An absolutely perfect conclusion to the excellent historical fantasy—The Poppy War trilogy—and even though it might not make you the happiest person at the end (and if you'd expected anything less than pain at the wrap up, you must've been reading the wrong books), it'll definitely satiate the fire burning through all the three installments.

My thanks to HarperVoyager for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Burning God’ by R.F. Kuang in exchange for an honest review. It is the third and final book in her award winning Poppy War trilogy.

I recently had read Books 1&2 of the Poppy War trilogy in their ebook/audiobook combined editions, and so elected to also experience this final book as an audiobook complimenting my reading of the eARC.

The trilogy as a whole is an epic fantasy inspired by Chinese history and specifically the Opium Wars and the Second Sino-Japanese War. As it is a trilogy, the books should be read in order. I will not share details of the plot in order to avoid spoilers for the events in the first two books.

I was left stunned by how the story played out. It was a very powerful tale with battles, magical creatures, gods with humans serving as avatars, and much more. It is a grimdark fantasy, so be aware that there is plenty of graphic violence and few moments of levity.

Kuang also integrated themes linked to racism, colonialism, and dehumanisation alongside the fantasy and military elements. I feel that this is a positive trend in modern fantasy and provided plenty of food for thought.

Kuang studied Chinese history and it was her interest in Chinese military strategy that inspired the series. I was quite surprised to read that Kuang had started writing this trilogy four years ago at age nineteen. That is an impressive achievement as well as being published by such an established SFF imprint as HarperVoyager.

I certainly will be looking out for her future projects.

I don't even know where to start with this review. When I finished this book, my mouth was wide open with shock for several minutes as I futilely tried to gather my thoughts. I've slept on it, but I still have no clue.
I enjoyed The Poppy War and The Dragon Republic - but I didn't love them. I gave them both four stars, but didn't quite understand the gushing five-star reviews from people whose opinions I trusted. Well, I understand now.
One thing that really stood out to me as I was reading was just how unpredictable it was. I read a lot of fantasy, and I can usually make a few guesses about where the plot will go. With this book, though, I never had a single clue from one page to the next. And it was bloody awesome. (Or should that be awesomely bloody? Because it was definitely that too.)
This series has never shied away from the difficult topics surrounding war, and for that it is both a tremendous achievement and an often difficult read. I wouldn't have it any other way. And the way the author portrays these horrors while writing from the perspective of a character who glories in them is particularly smart.
So yeah. I've apparently exhausted my reviewing capabilities, and now I'm going to need a few days.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I've been desperate to read this book since I finished the last one. In Nikara, Kuang has created a recognisable but fantastical version of Chinese history which brings to the fore issues of war, colonisation and what it means to have power. This book wraps up Rin's storyline really effectively while not shying away from the more difficult and unpleasant consequences of war. I can't wait to see what she writes next.

So, The Burning God. It’s the end of a series which has a reputation for being packed with bloody, brutal action. For its precision crafted plots, filled with tension, crosses, double crosses, sudden revelations and emotional catharsis. And for the characters, which have a humanity to them; sadness, rage and joy, bundled together in the clothes of heroes and monsters. Sometimes not even the same person. This is the conclusion to a trilogy which did more than pull no punches - it punched right through your sternum, grabbed your heart and made you feel things. Often while everything exploded.

And this book, the concluding chapter, ramps it all up to eleven.

Rin remains our protagonist, and is now living life in a whirlwind of rage, self-hatred and resentment. But she’s also self aware enough to realise what she’s doing, and what she’s becoming. She’s been betrayed by almost everyone and everything she’s dealt with. The Imperial system trained her, used her up, and then tried to cast her aside. The Republic that fought in the shattered remnants of the Empire...also wanted to use her, then trade her away. External actors just wanted to cut her open and see how she worked. Friends died almost at random. Others because of her decisions. Others fell into madness. Basically, what I’m saying is, Rin has had a hard time recently. It’s definitely shaped who she is, scarred her, left her fighting not just the forces arrayed against her, but her own demons. You can feel Rin’s pain, and the way it fuels her rage - and the way that rage rolls out in waves of flame and incinerates her enemies. Gaining strength from her trauma is one thing, but Rin is defined by it too; and part of that is embracing her pain, and the choices she makes because of it. In some ways she feels cooler, more ruthless - whilst living in her own head with a vulnerability, and a focus that drives her forward relentlessly. You can cheer for RIn as she fights back against oppressors - I certainly did. But the costs are there, visible, raw and real. Physically and mentally, Rin is a woman dancing on the brink of the flame and the void. That the balancing act is so wrenching, so emotionally honest and painful,is a genuine triumph. That her struggle to decide who she wants to be, what she wants to achieve, and what she’s willing to do it feels genuine, even as she slips the leash of monstrosity and reels back in. You can sympathise with Rin, empathise with Rin, be absolutely horrified by Rin, and find yourself laughing at some of her banter or crying at her loss and the way her and others choices have taken her to this point. And that can happen in the space of a couple of pages!

