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A review by katiemcgregor
The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
On one hand, I think this was a brilliant and satisfying conclusion to, what I imagine to be, an extremely difficult series to wrap up. On the other hand I think some of the pacing and character build up could have been taken a step further. This doesn't really hinder my overall enjoyment of The Burning God or the overall series, but there are just things I wanted more of. More madness, more development for minor characters, more drama to the fated confrontations that could only end in blood. But at the same time I think most of how things are handled is fitting for both the chaos of war and Rin's character. (view spoiler). I actually like the final ending of this book, but I think some of the things that are wrapped up in the middle may have felt a little anti-climactic (view spoiler)
What this book did really well is evoke intense emotions and instill an overall feeling of impending doom due to enemies that our main characters potentially can't even compete with. They're battling the colonization and "natural progression" of the world and it's hard to imagine that being a fight that can be won under these circumstances. Throughout the whole book it just doesn't feel like things can end well. No matter how many victories Rin achieves, the writing does a really good job of conveying her hollow feelings associated with them.
I think the other thing I maybe wanted a little more of was action between the original trio. It was obvious that everything was going to come down to them in the end, but The Dragon Republic was filled with more collaboration, fighting, and tension between them. Since they're all spread out, especially Nezha, throughout this book it just didn't lend itself to the type of interaction I would have loved more of.
All that being, said, I'm kind of nitpicking here because it's been a long time since I've been this invested in a series. This book really is very good and I understand why this has already become such a renowned trilogy. It is an experience.
What this book did really well is evoke intense emotions and instill an overall feeling of impending doom due to enemies that our main characters potentially can't even compete with. They're battling the colonization and "natural progression" of the world and it's hard to imagine that being a fight that can be won under these circumstances. Throughout the whole book it just doesn't feel like things can end well. No matter how many victories Rin achieves, the writing does a really good job of conveying her hollow feelings associated with them.
I think the other thing I maybe wanted a little more of was action between the original trio. It was obvious that everything was going to come down to them in the end, but The Dragon Republic was filled with more collaboration, fighting, and tension between them. Since they're all spread out, especially Nezha, throughout this book it just didn't lend itself to the type of interaction I would have loved more of.
All that being, said, I'm kind of nitpicking here because it's been a long time since I've been this invested in a series. This book really is very good and I understand why this has already become such a renowned trilogy. It is an experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cannibalism