A review by lovelymisanthrope
The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I read the first two books in The Poppy War trilogy last year, but I waited to pick up this conclusion purely because I did not want this series to end. As soon as I started this book, I could not put it down, and I was entirely blown away by this epic conclusion to a truly fantastic fantasy series.
"The Burning God" begins where "The Dragon Republic" left off: with Rin ready to do anything and everything in her power to win this war and protect the southern providences. She has overcome betrayal, hardship, death, and destruction, and she will not let the Dragon Republic be victorious. Will Rin be able to win the war without using the power of the phoenix to destroy the entire world in the process?
Upon finishing this novel I watched some discussions of this story on YouTube, and my eyes were completely opened to the fact that though this is a work of fiction, these conversations about war and colonization are rooted in history. More often than not generals and other higher ups in military forces are so great at what they do because they have a strategic war mind. They are able to be ruthless and lead a team to victory at any cost, which is great and important. However, this mindset and leadership is not what people need after the war ends. This mindset is too extreme and idealist to properly lead a country through recovery post war. The characteristics I did not enjoy about Rin execute this point perfectly, and I have a newfound love and appreciation for her character development because it sparks an important conversation about war leaders.
R.F. Kuang is an immensely talented author, and I am so glad I gave her books a chance. This story is thought-provoking, eloquently written with beautiful prose, and provides important insight into a side of war rarely talked about.
I look forward to reading more from R.F. Kuang in the future because she has rapidly become a favorite author of mine!
"The Burning God" begins where "The Dragon Republic" left off: with Rin ready to do anything and everything in her power to win this war and protect the southern providences. She has overcome betrayal, hardship, death, and destruction, and she will not let the Dragon Republic be victorious. Will Rin be able to win the war without using the power of the phoenix to destroy the entire world in the process?
Spoiler
I am so glad I read this book, and I am even more glad I did some research afterwards, because going into this book I was not a huge fan of Rin. I felt like her character progressed really negatively throughout "The Dragon Republic" and I was disappointed to see her become what I felt was corrupted by power. I am sure that anyone would struggle with gaining such immense power as she did, but she really became so consumed with the need to win that she made unnecessary sacrifices. For example, at the beginning of "The Burning God" she decides to burn an entire temple down despite the fact that there were innocent hostages inside. She has lost her humanity throughout this process and sees the death of a few as acceptable because it is for the greater good. Rin really has a redemption arc in my mind with this final installment and I feel like she is finally able to see that she is not the leader everyone needs.Upon finishing this novel I watched some discussions of this story on YouTube, and my eyes were completely opened to the fact that though this is a work of fiction, these conversations about war and colonization are rooted in history. More often than not generals and other higher ups in military forces are so great at what they do because they have a strategic war mind. They are able to be ruthless and lead a team to victory at any cost, which is great and important. However, this mindset and leadership is not what people need after the war ends. This mindset is too extreme and idealist to properly lead a country through recovery post war. The characteristics I did not enjoy about Rin execute this point perfectly, and I have a newfound love and appreciation for her character development because it sparks an important conversation about war leaders.
R.F. Kuang is an immensely talented author, and I am so glad I gave her books a chance. This story is thought-provoking, eloquently written with beautiful prose, and provides important insight into a side of war rarely talked about.
Spoiler
I look forward to reading more from R.F. Kuang in the future because she has rapidly become a favorite author of mine!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, War, Drug use, Death, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Toxic relationship