A good conclusion to the trilogy. Not as blown away as some people, but it’s an interesting and engaging fantasy series, drawing on Chinese/Asian history for influence. (It’s not as thinly disguised as it was in book one, now.)

Wow. What a finale. This series is just stunning - be prepared for some brutal scenes - the genre is probably grimdark after all, but the way this story is delivered and how Rin is just not the flawless protagonist often portrayed when you have a "chosen one" is just so refreshing. There must've been some pressure for the way the author would finish this series but I think the ending was perfect and to be honest the only satisfying way that it could be concluded.

This was my least favourite of the trilogy, I much preferred the first two.

I think it would be enjoyable for those looking for extreme darkness. I didn’t find any characters likeable or redeemable. Even as a villain, I didn’t enjoy this that much.

It is well written in plot though!

What a conclusion to a beautifully crafted series! Kuang knows what she is doing and she is doing it well. I loved this book so much. it's all you need to know, so if you haven't read this series yet... you have to!!!

The Burning God is the conclusion to the the epic Poppy War series, following Rin (Fang Runin) straight from where we left off in Dragon Republic, she’s joined the Southern Coalition to stop Nezha and the Dragon Republic from taking Nikan.

These books are a very brutal, honest and raw take on war which you don’t really see enough in fantasy books, you see the impact of war on each person, the weight of blood and death in each person’s body and soul. Rin is such a questionable character, throughout the books, especially this one, I’ve struggled with understanding whether Rin was a hero, whether she was good, whether I liked her … but as I read more, I realised there was no such thing as a good person, each character is questionable in some way, even the characters like Kitay and Venka that are easy to like, each character has blood on their hands, and that turmoil I had for each character is the same turmoil they had for each character. These characters started off as a group but you see the loneliness and the fear of war, the bravado that looks like arrogance, the unity of a group that leads to isolated paranoia. Rin is an angry character, but this shouldn’t be surprising because she has much to be angry about, and after how TPW ended, with mass genocide at her hands, you know this isn’t a simple journey she can just come back from, so instead you walk the dark, bloody path with her instead. A journey of revenge and justice with irredeemable sins of her own.
This is a long book and I will say, for me, possibly too long. There is a lot of war strategy in this, a lot of too-ing and fro-ing and some of it does feel unnecessary. That said, I would never deny Kuang’s writing a single word because she is a genius. Kuang doesn’t hold back, nor keep by the rules, you are not allowed to feel comfortable, that character you like will betray the cause, that character you love will die, literally anything could happen and the twists and unpredictability keeps you on your toes in a way some authors don’t dare attempt. You feel the odds at play, the fear, throughout these books you see the brutal pain these characters both cause and feel.

Kuang is a brave, raw writer and I have huge respect for her. Thank you NetGalley for your copy in exchange for an honest review. This book was a fitting conclusion.

I’m only sorry to say it took me so long to read this book! I loved it and can’t wait to read the final instalment.

A fantastic end to one of my favourite fantasy series of all time. Kuang is unafraid to torture her characters which benefits her narrative in showing the horrors of war. The allegory within its pages, the characters, the descriptions and the prose in general are all simply marvellous and so well done.

I loved the first book in this series but sadly the second one lost me, and 'The Burning God' didn't rescue the series for me. Rin is a really interesting, complex character but I just found myself struggling to understand her thought process a lot of the time. The story felt messy and honestly, I spent most of the second half just wanting the book to be over.

I've followed R.F. Kuang's Poppy War trilogy for some time now, starting with the very strong TPW and followed by the even stronger Dragon Republic. The Burning God was an all right— if sometimes frustrating— conclusion to the story. I'm not sure I agree with Kuang's decision to have Hesperia essentially dominate all of Nikan, which feels hopeless and detracts from the plot of the previous two books, and I still remain somewhat confused about the magic system. But Kuang's writing is vivid and violent and bruise-filled as ever, and, despite my own misgivings and frustrations with the book, I found myself reading nonstop.

A great end to the poppy war trilogy. Rebecca wrapped it all up well. Can not wait to read more from r.f kuang

I hate to write this review. I hate to have the taste of disappointment after the first two books…

This last book felt lacking direction and depth. I could be taking for hours, analysing my points but this isn’t the platform for it.

In an nutshell, I disliked Rin is presented in this one. She is naive, gets played, lacking abilities and feels childish in a way which is not how I was expecting her in the last book.

Moreover, totally disliked how the Trifecta have been discarded from the story being the most powerful beings in the world.

I got tired and bored at some point by the constant war shuffling and marching and all that jazz. Don’t get me wrong, I would have loved this part if it was about strategies and power and the sort!

