The Dragon Republic

Spoiler alert if you haven’t read my review of The Poppy War yet (which I think you really should) this book is not for the faint of heart. It deals with some gruesome topics and themes, war, genocide, torture, racism, rape it all makes an appearance in one form or another. That being said, this book or in fact the entire series, should be on your to-read list. The second instalment in this series has confirmed where the true power lies. It’s the characters. Starting with Fang Runin ‘Rin’, she is flawed to the point of frustration. She is naïve and impulsive, quick to anger and shirks responsibility given the chance. Rin leaves the reader frustrated and exasperated, excited and elated, terrified and degraded. She leaps off the pages, becoming a larger than life character who is a real as you and me. Her actions are believable, her inner monologue familiar, her securities understandable. She breaks the confinements of the written world and materializes as someone we have met, have seen, have known in our everyday lives. Minus the obvious ability to call down an all-powerful, all-consuming god that is. And the same is true for the cast of accompanying characters that force us to see this world from different perspectives. Where the Poppy War swept us up in Rin’s conviction, the justifications of her actions, the classifications of ‘good’ and ‘bad’. The Dragon Republic will leave us reeling, wondering if we had it wrong all this time. Questioning if we might have done the same as the Empress if we had been placed in her shoes. It skews our view of who and what to trust until there is nothing left but questions. Kuang expands on the detailed world she has laid out in the Poppy War. Introducing us to new races, cultures and even utterly believable forms of magic that we could not have imagined previously. This book does not only live up to the expectations that inevitably followed The Poppy War, but it surpasses it. The Dragon Republic is a sequel that you will not be able to put down. Easily thwarting the second instalment syndrome that has plagued so many that came before.

The first book (a trilogy) starts with the story of a young girl from the hinterland arriving, despite predictable disadvantages - a brown skinned Cindarella - at a high-class university where she (again predictably) has to go through the "usual stuff" to prove herself worthy. Then various powers including gods, magic, and evil, white-skinned people from the West turn up, and our heroine has to battle them, too. It all gets bloody - and bloody boring. For a hero/heroine to keep a grip on the reader, he or she ought to show some interesting development, maybe a growing sense of empathy, compassion. Instead, it's all a never ending, bloodshedding fight despite the author's rather unsuccessful attempts at claiming otherwise.I've read all three books; unfortunately, the first is the best...Books like these aren't doing anything good for fantasy literature.

Fang – Rin – Runin has unleashed the beast within and can’t put it back, for the Phoenix god is an uncontrollable force of nature that can never be subdued by force of will alone. Because of this, Rin becomes an opium addict, haunted by the terrible atrocities committed in her god’s name. Unfortunately, that also means she’s a renegade too, on the run from her own people, the authorities, and those who would experiment on her to find out the secrets of her power.She wants revenge. Revenge on those who would use her to their own ends; those who would see her dead; and especially on the Empress who sold out her homeland.Fortune seems to shine on her, for the powerful dragon warlord seeks to overthrow the empire and replace it with a republic. He seeks Rin’s aid, promising her power and influence if they are successful, and most of all, freedom for her kind.But things are not what they seem, and Rin is betrayed at every turn, forcing her to realize that perhaps the Phoenix god has been right all along?The Dragon Republic is another powerful story from R.F. Kuang. And while I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as The Poppy Wars, it nevertheless managed to encapsulate the futility of war, and that no matter how powerful we become, we’re still pawns in someone else’s game.

The second in the poppy War series further distinguishes the writing style from the easy to digest "Harry Potter" genre many expect.Instead the story line is rich in tragedy, brutal realism, geo politics modelled on real world history, drug addiction issues and physical and sexual violence.In this volume a religious and geopolitical element develops along with increased use of WMD.Not for the faint hearted, these are adult theme and challenging.

The world building in this series is unreal. All told from the perspective of Rin, it's an interesting story in that the hero is often the villain with all the atrocities committed. This book is full of war, murder and brutal death. I would have given this book 5 stars if I hadn't got stuck half way through with all the strategic war planning but the book is essentially a war story so it should be expected. Despite it being about war it is very easy reading, the characters are developed well, it doesn't feel predictable in any way and it doesn't all focus around a love story like so many books in this genre do. From the start to the end it was a rollarcoaster and I'm nervous and excited for the final book.