Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Dragon Republic

A really successful second novel. Totally consuming. Looking back at it, I realize book 2 has quite a lot of plot points but there’s enough space within the story to let the characters breath- it’s well balanced. I really enjoyed watching Rin learn to control her power and reconnect with old schoolmates . There’s some joy mixed in with the heartache but this is still a war novel and I was very tense each battle hoping my favourite characters wouldn’t die. The ending was compelling too, I’ve already got my paws on book 3!

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jules44's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-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

This sequel starts slow but builds into a war epic that rivals the first book in this series. The rich lore, conflicted character motivations, and the horrifying historical recounts of war made this story difficult to put down. Grotesque and hopeless, but an incredibly important work of fantasy.

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sidneyjdobson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

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itsmoe's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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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shannahtan's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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? It's complicated

4.0

I thought this book moved much faster than the first one. Rin is really unbearable. She is completely unable to process emotion, and she really has no remorse for any of the shit she has done which includes genocide and bad leadership leading to the Cike injuries and death but at the same time she’s so torn up about Altan dying. She blames herself for his death which feels like it doesn’t really fit her character. She would commit mass genocide on the Mugen again, but she also feels bad about it?! I do think it’s interesting how you can root for Rin at times while also hating her. I often wonder why the Cike stay with her, but I guess that’s similar to followers of Mao. Basically, everyone sucks, but you also kind of want them to turn it around. I guess I’ll read the 3rd to see if it happens. If you never learned about Chinese history, this might be an interesting foray for you.

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