Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Płonący bóg by R.F. Kuang

255 reviews

elenikin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

4.5

What an ending to the series! I liked this book the least of the trilogy, mainly because it was hard to handle the devastation of civil war and it was harder to understand Rin's perspective (at least it was IMO). However, I did feel like there was a shred of hope at the very end, but still didn't feel like a lot. Overall, this was still very well written and showed how tough it is to attempt to maintain a country ravaged by war. I felt Kuang captured that vibe well. Great series, but a tough one to read 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Rape, and Pandemic/Epidemic

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

---

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.

---

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

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 

---

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

quoting_ravens's review against another edition

dark sad tense 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Cannibalism, and Suicide attempt

becausebrenna's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I spent the entire book thinking “Fang Runin is the stupidest person alive she has never made a single good decision in her life, who knows what critical thinking is? Not Rin” so why am I crying at the end 😭 I knew it was coming but I’m still sad

I do think other than the very beginning and very end, this was my least favorite of the 3 books. At times it did feel like 90% of the story was just the army marching, running low on supplies, marching, fighting, marching. And I know that’s not true because so many things did happen! 
Edit: I used my brain and realize now that was the point, this book/series was like looking at a slow motion train wreck, RF Kuang is very good at what she does

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and Colonisation

imds's review against another edition

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, and War

itsalljinri's review against another edition

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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Genocide, Gore, Cannibalism, and Classism

lucas_warm's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Self harm, and Sexism

lighterthaneyre's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

I don't think everything makes total complete sense logistically, but I think it comes together emotionally with the themes.

Killing the trifecta off so early, not really digging into the "Riga is what Rin could be",even Rin asking to be killed in the end. I don't think those make like, logistical sense.

The themes of the first books are brought together well.

The way the Hisperians are handled, a necessary evil, an inevitable blight, was really interesting. Their city and how our of place it felt, the racist bullshit they normalize, they're meddling, winning even when they militarily lost. Fuck, I *felt* Rin when they demanded access for their missionaries in return for grain. God I felt how infuriating it was for them to lose and still demand so much. Also sending the missionary to your evil gods rules, 10/10. Rins descent past reason, never stopping, losing everyone around her as they want to lay down their arms, it worked so well

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction and Abortion