I’ve been going on about Rin because this is, really, her story. Don’t worry though, sports fans - she’s surrounded by faces old and new. There’s that quiet love that sustains, driven to the kind of highs and lows that shape loyalty, devotion, and abuse. There’s the poisonous hatred that comes twinned with genuine but curdled affection. And there’s the whole gamut of betrayal, revelation, revenge, betrayal...catastrophic, cathartic violence, release, murder, love again...too much. I can’t talk about what really goes on without spoiling it. So I’m going to just say that it’s intense. We can feel the political, physical and spiritual geography shifting, seismic ripples driving out from Rin, her relationships, her choices and her consequences.

If you’re here for Rin and her journey of self destruction and self discovery, you’re going to love this.

If you’re here for Rin and her amazing array of terrifyingly, terminally fraught relationships, with abused, abusers, and...well, the occasional regular person? You’ll love this too.

If you’re here to see how it all ends, when the immovable object meets the immovable force, you’ll love this.

If you’re here for explosive, epic battles and magic that terrifies and astounds in equal measure, you’ll love this.

If you’re here to have your heart torn apart, to feel, then yeah, you’re going to love this, though you might need a while to decompress and think about it afterwards.

Bottom line, this is a worthy end to a series I’ve really enjoyed and talked up for years. It’ll make you think, it’ll make you feel, and it will do both of those while telling a damn fine story. So go get a copy, right now, and get started on the ending you deserve.

Let’s not pretend that The Burning God was ever going to be anything but brutal and heartbreaking – if you’ve read any of the books in this series, you know that Rebecca doesn’t hold back from writing about the horrors of war. I became quickly obsessed with this series after reading The Poppy War – the way real history has been shaped by Rebecca’s fantasy world is masterful. She manages to make her writing flow beautifully, even when describing the most heinous scene imaginable.

The Burning God picks up from the end of The Dragon Republic, dropping us straight back into the action. This book is full steam ahead from the first page and doesn’t slow down until the last word. I was completely gripped by this book – everything felt important and the book length was perfect. I feel like The Burning God was a fitting end to the series and didn’t leave any gaping plot holes or questions to be answered.

I was paranoid throughout most of this book, waiting for the next horrible thing to happen to Rin and her compatriots. This book isn’t short of shocking twists and turns – I couldn’t have guessed where it was going to go from paragraph to paragraph. I devoured this book in a few days despite working because I couldn’t bear to put it down and be kept in the dark any longer than I had to be! It was consistently fast-paced, but any slower sections were sufficiently detailed with plans or conflicts, so didn’t drag at all.

I absolutely loved the new characters this book introduced – everyone had their own agendas and morals, and trying to figure out what they were alongside Rin was exciting but incredibly stress-inducing! I am amazed how so many characters were introduced in the final book of a series, yet they all had their place and were fleshed out enough to feel needed. Every character is flawed – there isn’t a character who is entirely good or entirely bad (excluding Tarcquet and Sister Petra, they’re pure evil), but instead, every character has a solid reason for doing what they do, and Rebecca ensures that all of these possibilities are explored so we are as confused about who to trust as Rin is. The readers are expertly left in the dark until the last second which makes every plot twist just as delicious as the first.

I would usually be able to pick out a favourite character and say how much I love them, but this simply isn’t possible for The Burning God. Almost every character is a terrible person in one way or another. They all crumble morally during the course of this series, and every single one ends up paying for their mistakes. I really enjoyed reading a book where I was rooting for and supporting characters I dislike – it just shows how fantastic Rebecca is at writing well-rounded and interesting characters who aren’t good or bad, but stand for the right thing, whatever that means in this story.

Rin as a character is fascinating. You can’t help but feel sorry for her as she descends into paranoia and madness as the book progresses. She has done some terrible things, and is a true product of her experiences – her immediate reaction to things is to fight and kill as it is all she knows how to do. It was fascinating watching her have to be in charge and have to think about others and the consequences of her actions. I loved getting to see her inner conflict with her past, the Seal, her conscience and the Phoenix, and how she is forced to constantly fight to do what she thinks is right. She has to constantly deal with her guilt and PTSD from her previous experiences, and that is once again done masterfully, showing Rin’s internal conflict with brutal honesty and clarity. I thoroughly enjoyed Rin and Kitay’s friendship – he kept her grounded with his strong moral compass, and was able to check her rage for the most part, which is no easy feat! I absolutely loved this friendship and the fact that it was never forced into a romance like so many authors would do was greatly appreciated. I also found Rin’s relationship with Nezha fascinating – the mutual respect, love and hate was wonderful to read, especially with them on opposing sides this time round. He is a fantastic opposition to Rin and I would devour any and every scrap of writing detailing Nezha’s thoughts through the series.

The way that the Pantheon is described and explained is magical – I love the idea of the Gods being more like entities and ideas rather than physical beings. The discussion around religion that continued on from The Dragon Republic fascinates me, as it’s interesting to see Christianity from the perspective of the Colonised. I loved the way that Rebecca makes each character question their beliefs and showed how manipulative and cruel religious persecution is. The discussions were uncomfortable and to see the characters take on board what they were being told by Colonisers was painful and uncomfortable to read as I know it’s more than likely not far from the actual truth of how these things came to pass. The Hesperians are a truly terrifying villain, but nothing is more horrifying than knowing that their actions in this book are taken from real world history.

Large parts of this book detail incredibly uncomfortable and disturbing events, especially the sections after each battle and after the war as a whole. I usually can’t stomach excessive gore, violence and the like, but the way Rebecca writes these events showed that they were there to show how awful war is, not to glorify. The realities of war are made clear, and I appreciate that time was spent going into detail of the collective traumas of the country, instead of passing over it like many fantasy (and other books containing wars!) often do. It is refreshing to see the consequences written out clearly on the page instead of implied or ignored, which is what helped make this feel more real for me as a reader. Her exploration of occupation and how it differs from place to place was also fascinating – I loved the scenes in New City and how the relationship between the occupying forces and local people were described in contrast to Leiyang.

If it isn’t obvious yet, this book is an easy 5 stars for me. I thought the ending was incredibly fitting for this series but it has left me entirely heartbroken and shattered beyond belief – a mark of a truly great book! I wish it could have ended differently so my heart doesn’t hurt for everyone involved, but that wouldn’t have been the true ending for this book – happy isn’t in their vocabulary. If you haven’t pick up The Poppy War yet, I would highly recommend, just make sure you search out the trigger warnings as it is a hard read for a lot of the series.

From the beginning, this trilogy has been a brutal fantasy about the realities of war, and this final book is the best (and worst) yet.

Again, very much not for the faint hearted, R F Kuang has crafted a wildly brilliant saga of how terrible humanity can be to each other. Not shying away from the horror of war and racism and (certain aspects of) religion, she has written a book that wrung me out and left me exhausted.

The plot in The Burning God is non stop, with new twists and shocks every few pages. I think the most important message is that there are no "good" and "bad" guys in this kind of war, and everybody has their own problems and agendas. And that is so magnificently conveyed that I expect it will be weeks before I can stop thinking about this masterpiece.

A thrilling and captivating conclusion to an outstanding series - I can't wait to see what the author writes next!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

An incredible finale to a fantastic series. The characters complete their arcs in the most phenomenally satisfying way. There are no loose ends, nothing that makes the reader go 'I wish...'

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins UK & RF Kuang for giving me the e-ARC of The Burning God in exchange for an unbiased review.

The Burning God is one of those amazing books that shatter your heart & soul, that bring to the most fitting end a series like The Poppy War! The Poppy War is the most amazing book series ever written, and if you haven’t read it yet, you must drop everything and do so immediately!

At the start we find Nikan in the middle of a civil war, as Rin lets the Phoenix run rampant and leads the Southern Coalition into a rebellion against the Dragon Warlord Vaisra and his Republic. Rin is no longer the naive, vulnerable girl manipulated into being a weapon of mass destruction for influential men to use and then toss away; now she has her own people to protect and an entire nation to take back.

The Poppy War trilogy has always been about the cycles of violence and trauma, and the effects of colonialism and erasure of cultures and identities, but where the first two books focused on the chaos and devastation in a war-ravaged country, The Burning God brings to life the aftermath of a war.

There is no flinching from survivor trauma, and violence and how it can continue to haunt. The removal of humanity and demoing of inferiority all contribute to this haunting finale.

As a protagonist, Ron’s personal growth is stunning. Her descent into paranoia And shyer tUrmoil and rage is terrifying, As she becomes the ruthless leader her people need to win their war for them. How you see Rin, goddess or monster us down to you and how you read the book, but seriously this is masterful. RF Kuang, you are a monster! You have weaved such intricate political and military strategies of such complex and beautifully monstrous nature, that I can only bow to your mastery.

