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The Burning God

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Member Reviews

RF Kuang is one of accomplished SFF writers of our generation. The Burning God is masterful book finishing out the series - I feel that the third book in a trilogy is usually the weakest, but in this case the quality of story is maintained throughout. Brilliant from start to finish

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I loved the first two books in this series but this finale was so unsatisfactory. In fact, it started out so good, I read the first 25% in one sitting and then things kind of went downhill from there on wards. The plot continued to meander throughout the rest of the book and things only got interesting after the 80% mark. But, honestly, I was beyond caring at that point and just wanted to finish the book.

Rin was always a controversial MC but I was always very sympathetic towards her. In this book, I just didn't care, I found her to be extremely insufferable. Every other character was written off in favour of Rin. The whole thing with the trifecta held great potential but it was over in just a matter of a chapter. Same thing for the the confrontation between Rin and Nezha's father (I can't remember his name at this point). These things were done so abruptly that it took me out of the story. All we were left was Rin and her slow descent into madness and well I wasn't a fan of it. Also, what I loved about The Dragon Republic was the book showed the enemy and what they were capable of doing. In this finale, while we knew who the enemy was, we never got an insight into their motivations in as much depth as I was expecting. Naturally, I felt very disconnected to the story. My feelings towards the ending is quite mixed but I can understand why the author chose to go that way.

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The Burning God was a spectacular conclusion to one of my favourite fantasy series! Just like with the previous instalments in the series, R.F. Kuang expanded her world in interesting ways, her characters are as complex as ever, and I could never see where the book was going. She sure didn't hold back in this one, it was a rollercoaster of emotions, and I loved every word of it, though it broke my heart many times. If you haven't picked this series yet, you definitely should! :)

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“Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they aren’t after you” ~ Joseph Heller, Catch 22

The Burning God starts straight after the second book, and Rin finds herself having to deal with the fallout of the most recent betrayal, this time made even harder as it was from someone she believed loved her. And forgiveness is not in her rulebook.

Rin isn’t flawed, she is so morally grey, she is almost pitch black. In some ways this story is the fictional journey of a villain, after all, one man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist. At times, it seemed difficult to find any redeemable qualities in her. A lot of her actions were done to ensure her own survival. I cannot fault someone for wanting to live, to save her home and people, but the actions she commits to do so were often so heinous, it became difficult not to see her as anything other than a war criminal, especially since she so viciously judges others, for much lesser crimes, for wanting the same thing.

But, given how hellish her life has been, I can understand why she acts. For every one step forward, life pushes her two steps back, and this has definitely affected her moral judgement, and her ability to form lasting relationships with those around her. She is incredibly paranoid, but there is a reason for it; she is consumed by righteous rage at the world, but I can understand why; she is one of the strongest characters I have ever read in fiction, but is one of the weakest at the same time. Her enemies want her dead, because she is a threat, and she is. She is a threat to the very people she claims to want to save. She has sacrificed a lot, but many of those things and people, were not hers to give.

I did find the writing completely enthralling though. I did not find myself ever being bored by the story, there was always something going on. Kuang managed to weave together an incredibly vivid and impressive story. That said, I didn’t love the ending, it seemed a bit rushed and out of character for Rin. Knowing the amount of bloodshed Rin and Nezha caused, only for that ending, seemed like a cop-out, it could have worked, but I feel like we had not seen enough growth from Rin to explain her actions at the end.

This has a lot of triggers in it, and they are not subtle. I will not bother to list them, simply say, think of one, anyone you like - this book has it. But it is not for the shock factor, it is to show the brutal, gruesome and realistic side of colonialism, war and history. Rin is not the meek and soft East Asian woman, that a lot of fiction wrongly stereotypes them as. She was one of the most intense, powerful and obstinate characters I have ever read. I loved and hated her in equal measure, and I would definitely recommend this trilogy, I cannot wait to read whatever the author brings out next.

