brianneh's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gun violence, Genocide, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Torture, War, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Classism, Drug use, Xenophobia, Murder, Death, Rape, Gore, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault
decie's review
5.0
Spoiler
rin. what the fuck.Graphic: Gore, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and War
lamricke's review
- 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
Graphic: Rape, War, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Torture, Vomit, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Grief, Genocide, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Gore
linneak's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Death, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, Colonisation, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Classism, and Suicide
Moderate: Gun violence, Confinement, Eating disorder, Medical content, Xenophobia, Addiction, Alcohol, and Medical trauma
Minor: Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Child death, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Animal death, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Panic attacks/disorders
rnbhargava's review against another edition
- 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
The Dragon Republic was a minor misstep but overall I would give the series a 4-4.5. I actually believe I’ll revisit this book series in the future. R.F. Kuang has a space in my heart as an author to watch. Good thing I already got Babel and Yellowface already for whenever I choose to read them.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Slavery, Confinement, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Death of parent, Hate crime, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Torture, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racism, War, Ableism, Abandonment, Addiction, Child death, Classism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Terminal illness, and Violence
Yes, there are all the triggers. In particular, there’s mob violence because the country is going through famine, illnesses, devastated towns and cities ruined by war and further problems that come about because of governmental instability. It’s all very graphic. This is late stage war. There’s even poisoning of water sources among other things. Basically every issue you can think of with war toward the end of it is here. Brace yourself or read something else.eagoldberg's review
- 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
Graphic: Torture, Racism, Colonisation, Violence, War, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Classism, Gore, and Cannibalism
kayfab's review
- 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
Graphic: War, Torture, Misogyny, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Body horror, and Classism
faraway_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"Let them think of us as dirt, Rin thought. She was dirt. Her army was dirt. But dirt was common, ubiquitous, patient, and necessary. The soil gave life to the country. And the earth always reclaimed what it was owed."
"And she still loved him. She’d never stop. But that didn’t matter.You’ve abandoned me, she thought as he wept with relief into her shoulder. You thought you could fool me, but I know your soul. And if you’re not with me, you’ll burn, too."
Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Genocide, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Addiction, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, and War
kento's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Spoiler
the perfect ending in my opinion, there was no other way. i won’t like i definitely saw it coming there was no way rin would get a happy ending, her life in and of itself was a tragedy. there was no way she would live in a world without war, in which she would be nothing but a spectacle. i loved the rin and nezha dynamic and wished this book had more of them interacting but i understand it probably wouldn’t make sense given there fighting a war against each other lol. <spoiler/>Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, War, Vomit, Suicide, Racism, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Drug use, Death, Cursing, Classism, Child death, Cannibalism, Blood, Animal death, Alcohol, and Torture
tinyjude's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It was all there, laid out between them. All their shared fury, vindictiveness, bloodlust, and guilt. Her cruelty. His complicitly. Her desperation. His regret.
One of the most brutal fantasy trilogies I have ever read. I am rendered speechless, trying to absorb everything that happened, and feeling ultimately devoid of emotions and at the same time, overwhelmed because it has been such a haunting, horrifying and memorable journey. I knew that ending was coming for a long time, yet no amount of mental preparation saved my heart from sinking in those final pages at the complicated bond all these characters shared. So many bold decisions and unphantomable turns later, I have (been) finished (by) this trilogy, yet I regret none. The incredible historical and social commentary, the parallelism to real history mixed with such a complex and compelling fictional world-building and unforgettable characters, the writing style, the harshness and pain that flooded these pages as more and more lives were lost in so many different ways...
I wish I could forget about it just so I could experience it all over again.
Rin has become one of my favourite irredeemable main characters of all times and I know I will miss her dearly from now on.
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Blood, Colonisation, Murder, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Body horror, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, War, Xenophobia, Grief, Rape, Child death, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Drug abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Alcohol, Medical content, Misogyny, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Suicide