This is a heartbreakingly beautiful masterpiece that is an experience no reader should miss.

It’s more of a 4.5 this time but I’m obviously rounding up.

<b>CW: depictions of war, violence, gore, burning, talk of past rape, cannibalism, famine</b>

Finally, this brilliant trilogy comes to an end. I was absolutely stunned when I received the ARC for this finale, because despite reading both the previous books only last year, it was one of my most anticipated books of 2020 and I was quite dreading how it would end. And it was everything I expected it could be.

Kuang is a masterful writer and we as readers can feel the growth in her craft and skill in each subsequent book in this series. I was gripped from page one, and despite being more than 600 pages long, I really read it end to end in one go because I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I didn’t know how it ended. The story is engaging, brutal and intense, surprising me at many turns and also making me paranoid about what horrors lay in the upcoming chapters. The author also does an excellent job at creating a bleak atmosphere, a country ravaged by war, and a people who have very few options left for survival. It’s utterly heartbreaking to read at times, but that’s always been the strength of this trilogy. And the less I talk about the military strategies and battle sequences in the book, the better - because they are exquisitely crafted and I can say that this is definitely where the author shines the most.

Rin is the most frustrating character I must have read in the past couple of years, and I still couldn’t help but hope that there was a light at the end of the tunnel for her. She is fierce and brave but also ruthlessly pragmatic, who knows the consequences of having her power but still revels in exercising it, who’s thoughts and ideas are so off putting sometimes that we forget why she is the way she is and how much trauma she has gone through to be in this situation. She really is the perfect anti heroine and I have such a love-hate relationship with her, that she is gonna be very memorable to me for a long time to come.

What keeps us reminded of Rin’s humanity are the side characters - Kitay remains the moral center of the story, with his conviction to try and do the best thing possible in every circumstance and not indulge in unnecessary violence; and his relationship with Rin is probably gonna be my all time favorite friendship depiction for a long time to come. The absolute trust and belief they share in each other is amazing to read about and I’m gonna miss it now that the trilogy is over. We also get more of Venka in this finale and I thought that was a brilliant choice - she provides kind of a counter to Rin’s personality and despite being abrasive herself, the moments they share have some tenderness and it made for some quite reflective breaks in between intense situations.

We also get to know more about the history about the trifecta, especially Daji and Jiang but it still felt a little incomplete to me and I wanted to know about how they came to be and their falling out. We also get to know Nezha better and while it made me understand some of his decisions as well as his helplessness in certain circumstances, I still can’t like him. And I maybe can feel why Rin has such conflicting emotions about him and doesn’t always make rational decisions in confrontations with him, but I still hate the guy. There are also many other new characters introduced who had significant impacts on the story, and I was in awe of the author’s ability to be able to do that in the finale of a series.

All the themes and the history that the author brings to light through this fantasy world has always been the major highlight of this series for me. While TPW was a parallel to the second Sino-Japanese war and TDR was the beginning of the Chinese civil war, in this finale we see more of the parallels to the peasant revolution, rise of Mao Zedong, the Long March, and some indications of the devastation caused by the Great Famine. They all make for a difficult reading experience even when reading in a fictional world, so I can’t even imagine how brutal the actual events must have been in early and mid 20th century China.

Kuang never romanticizes the effects of war and this book shows more of it, without ever feeling gratuitous. The bigger picture of a war maybe for higher ideals like freedom and independence, but the devastation it causes in terms of unimaginable violence, deaths, food scarcity, homelessness and just overall trauma is very realistically depicted, and it creates very vivid pictures in our head which are hard to forget.

But just like in TDR, the thing that made me most angry was the depiction of western colonization through the Hesperians - how the west’s belief in their moral superiority and Christianity’s unending efforts to convert have decimated age old local traditions and cultures, robbing them of their uniqueness and making them all homogenized and in an image of the west, but also never equal to them.

In conclusion, this was a near perfect finale with intricate amalgamation of history and fantasy, spectacular military strategy and action sequences on both material and spiritual planes, and a host of amazing characters who make the most brutal choices imaginable in a merciless war. I really had no predictions about how it would end but when it all concluded the way it did, it made the perfect sense in my head and there can’t be anything more satisfying in the conclusion of a beloved series. If you are a fan of the previous two books, I obviously don’t need to convince you to read this one. But if you are someone who loves grimdark/military fantasy novels with very realistic depictions of war, then you should totally checkout this trilogy. I would also definitely recommend reading a bit about the history involved in creating this fantasy world, just so you can better appreciate the depth behind the storytelling and the unusual choices the author makes to bring this story to life.

By sheer coincidence, I started re-reading The Poppy War just before I found out you could request copies of The Burning God on Netgalley.

What followed was a sheer week of binge-reading R.F. Kuang. Before you stands a wreck of a reader: broken by three books’ worth of excellent writing, gripping plot twists and the horror of war.

So: the last we saw Fang Runin, she was bound for the south of Nikan, after being betrayed by her almost-lover and friend Nezha. Now, days after finishing one war- the war for the Republic, spearheaded by the Dragon Warlord Vaizra- she’s started another, to reclaim the south for southerners.

I have to say, R.F. Kuang’s writing has been stunningly excellent throughout, but The Burning God reaches new heights of perfection. Even though the book is a chunky beast (a CHUNKY beast), the pages fly by as you get sucked into the bloody, ruthless world of Nikan.

This series is bloodier than ever, focussing both on the horrors of war and the more insidious horror of occupation. The Hesperians are a very accurate take on the British colonial attitudes of the 19th and 20th centuries (and before) and reading about their complete lack of regard for the lives of the Nikara- and their dedication to using science and dissection to solve the inconvenient problem of shamanism- is really chilling, in direct contrast to Rin’s view of the world.

Rin is such a good character. She’s blatantly an anti-heroine, and I get that she’s not everybody’s cup of tea. But she’s the perfect fit for this book, and her relentless drive to get her revenge and find innovative new ways of outsmarting her enemies is wonderful to read.

And her relationship with Kitay is explored in even more depth in The Burning God. Though Kuang flirts with the idea of romance (flirts so much, in fact, it comes across as rather coy, as though she’s held back a bit too much from the reader), the heart of their relationship is perhaps the only wholesome thing in the entire book, and it’s a joy to read. Kitay is the person that keeps Rin sane, and tempers her worst impulses, but on the other hand she would die for him, and he her.

I don’t want to say too much about the ending, but I will say this: it absolutely killed me. It’s absolutely the right ending for this kind of trilogy, but still, it’s so sad. OK, I’ve said too much.

So, that’s The Burning God finished. It’s a stunning series, and one that I’ll definitely revisit in future; in the meantime, though, I need a sit down and a cup of tea.

Fang Runin's journey comes to a fitting close



Look, if you're here reading this review of the third book in a trilogy, especially one that's had the reach and popularity of The Poppy War trilogy, one of three things is probably true: you've read the previous books in the series and are looking to confirm whether the last one is going to live up to the expectations you've already developed about the series; you've avoided or bounced off earlier books and are wondering if my opinions are going to change your mind about if the series is for you; or you've read the book and you're wondering if I can a) contextualise what just happened or b) otherwise add to your reading experience with my #opinions. Let me put you all out of your misery quickly: Group A, the answer is yes, Group B, the answer is no, and Group C, I have no idea but I'll do my best for you. The Burning God brings to a close a very particular series in a way that stays very true to its core themes and aesthetic. If its what you're here for, you're going to like this one very much.

The Burning God picks up right where The Dragon Republic leaves off, with Fang Runin - a shaman able to harness the power of a super destructive god called the Phoenix - having thrown in her lot with a Southern Rebellion after being betrayed by the other rebellion forces she had helped to overthrow the Empress Su Daji. From that starting point, The Burning God proceeds to cover so much ground that it's hard to know where the scene-setting stops and the spoilers begin: there's the return to reclaim her southern home from foreign occupation by the remnants of the Mugenese troops who Rin and co. fought off in The Poppy War; her attempts to build relationships with rebel leaders who refuse to see her as anything more than an inconveniently powerful young girl; the reconnection with former enemy powers and the attempt to harness them to her cause; and of course, the reckoning with the forces of the Dragon Province, led by sometimes-ally mostly-enemy awkwardly-also-a-love-interest fellow Sineguard graduate Yin Nezha. Also thrown into the mix is the ongoing agenda of the Hesperians, the more technologically advanced, scientifically racist foreign power which has thrown its lot in with the Dragon's elites in order to further their own religious and cultural agenda. And, of course, the effects of the previous two books, including Rin's connections with the Cike, the Empire's now decimated shaman forces, her reckoning with her legacy as the last surviving descendent of the Speerly ethnic group, and her relationships with the few remaining allies she has from her time at the Sineguard academy. Getting through all of that is a serious undertaking, and while none of the events of The Burning God feel rushed, per se, there's certainly a relentless sense of action driving things through to their conclusion, and there were certainly emotional moments (particularly those involving Chen Kitay, Rin's oldest friend and ally) which could have benefitted from more space to breathe. I also suspect that the amount of shifting scenery in The Burning God was what allowed a transparent Tibet parallel called "Dog Province", complete with a reference to its people as "Dogs", to slip through sensitivity reading without challenge: an uncomfortable moment of unexamined, throwaway chauvinism that sailed far too close to oppression in our own world for my liking.

In-keeping with the rest of the trilogy, there are historical parallels here to the war between the Nationalist and the Communists, including a surprisingly understated (mild Cannibalism notwithstanding) version of the Long March from Rin's forces. There's also depictions of famine brought on by the war, and scenes of villagers turning on and punishing collaborators after occupation in various creatively brutal ways. Most of the descriptive brutality takes place at the beginning of the book, and I definitely felt there was a difference between the various horrors depicted, particularly towards the end: large-scale destruction seems to pass almost without comment from Rin, entire armies and cities just disappearing into the maw of destruction, whereas the pain and death inflicted on individuals outside the main battlefields is far more detailed and emotionally affecting. It's a difference that's very much inkeeping with Rin's emotional arc, as she progresses from a frustrated general trying to undo the horrors of war in her own home, to a leader drawn to increasingly bold and high-risk tactics to turn the tables on her enemies and secure herself enough power to do things differently. To me, it quickly became clear that it's Rin's emotional journey that provides the storytelling beats here rather than any hope of systemic change. Readers who know my tastes will know this isn't really where I personally wanted things to go, but that's really besides the point: The Burning God has always been clear that this is Rin's story, albeit one that draws heavily on its backdrop to inform who Rin is and why her journey takes place in the way that it does.

The way that this series takes on historical events in Sino-Japanese history has been extensively covered elsewhere, and I recommend this particular primer to understand where Kuang draws parallels not just from 19th and 20th century events but from classical Chinese stories as well. Having studied a bit of 20th century Chinese politics, what intrigued me most about the character work in The Burning God is how, more so than the other two books in the series, it plays with parallels between the characters of the series and the major historical figures whose cults of personality dominated what came next in our own history. Rin's attempts to establish herself as a leader in the rebellion - first one among many, and later as its head - are easy to compare to Mao Zedong, leader of the Chinese communist forces and ruler of the People's Republic of China from the end of the civil war until until his death in 1976. But Rin has been through a great deal of other experiences, not least those shaped by her identity as a Speerly and a woman, both aspects which are absent in her historical counterpart. It's that tension between the historical record and the character's experience that made The Burning God's ultimate dilemma so compelling: when faced with a choice between embracing the feeling of total power over her people bestowed upon her by her god, or following the forgotten heroes of her own heritage along a different path, it's impossible to know what Rin will do until the book's last, dramatic pages.

I can't call The Burning God satisfying - it's not meant to be. It tells the story of a society that was broken from the very beginning, and whose subsequent experiences have only driven it further into ruin, and of a character whose attempt to escape poverty within that society turns into a desperate, miserable struggle for survival that was never going to turn out well. I come away from the Poppy War feeling I've read an important series, one that is likely to be talked about for a long time to come, and which readers should go into with their eyes open to the difficult subject matter it covers and the historical context on which it draws. For those who have been waiting for this moment: you're not going to be disappointed, but you are going to need a calming beverage and something to cuddle afterwards. Good luck.

The Math

Baseline Score: 8/10

Bonuses: +1 character work that blurs the lines of historical events and the book's own powerful mythology to great effect

Penalties: -1 There's so much ground to cover that some secondary characters don't get much time to breathe

Nerd Coefficient: 8/10

POSTED BY: Adri, Nerds of a Feather co-editor, is a semi-aquatic migratory mammal most often found in the UK. She has many opinions about SFF books, and is also partial to gaming, baking, interacting with dogs, and Asian-style karaoke. Find her on Twitter at @adrijjy

Reference: Kuang, R.F. The Burning God [Harper Voyager, 2020]

