The Burning God
Ratings297
Average rating4.2
This book proved to be an amazing end to an amazing trilogy. This story will always have a special place in my heart and is a big part of why I enjoy reading so much.
I read the first book in this trilogy for the hype and was disappointed by the uneven tone, pacing and the copy/paste feel of its historical inspirations. I liked the first half well enough to pick up the second book and was pleasantly surprised to find a more confident tone, better pacing and a story that started to really pull me in despite really disliking the MC. This book felt like the author lost interest in their own story halfway through. It dragged and felt rushed at the same time... so many themes and characters went unexplored, there was a ton of build up that led towards several deeply unsatisfying conclusions. For all its historical references and allegories it didn't seem to have much to say about any of it. The ending should have been devastating, but I felt so little for these characters I was just glad to be done. Rin's POV is exhausting in this book, and despite being basically a god she feels like both a spectator and a victim which made reading her feel like a chore.
If you've studied or read any of the history that these books are based on I honestly wouldn't bother reading them. Anything original, is ultimately insignificant to the larger plot. If you're unfamiliar with the history, I think these books could be engaging reads, big political twists, betrayals, heartbreaking atrocities... it's interesting because the history is interesting.
My biggest problem with this series as a whole, is that it's essentially just adding magic to history, but the magic adds nothing, changes nothing... We just swap technology for magic and away we go. There are a couple of notable exceptions to this but overall, the plot just follows Chinese history through the 20th century then ends. There was a point in this book where it felt like it was about to diverge... then it just didn't.
I know lots of people love this series, I wish I could. The second book almost got me there but with this as a conclusion I wouldn't recommend it either.
Contains spoilers
as much as i dislike rin and the general style of the books, i gotta respect the author for killing literally everyone
This is the last book in this emotional roller coaster of a series. Although it was 614 pages, It didn’t feel like it. The book is dark, very dark. I remember only one scene that wasn’t, but it was right after a mass killing so…With that being said, I have such a love/hate relationship with Rin. Just so you know, you will not laugh once while reading this book (not if you’re normal), and you’ll probably end up being frustrated with Rin a lot. Overall, I really enjoyed the series. I will probably think of Rin for years to come. Here is my breakdown.
The Poppy War: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Dragon Republic: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
The Burning God: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The entire series: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I Love R.F. Kuang
I Love Kitay
I Love/hate Rin
And🖕🏾 Nezha
Left me heartbroken. 10/10 would recommend.
Also I think it's so fascinating seeing the way the author has taken twentieth-century Chinese history from the Second Sino-Japanese War through the rise of Mao Zedong, added gods and shamanism, and changed some names to craft a compelling story with this trilogy. Even though I knew the general direction things would go in, the particulars of the story are done in such a way that kept me glued to the books. Plus it explores issues surrounding war and its fallout, colonialism, power, and trauma. The magic system is also very interesting, incorporating psychedelics and a pantheon of gods who each embody a different primordial drive/instinct. If you're looking for fantasy grounded in history and informed by the Daoist tradition, definitely give this series a try.
The book just kept me anguished but I couldn't stop reading it. The ending was difficult, I felt nauseated, unhopeful and once again, anguished. I had to take many pauses, I could only complete it after I told my husband that I needed to share everything that was happening so I could put out my feelings. Well done, RF Kuang, I missed reading books with so well written characters and I'll certainly miss Rin, Kitay, Venka, the Trifecta and the Cike. Now let me go grab a lighter book to read so I can emotionally recover from this.
I'd previously ripped the piss out of the The Poppy War for overusing the word “ensconced”, after the author obviously discovered it halfway through writing the book and couldn't stop showing it off. Imagine my joy at seeing it return a few pages into The Burning God, used completely incorrectly (“fire ensconcing everything she saw”), an ill omen that I should've heeded.
Anyway, I came at this with my expectations at rock bottom because The Dragon Republic was the worst book I'd read this year – badly written, badly characterised, pointless stodge – but I wanted to see how the story ends because I'm a sunk-cost fallacy girl. I didn't find it as grating to read as the previous two, as Kuang's grasp of prose has tangibly improved, but The Boring God drops the ball in almost every other way.
I'm not sure how a 600+ page book can achieve so little in terms of plot, worldbuilding, or developing a cast of characters. Kuang really must've mastered the art of bullshitting the word count on an essay. The pacing drags, too much is told through dry exposition, the magic system loses all internal logic, and Rin is still one of the most irritating protagonists ever written.
“She's actually Mao!” and “She's been through a lot!” aren't good enough justifications for how contrived and incoherent Rin's reactions and decisions are. She has no politics, no internal consistency. She'll believe something with 100% certainty one moment, then another character will tell her what to think and she'll change her mind instantly. She spends half the book having the same revelation almost every chapter (“Oh no, maybe the fantasy-Japanese are humans just like us!”), and then shrugging it off and setting people on fire. Any attempts to give her inner conflict and self-reflection just ring hollow after the umpteenth rehash.
