. I think that Rin realising that it's always been the North vs the South will hopefully help her find herself and develop a more headstrong standpoint.

Content Warnings

pages_with_panda's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I tend to dislike Book 2s of trilogies because they always seemed bloated with nothingness - but this book was action from start to finish and we see Rin and the other characters develop even more.

Every character had their own personality, their own desires and felt fully fleshed out in a way that was not done in the first book.

Rin’s desperate to fight for someone, anyone, and in this book she finds just the person who could command her towards vengeance against Empress Daji.

The writing of her character was great - you’re not supposed to like Rin, especially after all she’s done but I still sympathized with her. She talks a lot of compartmentalization but she has to cope with everything she’s done and I’m glad Kuang forces that onto her. It seemed like her character developed more in this book than in the first one when she went from peasant girl to soldier.

Kitay and Nezha are also in this book, as well as the Cike, and I really loved that they didn’t seem like side characters in the background. Kuang has a way of writing everyone into a story that makes them seem real.

The politics and war get even deeper in this book as well, and it’s hard not to get sucked in to the story.

It was great in the worst way because of the violence, gore, war, blood, etc. It’s hard to say I enjoyed a book where nothing good happens, but I did. Read the content warnings. But also there’s so much that happens I may have missed a few triggers.

Off to the next book!

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