The final instalment in one of my favourite trilogies, I was excited but also hesitant to read this (because I don’t want it to end) . R F Kuang takes us right back into the thick of it straight from the end of The Dragon Republic and you feel like you’ve never left Rin and Kitay (you cant read these as standalone if you didn’t get that you need to read the first two). This book is a wild ride, it will leave you drained but loving every bit of drama, anxiety riddled page turning, twist and turn. An amazing finale to an epic trilogy, one that will stay with me for a long time.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang is the third and final instalment in the epic Poppy War Trilogy, an epic dark fantasy series inspired by the history of twentieth century China. This book is definitely not one that can be read as a stand alone, it is imperative that you read the rest of the series first ( The Poppy War and The Dragon Republic) as without the knowledge of plot and character from these books the reader would be lost. As a trilogy the books are really written on an epic scale and take martial fantasy to a level I have not encountered before. The books feature large scale military combat and in depth discussions of tactics and strategy combined with a mystical element including a pantheon of Gods which can be called down by shaman warriors. A myriad of clans and tribes as well as constantly shifting alliances keeps the reader on their toes, and the central character Rin, is one that I will never forget, fallibly human yet in commune with the divine, she is a wonderful creation, as are so many of the other characters. Fair warning, this book is not for the faint of heart, the descriptions of war are vivid and they do not stint on the gore. Rape, torture, maiming and death happen and are graphically described in all their horror. This book is a fitting and memorable finale to a very special series and I was so gripped that I read the 500+ pages in less than 24 hours.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own,

There should be a moment in time when you think: this book cannot possibly hurt me anymore then it already has. And then it does.

This was a book that took me to the edge and left me there.
It grabbed me by the throat and didn’t not let go.
There is no mercy, there is no forgetting and there is no peace in sight.
Thats how I felt while reading this. Like I was staring into an abyss.

There are so many twists and turns throughout this book - there is no guessing what comes next and yet I think it was a perfect ending.
It enraged me, and yet was perfect.
This world feels so massive, so real and so incredibly gritty that I wouldn’t be surprised if Kuang came out and told everyone she had been looking into an alternative dimension where all of this really happened.

Each character is so very human it hurts - showing us the very worst of who we can be, showing us suffering, and agony and yet the tiniest bit of hope which makes us continue forward.

It is a book I think I will have to reread over and over again just to take it all in.

This book was a wild ride and I’m still recovering from this book.

This book had me terrified the whole time I was reading. I read it in two evenings and I could not put this book down. I wasn’t sure what to expect, all I knew was that I should be afraid for the lives of my favourite characters.

This book starts just after the ending of The Dragon Republic and we see Rin and Kitay having to regroup and figure out what they are going to do after the betrayal they suffered which also resulted in the death of the cike. (I am still not over what happened to my baby Ramsa.) As they are no longer on the side of the powerful they have to learn new ways in which they can defeat their enemies and it was really interesting to see how they had to adapt and how they struggled through that.

Rin goes through a lot in this book and we see her gain more control over the phoenix and channel that into the battles, she also begins to understand that not everything can be done through destruction and Kitay is always there to help and support her. Their friendship and bond is one of my favourite parts of this trilogy. Seeing them both grow together and then becoming linked even more deeply when Kitay becomes her anchor. I just loved them so much, though Kitay is my absolute favourite.

There are some incredibly difficult topics discussed in this book including different forms of trauma and we see Rin struggle with that throughout the book. From having to deal with being treated as lesser because she was a war orphan and has dark skin to dealing with being betrayed and having to watch those she was supposed to lead and protect be killed. She is able to channel all her anger to fighting to save her home but it also comes at a cost.

Another theme that is prevalent in this book is how the Hesperians colonise their land to “improve” it because Rin and her people are clearly inferior. I felt this deep in my soul because we see this so much in our lives and being Pakistani and knowing how the British colonised and destroyed the land made me so angry when reading about it in the book. Especially how when Rin goes to the New City and sees just how much it has been changed by the Hesperians. How they teach the people that they know better and that they are inherently superior, so they have the right to do this. It is scarily accurate to real life. Honestly for me they were the worst villains.

We also finally see the trifecta together and what happened to them and what truly happened to the Speerlys and it is even worse than what we already know. I was shook by everything that went down and then what Rin decided to do once the trifecta were destroyed.

This book has some epic battle scenes especially with Rin and Nezha. There is one scene especially which was written so cinematically with Nezha making it rain and Rin breathing fire and I just love seeing them interact. The dynamics they have where they both love and hate each other. Their banter and the way they fight each other. I just loved it.

And then we have THAT ending. I didn’t know what to expect for a trilogy like this and it utterly broke me. I don’t think I will ever be over that ending.

This trilogy is dark and brutal but I love it so much. With characters that you want to root for despite the awful things they have done and everyone is morally grey. Characters driven by power and revenge and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. I haven’t read a trilogy quite like this and I highly recommend it.

Weaving Chinese history and mythology The Poppy War trilogy has been one of the best and most gripping fantasy series I have read recently.

Kuang is not afraid to shy away from the horrific realities of war and what a country that has been torn apart with violence looks like in the wake of all that destruction.

