A review by lotties_booked
The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Rin’s story reaches its dramatic conclusion in the third and final book in the Poppy War trilogy.
Normally when I read a series I read all the books back to back but in this instance I needed a bit of a break after book two. This is not a happy series, it’s dark and all of the characters experience extreme traumas over the course of the story which makes it very heavy going. Taking a break meant that going into The Burning God I couldn’t fully remember the intricate details of the earlier books, and I think I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had read them all back to back and become fully immersed in the world Kuang has created.
After finishing this series I have concluded that I don’t enjoy reading about battles… there are so so so many battles in this book and while they’re necessary to advance the plot it was a bit boring to read about for me.
The protagonist Rin is intensely un-likeable and I struggled to feel emotionally attached to her as a result. Some of her decisions were awful, understandable given what we know of her history but still terrible and I think I was waiting for her redemption arc in this book but she just got more and more horrible as the book continued!
The ending felt right.
This series definitely pushed me outside of my fantasy comfort zone and it made me think about the countries and events that inspired the books.
If you’ve been thinking about picking up this series then be prepared to engage your brain! A lot of the time it reads more as a historical fiction and has just a sprinkling of magic.
Normally when I read a series I read all the books back to back but in this instance I needed a bit of a break after book two. This is not a happy series, it’s dark and all of the characters experience extreme traumas over the course of the story which makes it very heavy going. Taking a break meant that going into The Burning God I couldn’t fully remember the intricate details of the earlier books, and I think I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had read them all back to back and become fully immersed in the world Kuang has created.
After finishing this series I have concluded that I don’t enjoy reading about battles… there are so so so many battles in this book and while they’re necessary to advance the plot it was a bit boring to read about for me.
The protagonist Rin is intensely un-likeable and I struggled to feel emotionally attached to her as a result. Some of her decisions were awful, understandable given what we know of her history but still terrible and I think I was waiting for her redemption arc in this book but she just got more and more horrible as the book continued!
The ending felt right.
Spoiler
I think if it had all been tied up with a happily ever after it would detract from the main themes in this series. Did everyone get what they deserve? No, because Kitay 100000% deserved better. But it was a satisfying enough conclusion.This series definitely pushed me outside of my fantasy comfort zone and it made me think about the countries and events that inspired the books.
If you’ve been thinking about picking up this series then be prepared to engage your brain! A lot of the time it reads more as a historical fiction and has just a sprinkling of magic.