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Never have I read a series as well executed as this one. There is no weak link, every book was without a doubt a 5*.
As this is the conclusion to the series I obviously can’t talk about the plot but I promise you, it is fantastic. The world building is exceptional and the characters even more so.


It was very difficult to say goodbye to these characters and to this series but The Burning God was really the perfect ending to such a wonderful series.

Props to the author, R.F. Kuang, her talent leaps from the pages and she only got better and better as the series went on. I’ll be picking up everything she writes without hesitation from now on.

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This trilogy has been one of the most unique, heart wrenching, mind-blowing, painful series that I have ever read. And this novel in particular was an excellent conclusion to the trilogy. It never went in the direction that I thought it would, especially after the ending of The Dragon Republic. Kuang was able to keep me guessing the entire time without losing any of the emotionally complexity or the mind-shattering realities of the war that Rin is at the centre of.
Kuang has managed to make characters that make terrible choices, that are in retrospect terrible people who are violent, selfish, manipulative, and powerful but who you still root for. You find yourself half way through the book, especially The Burning God, wanting Rin to win no matter the cost, until you remember what the cost is and start to wonder if you're a horrible person too.
This book looks at trauma, and racism, and western imperialism, shamanism, and betrayal, which sounds like a lot but it feels expertly handled in this book and you can see Kuang's growth at a writer even in comparison to The Poppy War.
I will never stop recommending people read this series even though I am broken beyond repair.

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"𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐝."
-R.F. kuang

This is one of those few special series/sagas where its impossibly hard to say goodbye to characters you've come to emphasise with, hurt with and heal with. We've follow Rin from from a young war orphan from the poorest province, to become conduit to the phoenix God, with every bone break, heart ache and borderline psychopathic decision in between.

Absolute must read for any grimdark/fantasy fan and a perfect end to the series. Well done Rebecca, this is special.

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If you’ve read any of these books, you know they’re not easy reads. R. F. Kuang pushes the reader out of their comfort zone as much as possible with her raw honesty and brutal yet realistic depiction of event. The honesty of this book is what I appreciated most throughout my experience of reading it.

I will jump right in. These books are brutal. And everyone should read them. I haven’t read war being depicted so truthfully in a book before. Because R. F. Kuang is a scholar, her knowledge of Chinese military history is very detailed. She uses real historical events (see the Nankin Massacre) to plot her novels. Some of the sub themes are: PTSD, self harming, famine as a consequence of war, imperialism and its effect on people, human experimentation, rape as a war weapon, power and its meaning, utilitarianism within war conflict.

It is needless to say that there are no heroes in this story. Everyone, and I mean everyone, does horrible things. They’re all murderers, and the morality in these books is very grey. This is also what makes these books hard to read, but very compelling nonetheless. Rin is flawed, cruel, and lost. The great suffering she has endured and has inflicted, will haunt her until the end. What I found most fascinating about her character was her tendency of alienation when it came to following orders. First with Altan and then with the Dragon Lord, she erased her own identity and blindly followed these individuals that inflicted abuse upon abuse on her. The most heartbreaking moment in the trilogy for me was the end, when we realize that Rin had shifted from oppressed to oppressor, and had inflicted that same pain upon Kitay. So tragic.

Another facet of this book that was very fascinating to me was the invasion of the Hesperians, and the discussion that prompted around Imperialism. The way Kuang wove in those threads was so well done, and managed to question the idea that religion must be imposed upon people. For this, my favourite scene must be the showdown between Rin and Sister Petra. I punched the air when I read it.

I have heard of some people who did not appreciate the ending of this book. However, I truly cannot see how else this book could have ended. To me, it was perfect. Tragic, but perfect. I think it just made so much sense, and was in line with Rin’s character.

Overall I would recommend this series to everyone. However, be warned that there are trigger warnings for everything. It is harsh, hard to read, and very, very graphic.

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I have never felt nervous to read a book, but I had to work up the courage to start this one. The Dragon Republic had a shattering conclusion, and The Burning God picks up a month or so later.

Rin is fuelled by rage. She has lost a lot of people she loved in this war and she will stop at nothing to win. This book documents Rin’s descent into war against the Mugenese, the Hesperian and the Gods: the fall out, betrayals, the hardship. This is a grim novel, with a very depressing plot line. There are moments devoid of hope, where it seems that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. It is staggering to consider how far Rin has come – in The Poppy War, she was young, stubborn and had an uncrushable will. You wanted her to do well. Now, she is almost an unlikable protagonist, bridging the gap between heroine and villain. You are inside her mind, you inevitably want to her to win, but she doesn’t make all the right choices. She sacrifices innocents, leads with violence and is a bloody ruthless protagonist. I think describing Rin as complex and morally grey does not cut it. It does not encapsulate the layers, the depth, and the fact that you never know what decision she will make next.

The side characters have always been important to me. I love Kitay, I love Nezha. Altan is still tormenting Rin inside her mind, and I love him too. Venka as well. This book is made up of compelling characters who are all pushed to the edge and then some. R. F. Kuang does not play with her characters, she does not flirt and tease them with danger, she strips them to their very foundations, to base instincts. Torture, insanity and addiction are no strangers to this series, with the former taking centre stage.

There are new characters introduced into the book, some we have heard mentions of, others who are simply new faces. I will not mention them, I want you to be surprised, but just know that R.F. Kuang is not kind to her readers either. She mentions in the books dedication that you should come with a bucket for your tears. My advice? Bring two.

War is at the heart of this book. You are fully submerged into a grueling yearlong battle. The action scenes were incredibly detailed and easy to follow, despite the heavy focus on strategy and planning. There are twists and turns to keep you on edge and nothing ever goes as you expected. I worry that war book will drag, but R.F. Kuang proves that she has the talent to pull out all the stops and deliver a groundbreaking finale.

With mentions of action, I want to reiterate that this book is also a psychological war. As mentioned, we are inside Rin’s mind, and you can feel the toll the fighting has taken on her. Some days, she is at breaking point, wondering how she can with the war without clearing the country of civilians. The next day, she is gloating, adoring the power.

I’m trying to keep it brief, and not mention the plot. Overall, I really enjoyed this conclusion. This is a fantastic series, which is difficult to read at times, but it is unlike so many popular fantasy series out there. The way Kuang blends fantasy and history is seamless.

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This is one of the best fantasy series of this decade and this is the best book in this series.
I was hooked since the first pages and loved every moment.
It's gritty, dark, gripping and action packed.
The author is a great storyteller and the character and plot development are excellent.
I hope there will be other books set in the Poppy War world as I loved it and I'm sad to leave it.
This is an excellent story that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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The Burning God is the thrilling conclusion to R.F. Kuang's epic THE POPPY WAR trilogy, which follows war orphan Rin as she against all odds gets into her country's top military academy on the eve of war with the neighbouring island nation of Mughen, where she discovers she is able to access shamanic powers and channel the gods.

This final chapter in the series builds on the events of the last, seeing Rin elevated to dizzying heights and power as she does everything in her power to defeat the Dragon Republic and win Nikara for the south. But power has a cost; one Rin will learn all too well. I'm finding it hard to put my feelings about this series conclusion together, partially because I was in a reading slump when I slowly made my way through it and also because I think there is so much to unpack here. What I can say though, without spoiling the ending, is that it felt like the right one for everything R.F Kuang had built and was exploring in this series. Ultimately, these books look at 20th century Chinese history, and examine the powers that were at play, and more widely the cycles of oppression and violence that conflicts and war bring. Her character work as always is incredible; I feel like I know everyone so well as soon as they walk on page, and her ability to make you as a reader sympathise with characters who are ultimately making horrible, terrible decisions is remarkable. This is truly one of my favourite series I have read in many years and I already can't wait to revisit it (although I'm not sure I'm ready for that pain ...).

