Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Płonący Bóg by R.F. Kuang

170 reviews

ringofkeyz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

The Burning God was definitely the best book of the trilogy. Everything the first two books set up finally paid off. I especially liked the honesty of the near-ending. If everything in the Empire had been fixed as soon as

Rin and her army overtook Arlong

then it wouldn't have felt true. War decimates, regardless of who wins. Issues plaguing a nation don't disappear simply because the fighting ceases; the new power has to put in effort to fix that - famine, disease outbreaks, housing, etc - and often that leads to civil unrest. I felt as though the book captured that extremely well. 

Equally as well done was the depiction of desperation during war time. Rin's descent into instability over the course of this book, whether through the power of the Phoenix or her own paranoia, was almost infectious. I couldn't help but continue reading, wanting to see if she would overcome her demons or succumb to them. And wondering, if she succumbed, would she bring Kitay down with her?

My main criticism of this trilogy (and the reason this book isn't 5 stars) is because of the temporal displacement the dialogue creates. This is a book that is HISTORICAL fiction. While the war draws inspiration from the Second Sino-Japanese War (thus the WW2 era), the setting is based on the Song Dynasty, which ended in the late 1200s. However, the dialogue always felt modern. I could walk outside and hear people talking in the same manner as Rin, Nezha, Kitay, and everyone else in the novel. That disconnect is my one major nitpick about this trilogy, and this book in particular because I loved pretty much everything else.

Shoutout Martina for recommending this trilogy to me. I'm in your debt. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual assault, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Cannibalism

themoostconfused's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad 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

4.5

having finished the series i feel a profound sense of loss and grief.
it will stay with me for a long time and i will keep reflecting on it over and over and over again. i don't know what to put in this review, since everything i write does not seem to do it justice, so i will just say this:

in my studies as well as through (social) media i see pictures and accounts of war, brutality, famine and starvation regularly and reading about it described in such tremendous detail resulted in me having shortness of breath and feeling like that moment close to having a panic attack when the world becomes blurry and everything seems to fade but be amplified at the same time 

deep down i had known she had to die and that something was bound to hapoen with kitay but it still shook me. however, i feel the end (especially the last two chapters) was a bit rushed

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, and Abortion

baz_'s review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and War

Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Cannibalism

seasoledad's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I’m devastated. I thought I was fine until I read the epilogue and sobbed. Idk what else to say besides that this story is tragic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, and Rape

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

maryrosem's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, War, and Classism

chlschn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

imds's review against another edition

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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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

shaunaxx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense slow-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Infertility, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

zoelufoel's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I saw this one girl on tiktok saying one should not pick up this book and should rather experience joy because this book series is literally gonna mess with one’s emotions and there are so many ”joyful“ books out there… 
Well I agree! This entire series ripped my heart, brain and soul apart and then tried to plaster the pieces back together. If you can’t stand frustration, hard-emotional-breakdowns as well as anger, disappointment and disgust all at once don’t pick up this series. If you can, I’ll gladly welcome you to this new chapter of your life. I promise you’ll be a different person after reading this! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and War