All of the characters feel real and fleshed out and their interactions with one another help to humanise them and make you want to root for them even when they make horrific choices.

The Burning God is a gripping, heart wrenching conclusion to the series as we see Rin battle one last time for vengeance and power.

My full spoiler free review is now up on my blog:

The Burning God is the third and final instalment in The Poppy War series and concludes this spellbinding saga in a superb and satiating manner. Loosely based on real-world Chinese history, namely the Sino-Chinese War, this is an epic military fantasy about a young woman named Rin, who finds herself in the midst of a brutal war. The Burning God sees Rin reunited with her best friend, Kitay, as the South wages war on the Mugenese and the Hesperions. Throughout Rin has been fighting this never-ending war not only with the enemy but also within herself as she tries to establish her identity. In the process, she has lost many of those who were closest to her leaving her feeling nothing but rage and anger. Now she is the most feared shaman across the empire leaving her enemies terrified at the possibility of encountering her. Having saved the nation of Nikan from Hyperion in The Dragon Republic and having gone toe to toe with the former Empress of Nikan, Su Daji, Rin is left for dead having been betrayed by her allies and apparent friend Nezha. Despite this, she is not about to give up and joins forces with the Southern Coalition.

Rin has sacrificed much of her military life for the South and, in particular, her home village of Tikany. Having already been betrayed by those she thought most loyal, she must keep her wits about her as her gut tells her the Southern Coalition leadership are not to be trusted. She quickly comes to the realisation that she must always keep her guard up if she wants to avoid further betrayals and save her own skin. With the Southern masses backing her and the Southern Army in toe, Rin will utilise all the weapons at her disposal to defeat the foreign enemy of Hesperia and the Dragon Republic. In her quest to totally obliterate her enemies, Rin must both join forces with new acquintances and reunite with companions of old. Her trust will again be tested as she must decide who is with her and who is against her; not such an easy feat with so many shifting allegiances in a climate where everything can turn on the flip of a coin.

This is an impressive and immersive conclusion to a compulsive and emotional series, which is based on cycles of violence, abuse, and responses to trauma. The series has shown just how violence recreates itself; how wars don’t end if dehumanising narratives persist and the damage wreaked by an unending cycle of war, corruption and oppression. The Mugenese have never treated the Speerlies as human; Rin ends the book convinced that the Mugenese aren’t human. This narrative is reflective of China at the height of The Song Empire’s dynastic power and the xenophobia that existed at the time. Written in luscious prose and featuring characters I have come to treat as friends, this is a book that left me in a mess of emotions as we say farewell to arguably one of the most intricate, compelling and accomplished fantasy franchises of all time. Those who have being engrossed in this series from the very beginning will not be disappointed by this climax; I know I certainly wasn't. Kuang doesn't pull any punches and leaves a powerful last impression as the combination of intricate worldbuilding, spectacular storytelling ability and a truly magnificent cast of characters face the final curtain. Highly recommended. Many thanks to HarperVoyager for an ARC.

Thank you to Harper Voyager, Netgalley and RF Kuang for my arc of The Burning God in exchange for an honest review.

Spoiler warning. This review contains some spoilers for the first two books in this series; The Poppy War & The Dragon Republic.

The Burning God is the third and final instalment in RF Kuang's The Poppy War series, based on the real events of the second sino-chinese war and the time of the Song Dynasty. The series is a Grimdark type of fantasy which Kuang achieves with her characters who are (mostly) all violent, and unlikeable and the magic and dark realism that runs throughout.

Following on from the first two books In The Burning God Rin is reeling from the betrayal of Nezha and his father. After their promise of creating a new republic ended with them taking over the reign of the country with help from the Hesperians who Rin despises, Rin is determined to win back Nikan and free her people. With a little help from some old and new friends.

The Burning God was another complex, engrossing addition to this series. It tore me up with heartbreak, frustration and fierce loyalty to Rin who I really honestly couldn't even say I liked very much! Her character arc has been one of the most intricate and complicated that I've ever come across in a book. Her move from a poor, orphaned country girl to the wielded of a God's power has been nothing short of incredible. Her mistrust, desperation and fierce resilience are what make these books some of the most fantastic books I've ever read. I'm so sad that this series is ending but I can promise you that it will not disappoint Kuang certainly knows how to write an ending!

I’m fine, I’m totally fine.

One word - SAVAGE.

This book has quite possibly the most graphic and brutal opening chapter (not prologue) that I’ve ever read. Followed up with an assault of war battle sequences, strategy and then THAT ENDING.

Did it finish how I expected it to? Yes. Did I love it? Absolutely!