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The Burning God picks up from where The Dragon Republic leaves us, with Rin recovering from her betrayal, escape, and the shocking events at Arlong. Determined to avenge the Cike and continue her vendetta against the Yin family, Rin makes new allies and tests her connection to Kitay to the limits.

Where I really enjoyed the book and was left fairly satisfied, I did feel that it was a bit longer than it needed to be, and that there were some stray ends left too; I also felt that the book ended very abruptly, it does make some sense but it was still fairly shocking. As much as I didn't agree with the ending, I don't think it could realistically have ended any other way - especially with Rin apparently going full on Danaerys as the book went on.

Epic, violent and tragic - definitely a series that I won't forget any time soon.

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Did this book completely hurt my soul? Yes. Would I read it over and over again? Definitely. R.F. Kuang is a brilliant author and she proved it even more with this incredible finale. The last few pages broke me and I'm saying thank you.

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It took me a while to firstly pick up and secondly to get through. It's well over 600 pages and the story deserves 600+ pages.

This was a super satisfying end to a series, and it didn't hurt as much as I anticipated, but I did cry at the end. I got some answers and results that I was predicting but the journey to them was unpredictable. The story continues straight after the second book in the series. There are battles after battles, kidnapping and drama, but such a good storyline. Loose ends were tied up, things got explained, and it was all around a satisfying end to a series with high stakes and energy. The ending was a slow one, but original and made complete sense.

I love how the magic system is based on gods but also that there is a different plane where they all reside and you can go visit them. You never get any power, but you become a channel for the gods to use their power through you. I love how this questions identity and sanity etc. It's great!

I think my favourite character for this book might have been Venka. I just think she is cool.

The writing in all of R. F. Kuang's books has been really good. There are no issues like heavy paragraphs or grammar issues or confusing sentences. I love how the book flows through from start to finish.

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The best end to one of the best fantasy series out there. I’m heartbroken, but couldn’t have imagined a better fitted ending for our girl.
The writing was flawless, the tension held throughout the book (even when things were going well?!) and the ending was bittersweet.
I can’t wait to see what’s next for this author!

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Even after weeks since I completed the book, I'm have not gathered my thoughts about it.

This book is still epic, Rin's descend into further darkness and paranoia just as excruciating, Nehza is still an grating entitled brat and Kitay is dependable as ever.

Even page in this book was beautiful, The direction this book take was fabulous and frankly gut wrenching and in hind sight the best outcome.

I don't know what to say which hasn't been said before but I can say that this series a must read for all fans of fantasy. My favorite book is still The Poppy Way.

Just a small note about the writing is that sometimes there is little warning or build up towards big significant scenes. They are sometimes written with the same flair as a non significant scene and the reader is left thinking was that a significant scene or not to be then told that it indeed was.

I want to reemphasize that this is a brilliant unmissable series!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3095266054

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This book got me in complete tears twice. I knew it was coming but it still hurts like hell.

R. F. Kuang created a world full of gods, horrors, politics and war. She created characters who are heroic and cruel, human and godlike. She wrote a trilogy that will come to be remembered over the years, I can promise you that.

From book one, I knew this would become one of my favourite series of all time. I just knew it because it is that clever and that gut-wrenching from beginning to end. The world, the politics and the writing of The Poppy War trilogy are magnificent, and so so clever. And this final book is all the proof you need.

I don’t even know what to say. Read this trilogy, savour those three books and the genius of Kuang. Because you won’t ever read something coming even close to it.

I can’t get into too much details because of the risk of spoilers but just remember that I sobbed by the ending because it is such a perfect ending. And I knew from the beginning of The Burning God what it was because it was inevitable, wasn’t it? But I wouldn’t have asked for a different one. And I do want to say thank you to R. F. Kuang for creating Rin, for writing such mammoth books in both length and splendour. This book deserves all the stars in the world.

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The Burning God by R. F Kuang is the third book in the series, and you really need to have read the two previous books before you read this one!  Fang Runin has won the war, and now has to deal with the after effects, of ruling a devastated land, and the after effects of a civil war.

