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lizziaha's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Chronic illness, Vomit, and Alcohol
bites_of_books'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
Talk about character development, complex relationships, both with family, friends, and even enemies! Twists? Check! Reveals? Check! Incredible suffering? Absolutely.
I said it in my thoughts about the previous book, if you can't read about war and horrible violence, don't even try this one.
While some stories that have military tactics and such aren't my thing, I was on board with this one. I needed to know exactly what and why certain things needed to happen. I was intrigued from the first page since we do get more backstory on characters from the first book while continuing with Rin's story. Rin... oh Rin, where will you end up? I'm terrified for her and also cheering for her to no end.
Now, I could go to bed, but I'm starting the next one now. Wish me luck.
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
caelinsullivan'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
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
euclids_5th'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
Second books in any series have the very difficult task of keeping the reader interested, especially after a well done first book (like the Poppy War). Especially in trilogies, they don’t have the excitement of beginning the story or the satisfaction of ending it. In my experience, most second books fail to deliver. The pacing is off, or it’s a shaky transition, or they re-open questions that were already answered.
The Dragon Republic is not like that. Kuang performs a seamless transition from one book to the next, making it almost difficult to believe that it’s a separate text. She maintains a consistently captivating narrative flow, one that kept my heart thudding the entire way through. Y’all I finished this book in the span of 12 hours. At the same time, Kuang manages to gracefully pivot to different thematic inquiries, interrogating different sides of the topics she discussed in the first book while simultaneously introducing new ones.
Read this book.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
hailsatan'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
3.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Classism, and Deportation
ka_ke's review against another edition
- 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
The world building continues to amaze as R.F. Kuang weaves a politically and socially devastating tale of colonialism, war and peace.
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Genocide, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Dysphoria, and Deportation
marah'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: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Self harm, Slavery, Vomit, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Abortion, and Death of parent
I think that because of these topics, this book had potential to fall into trauma-porn territory but it definitely did not. R.F. Kuang writes about this material very well.lanid's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Torture, and Abortion
cemeterygay'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Cannibalism
Additional CW: Scientific racism, Christian imperialism, and colorismainhoah's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Cannibalism