This. Book. I've laughed, cried and screamed while reading it.
Honestly, this was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I almost cried with excitement when I saw my request for an arc had been approved, and I immediately began to binge-read it over the space of two days. I honestly couldn't put it down, from the moment I started reading it.
R. F. Kuang's final installment had everything I wanted in it. There was military tactics galore, and payoff to trilogy long character arcs. Were there flaws? Of course there were. I still can't decide how I feel about the ending, but what I do know is that it was satisfying enough that it didn't taint my view of the rest of the book.
Rin is, and always will be, one of my favourite characters of all time; she's my murder child and I think Kuang did a brilliant job with her and the drastic changes she undorgoes throughout. My favourite part of the book (and the trilogy in general) was the relationship between Rin and Kitay, and that was much more present in this book than any of the others.
I will say there there definitely could have been more character driven moments, and there was a couple of things that I still haven't really wrapped my head around, but overall I honestly loved this book, and it's one of my favourite books of the year.

The Burning God is the final instalment in the Poppy War series, which has followed Rin from student warrior, to mythical all-consuming fire God and beyond. In that time we’ve seen her face a number of difficult decisions, witness horrors unlike anything we could imagine, and break friendships that have destroyed her trust. This follows straight on from the devastating aftermath of The Dragon Republic, and leads onto a final epic showdown for Rin to reclaim her country.

When I look back on the Rin from the Poppy war, the creature she is now feels completely foreign. This Rin, although not burning with rage, burns with a lust for power. It’s only Kitay – her physical and mythical anchor who often stops her from going beyond and into the destructive. This Rin is consumed with a need to control and destroy, as though she has become the manifestation of her God in her quest to free her country and therefore has sacrificed her own humanity. She weighs up decisions that other individuals would be devastated by without thinking, and shows little compassion for her so called enemies. As always, I love her relationship with Kitay. He is often the only person who will stand up to Rin and question her decisions. He is the moral backbone of the campaign, the only one left who is not obsessed with control. He’s seen as much horror as Rin, has suffered as much as her, yet he doesn’t have this desire to obliterate. He still knows how to love, and is a pacifist at heart. Nezha and Rin share a much more complex history and relationship, and in some ways the three of them mirror the history of the original Trifecta. With Nezha’s betrayal, Rin has become even more distrusting of people, and she’s become unstable. She is obsessed with Nezha and revenge, but I think she also still loves him deeply – and this causes an interesting dynamic between the pair. One which comes to an all mighty crescendo of possession and domination.

As usual, the novel also brings up some interesting political and social commentary that is reflected in our own history. The Hesperians are very clearly this world’s interpretation of Europeans. A dominant power that seeks to obliterate Rin and any other shamen who may exist as they threaten their own beliefs in a God known as the ‘Architect’. As in previous novels, we see them exerting their dominance over the continent – forcing Rin to make alliances she never would have previously made. There is also a lot of guerrilla and siege warfare throughout the novel, which takes the story in a very different direction from the previous two novels as Rin is forced to consider tactics she was never taught at Sinegard. For the first time she’s really starting to examine her own capacity as a leader, and accept (sometimes, not all the time) help from those that are more experienced in the type of war she now finds herself in. I always enjoy the various enfolding of war plans and ideas – which I know isn’t for everyone.

I also really enjoyed that the Burning God lets us see more of Rin’s country. We go on some epic journeys throughout this, over and below mountains, throughout dangerous terrains and into more mythical places. We see just how vast Rin’s homeland is, and what an epic task she really has in front of her if she plans to unite it again. It feels very desolate, famine is rife and homes have been completely destroyed due to years of war, causing migrant refugees. It’s not a happy country and civil unrest is extremely high. We get to see all the fallout of war in all it’s horrific details.

