Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Płonący bóg by R.F. Kuang

158 reviews

chris_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal death, Suicide, and Trafficking

tariana's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

The book just kept me anguished but I couldn’t stop reading it. The ending was difficult, I felt nauseated, unhopeful and once again, anguished. I had to take many pauses, I could only complete it after I told my husband that I needed to share everything that was happening so I could put out my feelings. Well done, RF Kuang, I missed reading books with so well written characters and I’ll certainly miss Rin, Kitay, Venka, the Trifecta and the Cike. Now let me go grab a lighter book to read so I can emotionally recover from this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Torture, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, and Abortion

shesreadingagain_'s review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• 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

5.0

I have come to expect the moon from Kuang and still, this book far exceeded my expectations. It was a good time, but not a fun time—so much death and destruction throughout the book from beginning to end. I don't think any author can make me feel the gambit of emotions as she does. Rin has gone through so much during the three books, I am sad to see it end. Rin is the poster child for female rage and honestly, I enjoyed every second of it.

I do want to reiterate that this is a grim dark fantasy, please make sure to review the triggers before starting this series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, War, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Cannibalism

cosmogone's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.5

WICKEDLY unsatisfying ending to a series that otherwise fascinated me. How did you manage to wait until the very end to fall flat on your face and perish in the mud 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Physical abuse, Rape, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cannibalism

bookz4lif3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

It’s been a long time since a piece of media has made me this emotional. Reading the ending of this book was so gut wrenching and devastating it made me sob. Don’t pick up this series unless you enjoy torturing yourself lmfao. But in all seriousness, it was SO worth it. R.F. Kuang had such a talent for creating characters that I can’t help but fall in love with and burn with anger for. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t hate Runin. She’s an antihero, but her rage and conviction are so justifiable I can’t say for certain I wouldn’t have acted in the same accord. Most would want to say they could never succumb to such violence,  so it takes real talent to almost make the genocide Runin enacted seem fair. I adored this series even though I could hardly stand the way it made me feel at points. I look forward to reading more books from this author. Kudos!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Rape, Torture, Xenophobia, Murder, and War

drjoannehill's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Can I read something else now please?

I powered through The Dragon Republic and The Burning God in 2 weeks for Close Encounters Book Club. It should have been on Thursday but was pushed back to next Wednesday... and I needed it, because this one was a slog in the middle and my reading pace dropped.

Like Rin herself, this book is relentless and single-minded in burning through the country in civil war. Yet it remains focused only on Rin - she is the only person who matters to herself and to the story arc. Anyone else can die or just disappear out of the story, and it's Oh well, carry on burning it all down. There's nothing else for her to do. It's desperate and hopeless. I did not enjoy it as much as The Dragon Republic, but this is not really a story to enjoy - it's about how revenge and anger keep going until: Now what? What is left afterwards? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, and Grief

instalovewithbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

What the actual fuck was this? Kuang. What did you do???? 

I didn't expect the ending. I'm so upset. I'm so mad. I get it, I truly do.

like she had to die there was no other way for Nikan to survive because of her fuck sakes

Fuck. Fuckily fuck. Kitay. Venka. Nezha. Rin.

I am not going to even bother with a proper review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

obsessedteach's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, and War

shay_talksbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

Close Encounters book club pick for June

The final book in the Poppy War trilogy, and what a way to end things! This was my favourite book of the three and even across this series I can see how much Kuang has developed as an author from the first book to the last...excited to read her newest books too!

A lot of discussion on colonisation in this one, and a look at how war has affected all of our characters, and the country as a whole. I always appreciate that Kuang doesn't shy away from the hard stuff, the tough topics and realities of a country at war with itself, and I love that she writes a good 'fight scene.'

The ending felt like it dragged a little for me, but

I liked that we saw the realities of what happened after the 'victory.' We didn't get an "and everything was fine" ending, where everything was resolved. We saw a country just barely surviving, with its people starving, displaced and and exhausted by what had happened, and a victor who had no idea how to fix it. It felt much more realistic, and I really appreciated that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, and War

leaflit's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Just really not into this series personally. This one felt like it dragged on even more than the others I was just waiting for it to be over. So violent. This one had cannibalism too. Just march, fight, repeat. Bunch of characters died. Not really sure about the ending. Overall this book is not for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism