Review – The Burning God (The Poppy War, Book 3) by R.F. Kuang (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 656 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: November 17, 2020
ISBN-13: 978-0062662644
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in The Poppy Wars series
Source: Birthday Gift
Rating: 5/5 stars
“After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead.
Despite her losses, Rin hasn’t given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much—the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges—and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation.
Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix’s intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it?”
Series Info/Source: This is the third (and final) book in the Poppy Wars series. I got a paperback version of this for my birthday.
Thoughts: I really enjoyed how this series wrapped up. The ending was very in keeping with the feel and themes of the whole series.
In this final novel in The Poppy War trilogy, Rin is initially focusing on taking over the south provinces, especially her home town of Tikany. However, when the leaders of the south betray her, she decides to make an army of her own out of the people of the south and not only take back the south, but also take on the Dragon Republic. Unfortunately, she is only focused on vengeance and not on the leadership that will be needed after the war to pull her country out of the mess it’s spiraled into.
This is very well written and engaging. The pace is fast and, even though there are a lot of places and people to follow, Kuang does an excellent job of making this easy for the reader.
The tone to this remains grim, with a lot of violence and war. There is a lot of discussion of what (and how many people) is okay to sacrifice in order to provide the country with what Rin thinks is a brighter future. There is some great insight into leaders and war and how these leaders justify some of their horrendous actions. There is also a heavy theme of an invader with better technology and what should be done when a society could really benefit from that technology but doesn’t want to be ruled by the invader.
If you enjoyed the first two books in the series, you will enjoy this one as well. I thought the way everything was wrapped up was very appropriate and in keeping with the tone of the series.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I enjoyed this book a lot and really enjoyed the series as a whole. The whole series has wonderful world building, amazing characters, intriguing magic, and a well done political plot. I would recommend to those who enjoy epic fantasies and don’t mind a lot of war and violence. This book does an excellent job tying up the series and stays true to the series’ themes and tone. I am excited to read Kuang’s book “Babel” at some point in the future.