This wasn’t a perfect conclusion for me. I do still feel that Rin has an obsession with Altan that I just can’t connect with. The guy hasn’t been around since the end of The Poppy War,a nd by this point I’ve lost all interest in him. His relationship with Rin feels pointless – although it does serves to show how much hatred Rin has for herself. I also, as always, wanted more from the Pantheon and the Gods. They’re a group of pure chaos, and every scene involving shamanism and magic is pure joy was a read about, as I find the magic system so unique and compelling. The ending for some may also feel like a bit of a let-down, although I don’t think what transpires is completely unexpected. There are no happy endings here – only inevitability.

All said, this was a wonderful conclusion to a fantasy series I have found incredibly thought provoking, and with some of the strongest and most complex characters I have ever seen and a magical system that feels so real, yet also so distinctly alien.

I don’t even know where to begin. Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins and R.F. Kuang for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review. I applied thinking that it was a pipedream and that no one would actually let me review the finale in this amazing series, then the book came through and I had to immediately pre order the paperback of the second book in the trilogy which I had been waiting for. I’ve devoured both in a matter of days.

If you’ve read The Poppy War trilogy you’ll know that R.F. Kuang is a master when it comes to depicting the brutality and horrendous things that can occur in a war, she does not shy away from it. Rather, she invites it in and graphically depicts all the things that make war so unheroic, something that other fantasy writers often fail to do. It is a work of art.

The Burning God comes right after Rin has escaped the city of Arlong at the end of The Dragon Republic, and in true fashion is jam packed full of Shamanism, gripping war scenes and absolutely heartbreaking moments. I will admit that I cried, as R.F. Kuang warned in the dedication. Her writing, as in the previous books is unparalleled, she really hooks you in and paints the picture of the scenery and the feelings that Rin is feeling. Along with shocking twists and betrayals, you’re never quite sure on who exactly you can trust.

As someone who is thoroughly interested in mythology I loved this trilogy, Kuang really builds her world up, and lends beautifully from Chinese mythology, which I will be exploring more now because of this trilogy. The Shamanism element is done so perfectly and really makes you invested in the characters and their mental states. I think that Rim’s character is done really well, we meet her as a very young girl and it really shows with her immaturity, and then throughout the series as her character experiences certain things you understand her mental state and her motivations better and better.

Kuang incorporates many topics into her writing and one that shines through in this book is racism. Rin experiences racism from the start of The Poppy War when she goes to Sinegard to find that she is looked down upon because of her darker skin, right through to the attitudes of the Hesperian attitudes towards the Nikara people. The Hesperians seem to be based upon Western colonisers, and are depicted with graphic accuracy, from the experiments to the ‘scientific’ explanations of why the Nikara are ‘less’ than them. This is done incredibly well, however, Kuang also balances this with Rin’s own struggle in which she sees everyone as her enemy. Throughout the series, you see Rin have moments of clarity that soldiers for the Mugnese and Hesperians are just like the Nikara, and that in cases the Nikara can be just as bad as the people that have overtaken them, and her struggle with that as it makes things less black and white.

Throughout the whole series I do not think I could pick out a favourite character, because they all shine in different ways and I love them for different reasons, and some of them I miss. I think the characters are incredibly well written, for their flaws and complexity, Kuang knows how to write characters that are impacted by great tragedy.

The ending was incredible, and in all honesty I thought that it was the perfect end to the trilogy (although I do really want it to continue because I’m already imagining how it could). I am truly going to miss this series which has already become one of my favourites, and cannot wait to see what Kuang comes up with next. Thank you again.

As ever it is unbearably hard to talk about the final book in a trilogy in isolation so I'm going to assume that all of you reading this have already read the first two books in this series. If you haven't then I highly suggest that you do so this is a wonderful series that pretty much every fantasy reader ought to pick up!

Whenever I'm reading a series and a new book comes out the first thing I want to know is : do I need to re-read everything? So I'll start there. As you all know I am a person who quite frequently reads things out of order - that's just my way. But in this case I highly recommend that you go right back to the beginning and read all three in one go (or at least very close together). There's something about a trilogy with this kind of scope that makes it 500% better if you experience the full character arc. While you won't be completely lost if you jump in without re-reading (the book does a good job of reacclimating you), it will give you a better and more impactful reading experience if you do go back to the beginning - or so I found.

One tip I will give to people like me who struggle with remembering names of characters - do all three in the same format (e.g. audiobook. physical etc.) as that will mean you keep the right names/sounds in your head.

Of all three books I would probably say The Dragon Republic remains my favourite. I think The Poppy War has the most...understandable plot, The Dragon Republic has the most impactful character development and then The Burning God kind of...ties off what happened in the previous books. I will say it is possible I am a little biased because I didn't get the ending I wanted (which is totally fine there are a million and one ways to end a series I just like things to go a certain way and they didn't). This book is still super strong and has all of the strategy and character and clever plot and setting that the previous books have it just didn't quite hit so hard for me - though of course that could change in a re-read. 

I think in this book I felt less connected to Rin than I have in other books - again that's probably a personal thing, we all relate to characters in different ways - but where in earlier books I felt as though Rin was making disaster choices for understandable reasons things felt a bit more chaotic at times - particularly in the first sections of this book. Later on things got much more...understandable?

I think that's what it boils down to - this book took longer to get into than the other books and that definitely had an impact on my enjoyment. But what I take from that is that this is not a series to be read once and then forgotten - this is one to re-read constantly, each time taking something different away - and that's kind of one of my favourite things a series can be!

This series as a whole is five stars for me, seeing the arc these characters go through was always going to be amazing and I'm excited to re-read in the future. 

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley - all opinions are my own.

The Burning God is out November 17th!

Thank you to the publisher Harper Voyager for providing me with an early copy of this book to review.

This finale to The Poppy War series was everything I hoped it would be and more.

I read both The Poppy War and The Dragon Republic this year and completely fell in love with everything to do with this world; the characters, the world building, the plot, the writing. R.F. Kuang has become one of my all time favourite authors and I cannot wait to see what she comes out with in the future.

The Burning God lived up to every expectation I had after finishing The Dragon Republic earlier this year and even exceeded them. I had to take my time reading this book as I just didn't want it to be over and I wanted to take in everything and properly digest what was happening.

By the end of this book I was an emotional wreck and sobbing hysterically. I felt like I got to truly know our main characters and became extremely attached to them. It was so bittersweet to reach the end of this book because while I wanted to see how it ended and what happened, I was so sad to let this world and characters go.

R.F. Kuang did a fantastically stunning job with this series with each book being just as good as the last. It's obvious how much work and research she put into this series and it does not go unappreciated.

Overall, The Burning God is a perfect conclusion for this series and if you think you know how it's going to end, you might want to think again.

A final book's summary so enticing, it made me go read the first two books, just so I could get to it. Wonderfully done from R.F. Kuang.

This was literally everything I wanted from the conclusion to this series!! No words except for that this is possibly the most well-written, engaging, pulse-stopping fantasy series I've ever read and whatever the author does next I will be there.

I've been so excited for the final conclusion of The Poppy War for some time now and this book was the epic conclusion I was hoping for! This was certainly a complex end to Rin's story and quite the journey to go on. This was very heavy on the warfare and battle strategy, which is about right after where The Dragon Republic left us. 

These books are dark, dramatic, full of gore, swear words and brutality. This series is not one to be taken lightly, but it does still have its humorous moments in a brilliantly dry way. I think that's a way in which some of the characters need to cope with what is going on. Because in between the few bits of humour lies a dark and brutal storyline. This series isn't afraid to pull punches and shock the reader. There is no common trope or a predictable storyline in The Burning God and for that I love it. It meant I never knew where it was going to go. 

Rin isn't a bad guy, but she also isn't a good guy. She is just fighting on one of two sides and believes what she is doing is right. This makes her both morally grey but also relatable. I mean sure, we're not all trying to defeat a republic, but we're all trying to live our lives, fight for what we believe in and do what we think is the right thing. For this reason, Rin is a fantastic character and I love reading about how she grows and changes as a person. 

