Reviews tagging Rape

The Burning God, by R.F. Kuang

132 reviews

nytephoenyx's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Holy smokes, what a trilogy ending.

I spent most of this book on an emotional rollercoaster. All... weird feelings, too. Angry and nervous, mostly. There were scenes that made me uncomfortable and when I wanted to throw the book across the room. It was really really good. I was fully engaged at all time. I'm still reeling, though. The Burning God is a unique take on a fantasy war story with intense, disturbing images and a not-exactly-happy ending. Read at your own risk.

That said, I can't recommend this trilogy and The Burning God enough. Absolutely astounding writing, strong characters, heart-wrenching scenes, and thrilling action. It's wonderful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Suicide, War, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/injury detail

Moderate: Trafficking, Genocide, Racism, Rape, and Addiction

The islanders of Speer and their descendants are dark-skinned.

madisonbell_'s review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Child death, Drug use, Injury/injury detail, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Classism, Death, Blood, Child abuse, Sexism, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, and Misogyny

ashmo69's review

adventurous dark emotional 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Drug use, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Colonisation, Gore, War, Blood, Body horror, Genocide, Hate crime, Child death, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, and Drug abuse

Minor: Infertility, Abortion, Chronic illness, Medical content, Vomit, Alcohol, and Cannibalism

francestea's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This book was the most challenging for me in that I was getting so exhausted by the warfare that I want a break for me and our characters. There was very little reprieve from the devastation and I desperately clung to every last shred of Rin’s dwindling good sense.  A truly impressive trilogy- gut wrenching, complex, unique, and enthralling. As much as I wanted to war to end I was sorry to leave the characters at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Racism, Colonisation, and Genocide

Minor: Rape

killjoycatlady's review

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

5.0

This book is the culmination of  a heartwrenching tale of a country ravaged by war told through the eyes of a desperate young girl. It’s morally grey and there’s no true right or wrong. The author creates a rich and complex world and while the countries are analogs of real world cultures, it’s not cliched or stereotypical or even a 1:1 comparison. It is depicts nuanced perspectives of xenophobia, racism, and imperialism. The plot is full of political maneuvering and military strategy, and it’s extremely grounded, gritty, and realistic even when dealing with topics like ancient gods and magic. There are no real winners here. I’d recommend this book to anyone who can deal with its brutal violence.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Drug abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Cannibalism, Violence, War, Injury/injury detail, Torture, Sexual violence, Death, Racism, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Rape

Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Abandonment, and Suicidal thoughts

lattefairies's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Rape, Racism, War, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Addiction, Torture, and Sexual assault

ruuntvoces's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Cannibalism and Rape

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Miscarriage, Racism, and Suicide

maraycher's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Colonisation, and Death

Minor: Rape, Animal death, Sexual assault, and Cannibalism

donatio's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I really don't know how to feel about it. Like, the style and everything absolutely matches the theme and it beautifies nothing. But still... Why the ending?! I don't think Kitay got the appreciation he deserved. On the other hand it's the only possibly "good" conclusion of the trilogy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Racism, Abandonment, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Hate crime, Vomit, War, Death, Violence, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Racial slurs, Torture, Cursing, Drug use, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Self harm

lolaslalaland's review

challenging dark slow-paced

2.0

 The final installment in the Poppy War Trilogy. A young girl fighting a war on multiple fronts: civil, foreign, mental, spiritual and physical. 

Pros: 
✅ historical parallels 
✅ impactful themes of war and the crimes and brutality that follow it 
✅ strong atmosphere of pain and suffering across an entire nation 

Cons: 
❌ very little character development. they mainly felt like chess pieces moved around or added to progress the war 
❌ massive pacing issues... no down time! it's just war, war, war, war. no time to build any kind of connections 
❌ magical elements were virutally useless and lead to nothing SPOILER:

Spoiler

So much hype for the Triad just for them to all get defeaeted at the top of a mountain byt eh same army their thought they could defeat with just the three of them... so incredibly disappointed and what a waste of time throughout the entire trilogy.

 
❌ a well written unlikeable character but who is incredibly infuriating in her stupidity! She somehow always ends up in the same situation over and over and over again... I needed something new to happen at least once. 

What I want to end this review with is that I am glad I read the trilogy because the themes it brings up are important and to have them in a "fantasy" setting lets the author explore them more deeply and with less limitations, but I also think this trilogy tried to do too much theme building and not enough story and character development. Perhaps R.F. Kuang is not the author for me. I will still read her standalone Babel though and find out! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Rape, Death, Sexual violence, Blood, Gore, War, Torture, Religious bigotry, Body horror, Sexual assault, Racism, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Child death, Cannibalism, and Colonisation