A review by njthk
The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I'm inconsolable.
Great conclusion for the trilogy and great book overall, but my least favorite of them all.
Some gripes I have with this book:
SpoilerTHE WHOLE TRIFECTA ARC JUST TO KILL THEM OFF?! JUST LIKE THAT?! When the bombs dropped I was like 'pah they surely survived that'. I WAS CERTAIN THEY WOULD RETURN, ONLY AFTER A 100 PAGES OR SO IT BECAME APPARENT THAT THERE COULDNT POSSIBLY BE SPACE FOR THEIR STORY ON SO LITTLE PAGES LEFT. And we never got to know what exactly Rigas powers were, bro was dead, resurrected and then dead again all in the span of 10 Minuten lmao.

I guess that just wasn't the focus of the Story but I can't help but wish for more.
Kuang opened up such a large World but in the end it still felt kinda unexplored.
Rins inner workings and morals were once again sooo interesting.
SpoilerHer black and white thinking, the mental acrobatics girly did to justify her actions, the deep rooted racism at every corner and so onnnn.
Especially during the last pages it became apparent how far gone Rin was. The sheer Paranoia and the blindness for everything but War, Power another win and another one and another one.
I wanted to be mad at her as she killed Venka (THIS WAS SO FOUL) and then almost Kitay (I WILL FOREVER LOVE YOU KITAY) but I was just sad for her. Truly tragic.
AND THE ENDING.
Sounds strange but i'm so glad that Rin died. It was a good decision and it finally gave her rest. I hate when Authors can't say goodbye to their characters and just drag them along.


(And a random thought I had: It's so funny that all the male Yins look virtually the same. Kuang emphasized their physical similarities
Spoiler(Riga, Vaisra, Nezha)
SO OFTEN, in the end I just pictured them as clones at different ages lmao.)



Expand filter menu Content Warnings