winterwoodbooks's review against another edition
- 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 character work is immaculate.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Genocide, Murder, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Child death, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Trafficking, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Medical trauma, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Racism, Self harm, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Vomit, and War
rnbhargava'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
4.5
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.hailsatan's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Alcohol, Medical content, Cannibalism, Cursing, Sexism, Ableism, Addiction, Antisemitism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Violence, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, War, Abandonment, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Grief, Sexual content, and Torture
ka_ke's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Xenophobia, Torture, Toxic relationship, War, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, Excrement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death of parent, Genocide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Rape, Vomit, Bullying, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Self harm
Minor: Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Alcohol, Confinement, and Pregnancy
zharaa13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
So this book was amazing. Especially the ending, I was wondering how R.F. Kuang would finish a series like this as I always hate when things just are okay and fine once "the good guys" won the war and then everyone is happy and as someone came from a war stricken country I know that isn't the case. I loved the fact that Rin was a bad leader she couldn't possibly be a queen or empress, she was a soldier and soldiers don't stop fighting and turning Rin into a better show Daenerys Targaryen was the best decision.
I was a bit bored midway through but things started escalating fast and towards the end I was on the edge of my seat.
I really wish we knew what happened to kesgi I really felt sorry for him and Kittay deserved better.
Graphic: Gore, Cursing, Genocide, Grief, Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Animal death, Abortion, and Classism
being_stupid'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Genocide, Rape, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Self harm, Blood, Cannibalism, Body horror, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, War, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Deportation, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Dementia and Forced institutionalization
tori_mccausland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Suicide, War, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Self harm, Abortion, Rape, Sexual violence, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Gore, and Physical abuse
ccpetrikas'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
3.75
Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Violence, War, Alcohol, Child death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Cursing, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
violaceae'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
4.25
Graphic: Violence, Death, Gore, Blood, Drug use, Murder, Child death, Genocide, Torture, Drug abuse, Cannibalism, Racism, Grief, Animal death, Body horror, Addiction, Rape, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Cursing, Self harm, Confinement, Animal cruelty, War, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Moderate: Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Outing, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, and Rape
xalrynne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The Burning God is just as dark and violent as the previous two books. War is raging in Nikan, and the Nikara are up against not only the Dragon Republic but also the foreign Hesperians with their new technologies.
This book focuses on Rin and Nezha, allies-turned-enemies on opposite sides of a war that neither of them wants to fight.
This book takes a look at what it means for invading forces to completely take over your city and your country and put you under their rule without your consent. Rin is both awed and terrified by the Hesperians’ technology and doesn’t know whether to embrace it or shun it, but ultimately the Hesperians are the colonizers, and they obviously don’t take into consideration what’s best for the people they’re colonizing because they think their own way of life is the best and the Nikara are subhuman at best. It’s interesting to see colonization from the other point of view; so often in school what we learn was written by the victor—by the people and forces who took over—but this book shows us what it’s like for all the other people on the inside.
We see new types of shamans in this book, which I loved. I won’t explain anymore so as not to spoil, but I’m super glad they were introduced so we could see wider implications of this magic than just Rin’s abilities.
This isn’t my favorite fantasy series out there but I can’t deny how well it’s written and the impact of its harrowing story. None of the characters in this series are particularly likable and there isn’t a whole lot of hope, but I still enjoyed the journey nonetheless. The Poppy War trilogy is way darker than I normally prefer my books to be, and I want to emphasize the huge amount of trigger and content warnings in this series. It is full of horrific and descriptive scenes of war and all the brutalities that happen because of that. Basically if you can imagine a trigger warning, this series probably has it, so make sure you’re in a good headspace before you start reading it.
My Book Blog: Storeys of Stories
Graphic: Rape, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Torture, and Violence