Anyway, I have more points to mention but I’m on the verge of spoiling the review so I’ll cut it short. Sadly, the last part of this story wasn’t satisfying for me.

I wasn't able to review this book upon its original release as I was experiencing a prolonged period of illness. However, it's bloody amazing as all Kuang's books are and this is one of the finest series of recent years.

Pain, this book is pure pain. Does it have flaws? Yes. It dragged in some places and some scenes seemed rushed. I needed more development from certain characters, specifically the new Cike. I also wanted more interactions between Rin, Nezha, and Kitay.

However, I can look past all that. This book is exactly what it's supposed to be. It gave what it needed to give. I'll miss this world and these characters so much.

The Poppy War trilogy is an epic fantasy that combines the history of 20th-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters. After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead.

Rin, who has sacrificed so much, is returning to her roots as she looks to bring an end to the war once and for all. Whilst her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who view her as a god and a beacon of hope that she can do what she promises. Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic and the colonizing Hesperians who want rid of all the shamans.

Having read the first two books fairly recently, my hopes were high that The Burning God would continue pushing the series from strength to strength and allow the series to actually be called "an epic". And R.F. Kuang has produced another brilliant entry into the series. After two predecessors that earned rave reviews, the pressure was well and truly on, and she rises to it.

The scale of the story is massive in everything it does. What makes this impressive is that none of it feels overwhelming. There are so many parts where you think the end is coming only to realise that you still have plenty still to read so this can't be nearing the end. And the politics need a special mention because they can easily clog up a book and get boring real fast, however, Kuang manages to keep this interesting. You learn so much about the world through politics and it's all fascinating and relevant to the story.

The battles are brutal and the tension is unrelenting throughout. You know the end is coming, it's just a matter of when. The war could end at any time as you know that there's so much world-building that even if the war ended halfway through the story could continue on for a bit longer. This isn't just a war for the lives of Rin and Kitay or even Nezha. This is a war for everyone and their idealism. It's also a way between friends, as continuing on from the previous book, you know that Rin still likes Nezha but as expected, she can't get past his betrayal. A betrayal that Nezha did for his family, not because he dislikes Rin. He does like her, which makes this war all the more personal and difficult.

This final book in the series really blurs the line with Rin though. You've come to like her from the previous ones, but she's been made for war. And it's this that blurs the line between whether she's really someone you should be cheering on or rallying against. She makes selfish decisions that will kill hundreds if not thousands. She pushes the bond between her and Kitay, knowing full well that she'll be causing him unbelievable pain. You really get into her head to know her thought processes and how for her, the end goal means that some people will have to suffer in order for the rest to live peacefully.

The Burning God is a dark fantasy that is ruthless, brutal and full of events that are unexpected. You're reminded at one point that you can't predict war properly as there's always a variable or chance that you can't account for. You can plan well but that doesn't mean everything will happen as you plan. The power levels involved are insane and it's good that there are problems with those powers, they aren't invulnerable and tolls are taken on their bodies for channelling their gods. I only read the second book, The Dragon Republic, a few days before this and I moved straight onto The Burning God. It's non-stop action but it doesn't wear you down because of that. The storytelling is so well done that I couldn't wait to read this book to see what happened next and I wasn't disappointed.

The book rounds the trilogy up nicely with a proper conclusion and goes into my list of favourite trilogy books - it's a pretty exclusive list as it's hard to keep a certain standard for all three books. Kuang has absolutely nailed this trilogy, with all three books being 5 stars worthy. So yeah, The Burning God gets 5/5 and finishes off a brilliant trilogy of books.

The Burning Gods is the final in the Poppy War trilogy and left me hollowed out as you can imagine. I can completely understand how that was the end but still!

I was not ready for this book and I will never be

This series broke me in so many different ways. Everyone needs to be reading this.

The Poppy War series was one of my favourite fantasy series from the past few years so reading The Burning God was bittersweet. The ending didn't come as a surprise to me but it still hit me hard. I will definitely be reading more from R.F. Kuang in the future.

Wow, what an epic, epic finish to this brilliant fantastic series. I honestly loved following the story of Rin. I do not want to spoilt the story but this is incredible. I will be rereading ASAP!!! I would urge everyone who enjoys fantasy to pick these books up.

Got approved for this arc over a year after I'd requested it and almost a year after I'd bought the book for myself and dnf'd it. This finale just wasn't for me

RIP. SYMPATHIES. This book absolutely killed me. Such a fitting ending to what is my favourite fantasy trilogy of all time. I almost couldn’t bare to part with these characters- but the writing was just perfect. I will never emotionally recover from that ending.