A review by caramel_sundae
The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
I... don't really know how to feel about this book. Part of it was absolutely as grand and interesting as the other two books-- whenever I started it, I couldn't stop reading. But there were also parts that dragged, and arcs that seemed pointless.
But I loved seeing Rin step up more in this book, although it wasn't always in a good way. The military strategies were just as cool to read about as in the Dragon Republic, but I thought that book was overall just better. These books have all gotten longer and longer, but I feel like the plot just got more stretched out in each one. This one in particular had a lot of slow marching across the continent that weren't very interesting to read about.
Also, the whole Rin/Nezha tragic parallel... I wasn't really feeling it. Rin just kept herself from feeling anything about Nezha for so long that I stopped caring that much, too, which sucks, because I think they had a lot of potential as the Red Emperor/Tearza parallel with the whole 'history goes in circles' thing... maybe if they'd actually had something in the last book?? Since everything was just implied and subtle-- which I think ended up working against that whole arc. I wish their battles had been cooler and that there'd just been more of Nezha so that we could feel properly angry at him or sorry for Rin or like... literally anything. Their battle at Arlong was almost there-- I was so excited after all that build-up, and it was almost as good as I wanted it to be. Keyword being almost.
The real tragic soulmates of this story are Rin and Kitay, though. Their platonic bond was better than anything Rin had with Nezha-- it was genuinely horrible to see her going mad and thinking Kitay was betraying her. But I can't figure out a potential happy ending for this series, not with Rin as its main character. I think seeing more of this from Nezha's perspective would've been so interesting and would have made his love for Rin make more sense and helped the plot structure. There were a few moments where I felt like we needed a change, and flashbacks about the Trifecta weren't enough to make up for that.
I don't know, this just wasn't as amazing as I wanted it to be. I don't know if I can say it's ruined the entire series for me, but it's definitely changed how I see the first two books now that I know the full story arc that we were building up to the entire time. But it was super well-written, and unlike any other fantasy I've read before. Honestly, if there were more books in this series, I'd definitely keep going... I'm definitely going to read everything else the author's written now lol
Spoiler
Everything with the Trifecta was building up to something huge, but then they were defeated so easily?? I thought for sure they wouldn't actually be dead since it felt like an unearned victory, but then Chaghan confirmed they were gone and it was like... okay then why bother spending so much time on them??But I loved seeing Rin step up more in this book, although it wasn't always in a good way. The military strategies were just as cool to read about as in the Dragon Republic, but I thought that book was overall just better. These books have all gotten longer and longer, but I feel like the plot just got more stretched out in each one. This one in particular had a lot of slow marching across the continent that weren't very interesting to read about.
Spoiler
The main feeling the ending leaves you with is that it's horrible but it makes sense, honestly. I saw it coming when Rin started having that string of victories. I knew it would end up reversing with the climax, and then things just kept getting worse and I was wondering how the author could possibly fix everything by the end... so everyone dying ended up making more sense. I'm surprised Nezha made it, though, out of everyone. I guess him as the next ruler would work, but I don't see how people would even take him seriously after he got defeated by Rin... he'd probably be better than Rin as a ruler, though, considering he sacrificed himself for Arlong.Also, the whole Rin/Nezha tragic parallel... I wasn't really feeling it. Rin just kept herself from feeling anything about Nezha for so long that I stopped caring that much, too, which sucks, because I think they had a lot of potential as the Red Emperor/Tearza parallel with the whole 'history goes in circles' thing... maybe if they'd actually had something in the last book?? Since everything was just implied and subtle-- which I think ended up working against that whole arc. I wish their battles had been cooler and that there'd just been more of Nezha so that we could feel properly angry at him or sorry for Rin or like... literally anything. Their battle at Arlong was almost there-- I was so excited after all that build-up, and it was almost as good as I wanted it to be. Keyword being almost.
The real tragic soulmates of this story are Rin and Kitay, though. Their platonic bond was better than anything Rin had with Nezha-- it was genuinely horrible to see her going mad and thinking Kitay was betraying her. But I can't figure out a potential happy ending for this series, not with Rin as its main character. I think seeing more of this from Nezha's perspective would've been so interesting and would have made his love for Rin make more sense and helped the plot structure. There were a few moments where I felt like we needed a change, and flashbacks about the Trifecta weren't enough to make up for that.
I don't know, this just wasn't as amazing as I wanted it to be. I don't know if I can say it's ruined the entire series for me, but it's definitely changed how I see the first two books now that I know the full story arc that we were building up to the entire time. But it was super well-written, and unlike any other fantasy I've read before. Honestly, if there were more books in this series, I'd definitely keep going... I'm definitely going to read everything else the author's written now lol