The second half of the book is a series of anticlimaxes, each less whelming than the last. The Trifecta, like the Cike, are an utter waste of time. Rin's constant disappointments might be thematically meaningful, but they don't make for an engaging narrative. Almost every single side character and potentially interesting challenge is wasted in Rin's pursuit of the lamest tactical bungles possible. She's a character with no skills or solutions to offer other than violence, who's seen and committed untold atrocities, yet who's still somehow a vapid chump. The height of her military genius is putting up a big tarp so that she can cast fire when it's raining. Why are we following her, of all people? Why is anyone following her?
It struck me in this book, more than the others, that the world feels so sparse and empty – and not in the intended way of a devastated, war-torn land. Every single character is just a chess piece. There are no incidental people in this world to add flavour, depth, and colour. Undeveloped new characters appear only to serve plot points later, which Kuang foreshadows with all the grace of a dump truck delivering concrete. It's all just so joylessly mechanical, like nothing exists outside the demands of shunting Rin from one disjointed objective to another. It's hard to care for the stakes of a setting and characters that feel like cursory window dressing.
It doesn't help that the prose, despite being more considered than the previous books, still falls short of the deep themes and seismic conflicts the author is trying to tackle. The number of times Kuang relies on this phrasing stuck out enough to irritate me:
“This wasn't about lust, this was about power.”
“It wasn't about the violence. It was about the power.”“
This wasn't about humiliation. This was about survival.”
“This wasn't about grief, this was about paying respects.”
“This wasn't about troops, this was about pride.”“
It's not about pride. It's about sacrifice.”
“It wasn't about surrender. It was about the long game. It was about survival.”
Lady, I know. I'm reading the damn story. It's already not subtle. Every author has their tics and tropes, but this one really epitomises Kuang's lack of trust in the reader, and her inability to convey theme and subtext outside of bludgeoning truisms. Having now read all her books, I think that's it for me and Kuang. Her ideas are good, but her execution is always bafflingly lacklustre. As she'd probably put it: it isn't about the ideas, it's about the execution. Her workings and research are so transparent in the text. When she discovers a cool new word (see “ensconced”), you know it. When she discovers a cool new phrase like “power asymmetry” or “conventional warfare”, Christ, don't you just know it. I don't like seeing the wheels of the author's craft spinning so nakedly when I read.
Overall, it's a poor trilogy for me, and not even consistently poor within itself. The Poppy War has the most memorable plot but the most juvenile writing. The Dragon Republic has slightly better prose but the worst plot and characterisation. The Burning God has the most polished wording but precious little else. I don't even mind the ending, but the journey there isn't worth it. In terms of characters, worldbuilding, theme, tone, dialogue, and general prose – everything, basically – these books are just a sorry mess.
I'm at an utter loss for words. This series was incredible! I'm very glad a waited to read this series as it's been sitting on my shelf for awhile, as I think I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I read it earlier into my reading journey. This trilogy was very heavy, intense, dark and at times hard to follow and explain to those around me that asked about the book. However, I appreciate that Kuang didn't dilute or dumb down this important story to appeal to the masses. At its core this is a story of war, colonisation, political agendas and ultimately revenge. I absolutely loved the concluding novel God of War because Rin our main character was betrayed almost constantly by powerful men around her that took advantage of her age and naivety, and she got revenge and became arguably a problematic character. But guess what I DONT CARE!! I was 100% supporting women's wrongs in this book, Rin's enemies got what they deserved and I very much enjoyed their suffering. 5 ⭐️, great book, #RinIsAGirlboss
3.5 stars
had my jaw dropped for the most part. would've been 4 stars if not for that wretched ending...
idek know how to continue living after reading this bc i feel so EMPTY. i don't even know what to say. this was brilliant
This conclusion to R.F. Kuang's Poppy War trilogy is as brilliant as it is crushing. As with all my reviews for final books in a series, I'll start by talking about the book itself before talking about the trilogy as a whole but I just wanted to start out by saying that. The Burning God is a book that does not shy away from the brutality of war and its effects on people. Everyone is a villain here. Everyone commits horrible acts. Nobody leaves unscathed. I have yet to read a fantasy book quite like this where war is so agonizingly dissected. Even the victories feel like defeats and the defeats feel soul-crushing. It is a true testament to Kuang's writing that I, someone with exactly zero experience with anything like war, was able to feel every single emotion that Rin and co felt throughout this book. This is done mostly through expert character-work. Kuang takes full advantage of the two books prior to this and paints the relationships between allies, adversaries and everything in between in excruciating detail. With the way I'm writing it may sound like I didn't like reading this book but I really did. It is far from an easy read but the writing quality is so high that I couldn't put it down. It's a perfectly fitting conclusion for this trilogy and definitely the best book Kuang had written up to this point. Overall I would consider The Poppy War trilogy one of the best fantasy trilogies I've ever read. It is just about perfect in every way. Just about everything you could want in a fantasy series is here, from strong world-building to complex characters to fully realized magic systems etc. Kuang combines her obvious intelligence and background with WWII China with some visceral writing to make this series explode off the page. This is the fourth book by Kuang that I've read in the past few months and I cannot get enough of her writing. She is an undeniable talent and this series is a masterpiece because of that. I seriously can't say enough good things about this trilogy. I'm in awe of it and I feel genuinely privileged that I got to read it.