There are Hesperians, the Dragon Republic, and the remnants of her people, who thirst for revenge.

This is the end of the Poppy War series, and it packs a punch! 

I enjoyed the end to the story, and the ways it tidied up all of the loose story threads.  As with the other books in the series, it's not going to hide the realities of war, or the sacrifices people make.

 The Burning God  by R. F Kuang was published on 17th November 2020, and is available from  Amazon ,  Waterstones , and your  local independent bookshop .

I've read the previous books in this series (The Poppy War and The Dragon Republic), and you can read my review  here .

You can follow R.F Kuang on  Twitter , or through her  website .

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to   HarperCollins  for this book.

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After seeing this on Netgalley, I binged the first two books of this series in the hope that I would be approved for an arc of the third book, and lo and behold here we are. This series is devastating and horrific in its descriptions of the reality of war, and this book was no different. While I felt for many of the main characters, I feel that Rin is a unique main character in that I love her, but think she deserves everything she had coming. A brilliant end to a spectacular series which I will not forget in a hurry.

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This is how you finish a trilogy. I have adored the entire series in all its (often brutal) glory, but The Burning God is the pinnacle of this series, having taken everything from the previous books and lifted it to greater heights. While the ending was a stunning crescendo that was everything I wanted and more than I could have ever expected and thoroughly devastated me in the best way possible.
Kuang has created one of the most delightfully complex and surprising series that I’ve had the pleasure of reading in recent times because even though you can’t look away from the pages when reading, it is impossible to know what is going to come next and yet it all flows and works together to create a stunningly powerful narrative that ranges in scale from individuals to nations, humans to Gods, myth and reality and technology. There has always been a lot happening in this series, and The Burning God cranks that up. Yet it never loses track of itself or the core questions and themes, and that takes skill which thankfully Kuang has in spades and has honed throughout The Poppy War and the Dragon Republic.
It was both a delight and devastating to revisit the characters we’ve come to know so well (well those that have survived), and to see what they have become or are becoming. Rin firmly remains my favourite character, not because she is a likeable character – considering many of her actions, and who her inspiration is she has fallen firmly on the opposite side of that, but because for all that she has done and does in this book, we have seen what she has endured. We can understand how she has got to the point where she is, and she was such a complex, fascinating character that you couldn’t help but feel for her and be invested in her path and its outcome. Kitay and Nezha are high on that list of favourites too, and it is interesting to see how they too have changed with the events of the last book, as well as their very different but well-developed relationships with Rin.
This care with the characterisation extends throughout the cast of primary and secondary characters, and the new characters that were introduced in The Burning God have the same level of nuance as those we’ve known for far longer, and each added something essential to the world and narrative.
The worldbuilding, already complex and well-developed, was expanded on again in this book. Not only did we get to explore the geographic regions that we hadn’t seen before, but we got to see more of the Pantheon and Shamanism, as well as the conflict with the faith of the Architect. There is also an uncomfortable, but much needed exploration of the process and conflict of colonisation, and Kuang was unflinching in her approach to this. Combining this with an unrelenting and detailed look at war and its impact, from the trauma it causes to the more practical impacts, never glorifying it, but showing the reality of it. It made for difficult reading in places, but it is such an essential part of what this series is, and as difficult as it was, it was fascinating and necessary, and to be honest, I would read a lot more of this, because Kuang has such a way of bringing it to life through the narrative.
Kuang has always written masterful battle scenes, but the ones in The Burning God are on another level, not just for the action, or the brutality, but because of the deep dives into the devastation that they wreak. Exquisitely crafted from start to finish, they have always been some of my favourite scenes in the books, and that remains true here, and this bleeds through into discussion of tactics which could be dry, but here is absolutely riveting.
There is so much more I could say about this book, but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who has yet to read it. All I can say is that this was a stunning climax to a series that has set itself apart from the very beginning and that I would heartily recommend The Poppy War to anyone who loves darker fantasy, and fantasy that brings something new to the table.

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