Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

86 reviews

winterwoodbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, War, Ableism, Cultural appropriation, Medical content, Pedophilia, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Classism, Excrement, Misogyny, Vomit, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Torture, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual violence, and Slavery

emilyyyread'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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Rape, Sexual violence, Addiction, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Sexual assault, Murder, and Torture

thebookaholic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

Wow. Like... Holy SHIT WOW!!

I started this a few days ago with the expectation of it taking at least a week or two to finish due to it's length and complexity, but I just finished it in my third sitting by reading 440 pages straight to the end because I didn't want to put it down (and also I was blessed with a day free of any and all responsibilities but still).

I did read the first 50 or so pages a few months ago and dnf'd it because I found it incredible hard to read at the time as I wasn't in the mood for how dark it was. But I picked it back up and found that although that first bit was genuinely hard to read due to the sheer intensity of heavy themes, particularly

Spoiler

Rin's opium addiction

, I felt more prepared for it this time and found that on the other side of that first section, while the heavy themes continued (and how RF Kuang handles them is one of the reasons this book is so incredible) the cast of characters and plot picked up in a way that had me constantly needing to know where the story would go next. It went to places I didn't expect, many places that were hard to read about, and many places that I absolutely loved including the relationships these characters develop both with themselves, and with others; shoutout to

Spoiler

Rin & Kitay's renewed and grown friendship and ANCHOR BOND

. 

I am the opposite of a history buff, and in particular I am woefully uneducated on history outside of North America and Europe (thanks capitalistic white-centered education) so my knowledge of 20th century China is essentially non-existent. Due to that, there is a huge element of this book that I don't feel I can truly speak on, but I do want to mention that the perspective used and the way that historical elements are woven into this fantasy setting, and the unapologeticness in talking about the realities of war, class relations, race relations, geo-politics, and many other topics that are shied away from is incredibly commendable and I thank her for it because honestly, I probably wouldn't know a lot of this if it wasn't set out to me in this way as a starting point. 

Overall, this book is simply an absolutely incredible adult fantasy and if you're interested in getting into something dark, gritty, and wholly complex from plot to characters to religion and other ever-unanswered questions, I highly recommend The Dragon Republic and I for one, cannot wait to read The Burning God to see where this story ends up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, War, Blood, and Classism

jessicaludden's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

“So do not shirk from war, child. Do not flinch from suffering. When you hear screaming, run toward it.”

This book had me stressed the ENTIRE time. I’m still stressed. I never knew how Rin was gonna get out of any of those situations. I still don’t, but I am sooo pumped for the next book. This was so good. The war and politics, the power struggles, and the PAIN. Rin finally realized that Altan was no hero and effectively moved on from him. R.F. Kuang did an amazing job portraying Rin’s love and disdain for Altan as she let go of him and refused to let him have anymore power over her. The way this book ended had me screaming with excitement. Rin was betrayed. Again. But this time she’s taking matters into her own hands. She’s finally not taking orders from anyone else and I am SO here for it. Overall, this series continues to live up to expectations and I cannot wait for the finale.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Suicide attempt, Violence, Vomit, War, Addiction, Blood, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Abortion, Alcohol, Animal death, Child death, Classism, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Miscarriage

myk_yeah's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

This book kept me on the edge of my seat, so many twists and turns and it was a very exciting read. Somehow loved it even more than the first book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Murder, and Rape

Moderate: Torture, Racism, Self harm, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Body horror, and Abortion

Minor: Medical trauma and Colonisation

tkhenry99's review against another edition

3.75

rin continues to be absolutely insufferable for 650 pages. the side characters are all immensely more interesting and pleasurable to read about.

Spoiler

such a shame rin avoids chaghan like the plague for most of the book and then he fucks off to the tundra for the rest of it

the plot lines started getting a little redundant by the end.

Spoiler

it’s literally just “this government is evil!” about literally every government in the series—first the mugenese, then the empress, then the hesperians/republic

Spoiler

also i get the whole brutalities of war thing but writing out/killing off literally everyone in cike except rin and chaghan (only bc he’s literally not in arlong) was a bit frustrating

also confused about what happens to the cike’s addictions….? the book explains rin’s but are we just supposed to assume everyone else had the same experience….? rin never asks them about it…..? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Blood, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Xenophobia, Self harm, War, Addiction, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Gore, Grief, and Murder

melvin02's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Violence, and War

stitchof's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, Antisemitism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Abortion, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Child death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gore, Hate crime, Medical content, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, War, Deadnaming, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Xenophobia

fareehareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.5

I only knocked down half a star because some of my favs perished in this book, but rest assured, this is a 5 star book. This is a game of thrones level, politically complex, brutal, sprawling epic fantasy and I'm so glad I'm on this journey. Fang Runin has got to be one of the most compelling fantasy protagonists I've met in a long time. I disagree with so many of her conclusions, but I root for her cause anyway because I know what drove her there. The provinces and their complicated relationships, the difficult choices made to end the Empress' reign, all the stakes being so high and of course Rin's life is always in the middle of it all, it's beautifully done. I get her anger, I want her to burn the world, but I also feel terribly sympathetic for her. It crushes me how many times she was see as less than human (the line 'I am not a dog.' was said more than once) and how even her closest friends looked down. Even now I don't believe she has a single living ally that I trust 100% (minus Kitay, he's proven himself. kind of.) It's incredibly maddening but it furthers her cause to ultimately burn all of it to the ground and I for one can't wait to watch her do it. The next part of this review is all a spoiler. 

Spoiler

Okay now for the pain. wowowowow the deaths were harsh and I knew they were coming but they still hurttt. Nezha STABBING her at the very end was not okay and I should have seen it coming because I didn't trust the boy for one second during the entire book, but I know Rin did and THAT is what hurts. All of these men that she either looks up to, loves, or admires always let her down so profoundly that she has no choice but to be her own support system. Makes me want to hug her.
Jinzha's death was great, super satisfying.
Qara's death I could see coming from a mile away since she got lines for the first time the whole series, but I like the little moment where she told Rin that she wasn't overpowered by Chagan she was simply in the spiritual world, that was nice. Ramsa, Suni and Baji's deaths were just unfair. They should have gotten a watery end in battle instead of on a chopping block. It also felt a bit cheap to me since it was acknowledged earlier that if the Hesperians knew that they were shamans maybe they would have been spared (tortured for sure, but with potential of a jail break). But it looks like the whole Cike plotline is being burned as a part of Rin's past. Chagan being the last among them is still annoying to me. All the annoying men in this that keep not dying sucks so much.

Overall this book is such a painful and incredible journey. I highly recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Confinement

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Death, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Sexual violence

Minor: Bullying and Toxic relationship

caelinsullivan's review against another edition

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Torture, Rape, Physical abuse, Gore, Classism, War, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Genocide, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Ableism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Death, Confinement, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Medical content, Colonisation, and Blood