Setelah berhasil menyelamatkan negara Nikan dalam perang saudara yang brutal, Fang Runin malah dikhianati para sekutu.
Dengan aliansi baru, Rin menyusun kekuatan. Bagai terlahir kembali dari abu, sang Phoenix pun menemukan lagi kekuatan dalam kemurkaan dan pembalasan dendam rakyat selatan.
Mereka menghabisi pihak Naga, orang-orang Hesperia, dan semua yang berusaha melenyapkan syamanisme.
Namun, seiring meningkatnya kekuatan dan pengaruh Rin, suara Phoenix, sang dewa api makin mendesaknya untuk membumihanguskan dunia.
Di The Burning God ini kita akan melihat transformasi Rin dari siswa sekolah militer sebagai “morally grey character” menjadi pembebas Nikan dengan bantuan dewa api yang siap membakar dan menghancurkan siapa saja yang menghalanginya. Seperti di buku-buku sebelumnya, disini penuh dengan adegan sadis yang akan membuatmu mengernyit beberapa kali, jadi siapkan dirimu.
Seperti dua buku pendahulunya, The Burning God adalah buku yang sulit untuk dicerna, penuh dengan hal-hal yang menimbulkan ketidaknyamanan. Walau penuh dengan adegan sadis dan kekerasan namun menurut aku penutup seri ini dan seri The Poppy War secara keseluruhan adalah sebuah mahakarya dari Rebecca Kuang, mengingat seri ini adalah debutnya. Bagi para penggemar genre fantasi, memang seri The Poppy War adalah perjalanan panjang, namun sangat layak untuk dinikmati.
(minor/vague spoilers imo but I have marked just in case people want to go in totally blind) Can we tell I have trouble with series......I think it has been almost exactly a year since I read the second book in this trilogy, which is probably why I enjoyed this one a little less, I wish I had read it sooner lol. But that aside it was such a good end to the series!! It was seriously just as strong as the other books, and if i had read it immediately after finishing the other two it definitely would have gotten 5 stars. The ending was sooo good for the characters and how everything had been tracking I was like ok cool WHAT NO ok yeah that makes sense :(..........farewell guys. Really good fantasy novel I will read her other ones for sure .........(see you in like 3 years r f kuang)
“Take what you want. I'll hate you for it. But I'll love you forever. I can't help but love you.”
I am writing this review devastated because this truly is a series that I never wanted to finish, with characters that I didn't want to say goodbye to.
It's not often that you read something that makes you want to put off reading because you don't want it to end. Often with a series, each book is found lacking after the first but with the Poppy War trilogy, each book got better.
I believe The Burning God was the best of the trilogy but I also said that about The Dragon Republic so I'm just going to settle on the fact that there is no bad book in this series.
The Burning God was a fantastic end to a fantastic series. I am fully convinced that R.F. Kuang is a criminal mastermind for writing something that impacted me the way that this series has. I laughed, I cried, I mourned. This was everything I wanted from a series like this and more.
The characters' progression was something that I loved the most about this book. Rin has always been a fierce and strong-willed character but in The Burning God, we got to see more of Rin's vulnerable side. It was easy to forget that underneath the all-powerful Speerly that she is, Rin is just a scared, young girl who was fighting for survival.
I could go on about this book and the entire series for hours but I think the best way to end this review is to encourage whoever I can to pick this series up. I don't think I'll ever be able to get it out of my head. This truly is special.
3,5/5 ⭐️
Ik vind dit deel echt het slechtste van de triologie. Ik moet eerlijk toegeven dat ik er niet zo veel aan vond. Ook een bepaald punt vond ik Rin ook gewoon vervelend. Ze bleef mensen maar wantrouwen, terwijl dat compleet onterecht was en op niks gebaseerd was.
Het einde was echt heartbreaking en nu kan ik de tiologie mooi afsluiten. Ik ben heel erg blij dat ik deze heftige boeken heb kunnen lezen!
DNF, but I skipped to the end and I liked it so it gets an extra star for that. Made me like it enough that I flipped through random chapters, and I kinda liked the snippets that I read, but after being burned by the two previous books, I didn't have the patience to read the entire thing. It's meh, honestly, but only because the setting is somewhat unique in fantasy.