Personally I could have done with more character interactions and a little less warfare, but I do love a good action scene so this didn't matter too much. I felt myself wanting a little more variety from these kinds of scenes, but they are still incredibly well written. I just wanted a bit more from other aspects, especially to find out more about the other Gods we haven't yet discovered.

Overall I really enjoyed this conclusion to what has been a fantastic trilogy.

Eternal thanks to the publisher, Harper Voyager, and Netgalley for gifting me this book to review. I was so excited to read this book as I really enjoyed The Poppy War and the Dragon Republic. This is the final book in the series and I would say it was a good end to the series and I can’t see it ending it any other way.

This book throws you straight into a war and it pretty much stays that way. It is very action packed and fast paced. I enjoyed the writing style but I think sone parts would have benefitted from a slower pace. I really liked the action though and how the scenes were written. The world in this book is amazing and I have always loved the world building in the series. I liked that we see more of the world in this book, especially the south and how it differs to the rest of the world. I would happily read more books set in this world. The magic system and the links to god was great and I liked how we saw other powers in this book. We also learn more about the trifecta in this book and now I need a book on them.

There are lots of characters in this book but I’ll just chose a few to mention. Rin is the main character and she makes bad choices, gets betrayed and is a sort of anti-hero. Rin is a character that part of me likes and part of me doesn’t, I want to scream at her sometimes. She was also a little obsessed with power which I didn’t like and she is mad with power. One of my favourite characters, Kitay gets a bigger role in this book as he is now Rin’s anchor between her and her god. Kitay holds a place in my heart.

Jiang is back in this book and I loved him in the first book. I really liked how we saw a little bit more of him in this book. There are other returning characters such as Venka, daji and Nezha just to name a couple and I liked what they added to the book. I seem to enjoy the side characters more than the main character in this series. There are new characters that also join the story and I thought they were okay, I just like the characters I already knew more.

There is no romance in this series which is refreshing to read and I like how it isn’t pushed or focussed on as romance isn’t important to Rin. She wants to fight and win the war. There are parts of this book and the series that is dark, it doesn’t shy away from atrocities committed at war and it also shows the bleak after effects of war.

The ending. You are not ready for the ending. I thought it was a fitting end to the series and although I didn’t cry, I felt like I could have. That’s all I will say.

Overall this has been a great series, I gave every book 4/5 stars which is unusual for me. I would highly recommend this series but prefer yourself as it is brutal at times. I will probably reread the entire series again in the future.

Writing: 5 star. Enjoyment: 4 star. Overall: 4.5 stars rounded up.

‘The Burning God’ was one of my most anticipated releases of 2020. RF Kuang has been one of my favourite authors since her first book, ‘The Poppy War’, so I couldn’t wait to read the final instalment in the trilogy. As advance copies started to go out, praise poured in, so I went into this with sky-high expectations. It proved to be an absolutely excellent book – but for whatever reason, it just didn’t click with me quite as well as its predecessors. It was almost perfect, with gorgeous language and a fantastic plot, but there was so much hype I just expected a little bit more.

‘The Burning God’ follows Rin, a Speerly shaman, as she tries to wrest her country back from the control of foreign invaders (the Hesperians) and defeat her mortal enemy (and old classmate) Nezha in the process. She’s already razed an entire island to ashes and will stop at nothing until victory is hers. However, the more she becomes captivated by power, the more dangerous she becomes – and in the end, even her anchor and best friend Kitay might not be enough to save her.

Rin is the ultimate morally grey protagonist. She’s stubborn, determined, and never admits she’s wrong. Her military training and shamanism have shaped her into a weapon to the extent that she doesn’t know how to be anything else – or when to stop. Kuang’s writing is masterful, making Rin into a character you want to root for, then carefully weaving her journey together so you don’t notice her falling to the wrong side until she’s already gone. Even when she commits the worst atrocities it’s impossible not to feel sympathetic towards her – a real achievement.

Kitay is a lovely, sweet character, but here she shows more steel than he has before. It’s easy to forget that he’s a solider to – in this book, his ruthless streak comes out to play. Kitay tries to keep Rin from going too far, but he’s just as willing to play the game as everyone else. I enjoyed seeing a different side to him and Rin’s reaction to that.

Nezha is a far more peripheral character in ‘The Burning God’ than I expected. In many ways, this is realistic – war is rarely fought between the leaders, instead being fought by the cannon fodder – but I wanted to see more of him.

This is a true military fantasy trilogy, and this is a more plot-driven novel than its predecessors – which I think is why it’s my least favourite. I love character driven stories, but here the characters have already been developed and it’s the plot that drives everything forward. Coupled with the fact that I’d already guessed the ending, it didn’t pack as much of an emotional punch as I expected. The plot is excellent and the ending appropriate, and for many will be incredibly emotional – but there wasn’t enough character build-up in this for it to reach those heights for me. It might have worked better if I’d reread the first two immediately before to immerse myself in the characters.

RF Kuang is an exceptional writer, and from a technical perspective this is her best novel yet. The writing is gorgeous, painting a beautiful – if at times horrible – picture of everything that happens. Every moment is visceral and real. ‘The Poppy War’ is a fabulous book but clearly a debut – this is a book written by a true master of her craft.

Overall, this is an excellent book concluding a fantastic trilogy that I’d recommend to every fantasy fan. It didn’t quite meet the very, very lofty expectations I had for it – but that’s a sign of how highly I value RF Kuang’s writing. I’m looking forward to reading what she writes next.

“The Burning God” is a breath-taking and charged conclusion to The Poppy War series. It’s evident why Kuang calls this her best work as of yet, this book packed a punch and I’m still in awe of her ingenuity as I’m writing this. This trilogy has been such an incredible journey. I’ve suffered and gotten frustrated a lot, but it has consistently hooked my attention from beginning to end. I truly applaud the author on this masterpiece and on this perfect ending.

Seeing Rin grow through these books has been such a delight and following her evolution in this last book until it was time to say goodbye forever was almost bittersweet. She is such an interesting study of how power and leadership can lead you astray. I’m so oddly proud of her journey and how far she’s come. Don’t get me wrong, she can be so incredibly frustrating in her stupidity sometimes but it’s her flaws that make her such a complex and engaging character.

The previous books had a lot of foreshadowing and this last one did not disappoint when it came to that. I loved the use of symbolism and parallels, of history coming full circle, of fate and destiny. The symbolism was so smart, yet logical when you take a step back and connect it back to all the hints that had been dropped along the way. This book kept me on my toes and continued to surprise me to the last page.

The Poppy War may be set in a fantasy world but Kuang has always offered a realistic and gritty depiction of civil war and the consequences that come with it, on the land and on the civilians. What I liked about “The Burning God” is how all of this was so clearly shown and how similar Nikan’s suffering was to my own country. This series may have been based on Chinese 20th century history, but Maoism encouraged political unrest which eventually led to civil wars that devastated South-East Asia.

Despite some parts feeling too “easy” or too fast, which left me a bit disappointed, “The Burning God” was ultimately such a powerful and intense finale, and in the grand scheme of things, those issues I had weren’t significant enough to overshadow the rest of this phenomenal book and the undeniable quality of Kuang’s writing.

I don't know how to describe how I feel now that I've finished reading The Burning God. I cannot believe I have to add the ending of this book to my list of issues to my therapist.

This book was like being in the middle of a war and witnessing the aftermath of it. I'm going to miss my chaotic, savage as hell Rin, Kitay and so many other characters who stole my heart. The Burning God answered every one of my burning questions that the previous books had brought up and then some. We learn more about the Trifecta, about how much advanced the technology the Hesperians have and about the gods. Of course, there were more betrayals, little to almost no sleeping(I want that kind of power), more burning, and yeah, I absolutely bloody loved every second of it!!

I'll try to write a full review on my blog because this series is one of those books that leave you bereft of words. SO, WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE?! Go, and PRE-ORDER or you know wait, if you're broke like me... *no pressure* (well, slight pressure)

Million thanks to R. F. Kuang for penning this fantastic, rob-you-of-sleep fantasy!! Of course, an equal amount of thanks to Harper Collins for granting me an ARC!

tw // cannibalism, graphic violence, gore, dead bodies, mutilation, drugs, colorism, colonization, war, famine, mentions of rape

im still reeling and i can't accept that this series is now over. i feel a void in my heart because i will miss this world and the characters so much.

tbh this book has a lot of flaws. there are important scenes that seem rushed and could have been more fleshed out. there are chatacter encounters that i wish were more developed. there were things that i wanted to happen that didn't happen. most especially, i wasn't really satisfied with the ending.

however, i am still giving this five stars because IM A SENTIMENTAL HOE and rf kuang still delivered gut punching scenes that most authors could only hope for. i dare say that this book is even more brutal than its predecessors. i love how rf kuang gave so much detail to the nuances of war. im always in awe of how she writes these books so realistically even though the real thing is chilling and full of gore. the war strategies and action scenes were very well-written and almost made my heart jump out of my chest.

i have a lot of critiques for this book but the fact still stands that its best parts deserve so much credit. i still can't fully articulate my feelings because THERE'S SO MUCH I WANT TO SAY but my brain still can't form the right words. this series will always have a special place in my heart. reading this trilogy was a unique and memorable experience that i will never trade for anything.

(IM GETTING SENTIMENTAL THE TEARS ARE COMING AJDJDJDJ)

farewell my murder babies you have done so well 😭😭😭

R.F. Kuang had a tall order on her hands when it came to the task of writing the hotly anticipated conclusion to The Poppy War trilogy -- both its predecessors met with rave reviews and drummed up a passionate fanbase; the consensus was already that Kuang’s second book, The Dragon Republic blew the already beloved first installment, The Poppy War, out of the water. Expectations were sky-high, fans were bouncing off the walls trying to come up with theories about the fates of Rin, Nezha, and Kitay, and the pressure could not have been higher. But because this is R.F. Kuang, and her books only go from strength to strength, she knocks it completely out of the park.

I have to force myself to be brief in this review, mainly in the interest of avoiding spoilers and inviting the righteous ire of a not insignificant portion of the internet, but it’s not going to be easy. Kuang has referred to herself as “an ideas author,” and it’s never been more evident than in The Burning God. The scale of this book is massive, not just in terms of the battles that wage in its pages but the ideas about warfare, politics, cycles of abuse, imperialism, and class that simmer beneath them. The ideological explorations of the first two books explode here, and it’s a testament to Kuang’s skill as a storyteller that the complex political machinations of this book are riveting to read; she weaves them seamlessly into the brutal, unrelenting, precisely action sequences and the effect is a constant ceaseless tension. You really understand that, in reading this book, you’re embroiled not only in a fight for lives, but for ideas and systems.

The real mastery, of course, is that this war of ideas is made immediate and palpable in the shape of the characters. Rin, Kitay, and Nezha and the relationships between them -- some shattered, some emboldened, and all inextricably entangled -- are at the beating heart of the novel. Rin’s character trajectory is one of the most fascinating and visceral ones I’ve read in recent years; she’s a main character destined to go down as one of the best. However, it’s her relationships with the other two that cause the gut-wrenches and heartbreaks of this novel. And this has never been a series to pull punches. These characters and their bonds have their claws in us from the start, and Kuang isn’t afraid to pull and twist at them.

It’s hard to say much more at this point without venturing closer into spoiler territory, so I’ll restrain myself. I can only say that the constantly, expertly intertwined twin tracks at the core of this novel -- the sagas of characters and politics -- culminate in one of the best endings to a series I’ve read. It isn’t one that I had predicted, but it fits and closes the story beautifully. No punches are pulled, no ends are left loose. Kuang offers an answer to the questions her novels have posed, and, true to the spirits of the books, it’s a ruthless and unyielding and and unwaveringly realistic one. But it’s one that allows for the presence of its own peculiar brand of hope, and that’s what will linger long after you finish reading this series.

A truly stunning conclusion? To the trilogy, l have been mesmerised by the previous books and this one ramped up the intrigue, the action and the angst, I would happily read any further books that was set in this world

ARC provided by the publisher—Harper Voyager—in exchange for an honest review.

Bursting with violence, devastation, death, and profound emotions. The Burning God is by far the best book R.F. Kuang has written in her career so far.

“Here’s a prophecy for you, she’d said. One will die. One will rule. And one will sleep for eternity.”


My claim might sound like hyperbole to you, but I can’t help it, I’m genuinely astounded by how far Kuang has improved in her craft as a storyteller. Do not misconstrue my statement, though, I loved both The Poppy War and The Dragon Republic, but The Burning God blew them out of the water; it’s simply on a higher level of quality.

“Hate was a funny thing. It gnawed at her insides like poison. It made every muscle in her body tense, made her veins boil so hot she thought her head might split in half, and yet it fueled everything she did. Hate was its own kind of fire and if you had nothing else, it kept you warm.”


I won’t mention any specifics regarding the story in this review. I have contemplated discussing the source of the inspiration behind the conflict in this final installment, mainly Mao Zedong’s response to Western imperialism, but I feel that it would be too spoilery for those who don’t know; I prefer to refrain from ruining your experience. If you don’t know about Mao Zedong’s tyranny, though, I suggest reading about them; before or after you’ve finished The Burning God, it’s up to you. That being said, If you do know about Mao Zedong’s story, you probably already know the general direction of Rin’s story, but rest assured that Kuang has more than enough ammunition in store to surprise, enthrall, and bleed your heart dry. I had a notion of the fate of the main characters, but I totally didn’t expect to be enraptured as much as I did. The narrative was thoroughly merciless, full of brutal actions, gripping, and unputdownable. I’m not kidding; I read the last 200 pages in one sitting. The final 200 pages of this grim novel were truly Kuang at her best; I have so many praises for what she achieved within the last few chapters, and yet I’m rendered speechless right now. Honestly, I doubt there’s an option for a more fitting ending for this trilogy than what’s written here; everything just clicked.

“The best plans were a secret until their execution. The hidden knife cuts the deepest.”


Rin has come a long way from where her story started in The Poppy War; she has fought, raged, sacrificed, and lose a LOT of important companions for the duration of her bloody—an understatement—wars against the Mugenese, the Hesperian, and the gods. I totally understand that Rin may not be a likable heroine; I don’t think she was ever intended to be one anyway, especially considering that her character is based on one of the cruelest tyrants in our history. To me, though, she’s one of the most memorable anti-heroines in fantasy. It’s not often I find myself compelled and invested in an unlikeable main character, but that’s how I felt with Rin. She has so much fury and hatred vested inside her soul towards her enemies, and she’s willing to risk everything—even when it hurts her deeply—to bring total obliteration to her enemies.

“Once I was your screaming victim, begging for your mercy. And now you cower before me.”


And it’s worth knowing that my investment in the characters didn’t go exclusively to Rin; the side characters were equally compelling, and some were definitely more likable than Rin. Their complex relationship with Rin serves as one of the things that made reading this trilogy so compulsive. Additionally, we also get to witness the background of the Trifecta in more detail here. It’s splendid, really. Kuang isn’t afraid to torture and pushes all of her characters to the brink of insanity. The number of difficult choices with pivotal results that the characters have to make was terrifying, and I couldn’t help but find myself glued to observe the tempestuous events their decisions bring.

“We all lost our parents early on, before they could tell us what provinces we were from. Perhaps that’s why we were so bent on unification. We were from nowhere, so we wanted to rule everywhere.”


One of the standout components of The Poppy War Trilogy has always been the ruthless action sequences that combined the best and worst of both humanity and the gods. I personally think that the actions and combat sequences in The Burning God are the best in the series. The lethal destructions inflicted on each other, and the damage—physically and mentally—they caused were inhumanly powerful and harrowing. As Rin wielded incredible control over the blazing crimson flame that ravages everything in her path, there are also other characters with their own respective capabilities to unleash cataclysmic maelstrom, deadly soul-leeching, and groundbreaking (literally) magic. The Burning God encapsulates what happened when mortal avatars with access to divine powers clash with each other. Glinting swords were raised, the Hesperian’s super-advanced technologies were launched; the gods are cruel, and their elegy of death was unstoppable.

“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.”


As much as I enjoyed reading the constant trading of divine strengths in this blood-soaked concluding installment, it was actually the military tactics and psychological warfare that Kuang implemented into her narrative that signified the biggest improvement in her writing skills. I’ve always thought of the series as a grimdark/military fantasy series, and Kuang once more incarnated these classifications with amazing precision. The war tactics employed were smartly written; environment, power, weapons were all considered before each battle waged. Most importantly, I can’t praise the psychological warfare engaged highly enough here. It’s purely remarkable how the most intense moments of the entire series were not when a clash of swords and magic were displayed, but it was the psychological battles fought. I honestly felt the dread and extreme paranoia that the characters experienced; the bleakness of the atmosphere and the feeling of helplessness were scorched into my soul, and once again, I couldn’t put the book down when this entire section of the heartbreaking story unraveled.

“Ideological purity is a battle cry, it’s not the stable foundation for a unified country. A nation means nothing if it can’t provide for the people in it. You have to act for their sake.”


I still have a myriad of things to praise, but I must put a stop here; I risk writing a novella if I don’t force myself to stop now. In my review of The Poppy War, I said: “This is the beginning for a new queen of fantasy and you should consider yourself damn lucky to have the chance to witness it.” Not only this statement stands true up this day, but it screams stronger now. I am incredibly fortunate that I get to witness Kuang’s journey as an SFF author from the beginning; the trail of stories she left here is inspiring, and I foresee the flames she’ll ignite in her future novels will be as brilliant. It has been an extraordinary honor to have read The Poppy War Trilogy, an Asian-inspired fantasy trilogy I cherished since its pre-debut in 2018. Tempered with tremendously well-polished deftness in storytelling, every scene in this book was painted vividly, and every range of emotions was tangibly delivered to the readers. It might not do enough justice to Kuang to say that The Burning God is one of the best grimdark fantasy novels that I’ve ever read, but this is the highest form of praises I can bestow to this novel. The Burning God is indisputably one of my favorite books of all time, and more than ever now, the completion of The Burning God earn R.F. Kuang her rightful crown and throne as one of the queens of modern fantasy.

“For it was wonderful to remember that this land could still be so breathtakingly beautiful, that there was more sewn into the heart of the Twelve Provinces than blood and steel and dirt. That centuries of warfare later, this country was still a canvas for the gods; that their celestial essence still seeped through the cracks between worlds.”


Series review:

The Poppy War: 5/5 stars
The Dragon Republic: 4.5/5 stars
The Burning God: 5/5 stars

The Poppy War Trilogy: 14.5/15 stars

P.S:
To future readers of this book, get a bucket—preferably two—because your tears will flow. In The Burning God, Kuang threatens to rip out the hearts of her readers, and this is what we’ll say to her:

“Do it. Take what you want... I’ll hate you for it. But I’ll love you forever. I can’t help but love you. Ruin me, ruin us, and I’ll let you.”


Official release date: 26th November 2020 (UK) and 17th November 2020 (US)

You can pre-order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping)

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions