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
quill88'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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Classism, Murder, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Toxic friendship, War, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Cursing, Drug use, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcohol, Animal death, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Slavery, Cannibalism, Confinement, and Pandemic/Epidemic
0shelfcontrol'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: Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Colonisation, Addiction, War, Trafficking, Torture, Suicide, Sexism, Self harm, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Child death, Child abuse, Racism, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Animal death, Gore, Drug use, Blood, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Excrement, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Infertility
rnbhargava'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
4.5
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.megan_moclair's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Vomit, Torture, Self harm, Murder, Medical content, Genocide, Alcoholism, Trafficking, Rape, Physical abuse, Drug use, Cannibalism, Suicide, Sexual violence, Death, Body horror, Abandonment, Violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Child death, Alcohol, and Addiction
please please PLEASE check trigger warning before reading this series!!thienly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Murder, and War
Moderate: Colonisation, Trafficking, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Torture
Minor: Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Classism, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Vomit, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, and Drug use
literarydumpling'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
Overall, a great conclusion to an already fantastic series.
I'm glad Kitay for more of a limelight in this and the small amount of light where Kitay, Rin and Venka are discussing their dreams for the world give you that moment to consider how young they all are when in the last three books you sometimes lose sight of their age. It's also interesting how Rin's relationship with Jiang, Altan and her Speerly heritage evolves throughout the book, which I think has been cleverly done and alluded to without just shoving it all in your face in one go.
I'll also add that the back and forth between Nezha and Rin and whether they're enemies or allies has been consistent in the series. If the series has shown anything is that there isn't anything that is black and white, it's all gray.
Graphic: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Violence, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, and Violence
Minor: Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Torture, and Trafficking
quinnyquinnquinn'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
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Genocide, Murder, Violence, Child death, and War
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Colonisation, Medical content, Suicide, Torture, and Medical trauma
Minor: Trafficking, Alcohol, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Rape, Abortion, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Animal death, and Cannibalism
nytephoenyx's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I spent most of this book on an emotional rollercoaster. All... weird feelings, too. Angry and nervous, mostly. There were scenes that made me uncomfortable and when I wanted to throw the book across the room. It was really really good. I was fully engaged at all time. I'm still reeling, though. The Burning God is a unique take on a fantasy war story with intense, disturbing images and a not-exactly-happy ending. Read at your own risk.
That said, I can't recommend this trilogy and The Burning God enough. Absolutely astounding writing, strong characters, heart-wrenching scenes, and thrilling action. It's wonderful.
Graphic: Cannibalism, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Suicide, War, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Trafficking, Genocide, Racism, Rape, and Addiction
The islanders of Speer and their descendants are dark-skinned.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
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Cursing, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Violence, Alcoholism, War, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Grief, Rape, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking
Additional CW: Colorism and Implication of incestuous feelings