Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Dragon Republic, by R.F. Kuang

225 reviews

hjcooley's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Drug use, War, Drug abuse, Blood, and Injury/injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Abortion, Gore, Classism, Blood, Vomit, Addiction, Genocide, Death, and Colonisation

whenjessreads's review against another edition

4.0

After the DEVASTATION that was The Poppy War, I had been putting this book off in order to protect my little heart. But it was TIME.

The Dragon Republic was HEAVY. Not dark in the way that TPW was (if you recall, TPW was a reminder of some of the more horrendous war crimes committed in the Second Sino-Japanese War), but heavy in that it was a very geopolitical view  of the machinations of civil war.

I’m not entirely sure that this book fits into the fantasy genre. While the first book was very focused on shamanism and Gods and SPARKLE magical genocide SPARKLE, they took a back seat in The Dragon Republic, leaving the forefront for the war efforts - which were very much based on the movements of the Chinese Civil War of the 1940s. I would probably class this as historical fiction with a teensy bit of magic. For people who don’t enjoy historical fiction, this could be an issue. But maybe its a sneaky way for Kuang to teach us fantasy readers some things about our own world’s history 😂

I don’t read many war-based novels, but it presents an interesting dynamic when the main antagonist is absent through most of the book. This does tend to lessen the feeling of tension and lower the stakes a little, but… Kuang’s writing just does something to me. Would I usually be invested in a naval military fantasy with an absent antagonist? No. In fact, that’s why I stopped reading Game of Thrones. But the beauty of the writing in TDR kept me engaged.

I liked the portrayal of the MC. Rin is… not a good person (keep in mind she is Mao, in this version of Chinese history). She was a prideful, flawed and messy character (they all were!) and her experience of trauma and addiction is one that I thought was compelling and important.

However the MOST striking thing about this book was the representation of inequality, scientific/biological racism, and xenophobia. Every few pages I found myself inwardly cringing at the blatant reminder that throughout our world’s history, there have always been people who have been considered ‘other’, and ‘lesser’.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Abortion, Death, Gore, Addiction, Genocide, Misogyny, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Torture, Suicide, Xenophobia, Rape, Grief, Animal death, Drug use, Self harm, War, Colonisation, Body horror, Violence, Murder, and Racism

rafaela_rodriguez's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense 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

FUCKING LOVED IT. FILLED ME WITH LOVE AND TORED ME APART. so desperate to get my hands on the next one 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, War, Torture, Blood, Death, and Rape

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Drug use

ganseyjr's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, and War

Moderate: Vomit and Addiction

mclainma's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death, Child death, Genocide, Drug abuse, Addiction, War, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/injury detail, Gore, Torture, Drug use, Colonisation, and Blood

crdjrose's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Addiction, Rape, Xenophobia, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Racism, Blood, Genocide, Medical trauma, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and War

alisonluongo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Cursing, Classism, Blood, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Child death, Body horror, Injury/injury detail, Gun violence, Addiction, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, War, Torture, Vomit, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug use

roxy_reads_romance's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.0

Wow, Nezha single-handedly carried and destroyed this whole book for me. T_T Kitay is next best man and must be protected at all costs

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Blood, Violence, Torture, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape

sorrel29's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

Moderate: Rape

thebookishlibra_'s review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Fire/Fire injury, War, Addiction, Torture, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts