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A review by isabellarobinson7
The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
5.0
Huh. So that's what everyone means when they say the ending broke them.
Rating: 5 stars
The Burning God is the end of an Asian-inspired epic fantasy trilo- ok, I'm just gonna skip the formalities and cut straight to the chase: the ending was perfect. Absolutely perfect. I can't really talk about the plot for this book, let alone the ending, because it spoils literally everything from book 2, but I can say I do not recommend finishing this book at 2:30 in the morning. You will most likely be staring into the darkness questioning life until your alarm goes off at 7. Listen to me, I speak from experience.
When I first read it I was a little underwhelmed, but after I sat on it for all of five minutes, I realised it was pure genius. Considering the gritty, unforgiving world Kuang has built, the political climate, and the direction the story was taking, it couldn't - and shouldn't - have ended any other way. But man, that epilogue was painful.
Some people may get bored in the final chapters, because there is a good 100 pages or so of falling action. I heard Kuang talk fondly about the ending of The Lord of the Rings in a recent interview, and how the ramifications of the War of the Ring affected the Shire, so I expected The Burning God would end similarly, which it did. But you know what, I think falling action is the perfect way to avoid an unnecessary sequel. This story is done, and I think it should be left as such.
Aaaaaaand that's about all I can say while skirting around specifics to avoid spoilers. I'll sit on it for awhile, because I might just add The Dragon Republic or The Burning God to my all time favourites list. Yeah, that's how good they are. You (yes, you reading this) just need to pick up The Poppy War.
Rating: 5 stars
The Burning God is the end of an Asian-inspired epic fantasy trilo- ok, I'm just gonna skip the formalities and cut straight to the chase: the ending was perfect. Absolutely perfect. I can't really talk about the plot for this book, let alone the ending, because it spoils literally everything from book 2, but I can say I do not recommend finishing this book at 2:30 in the morning. You will most likely be staring into the darkness questioning life until your alarm goes off at 7. Listen to me, I speak from experience.
When I first read it I was a little underwhelmed, but after I sat on it for all of five minutes, I realised it was pure genius. Considering the gritty, unforgiving world Kuang has built, the political climate, and the direction the story was taking, it couldn't - and shouldn't - have ended any other way. But man, that epilogue was painful.
Some people may get bored in the final chapters, because there is a good 100 pages or so of falling action. I heard Kuang talk fondly about the ending of The Lord of the Rings in a recent interview, and how the ramifications of the War of the Ring affected the Shire, so I expected The Burning God would end similarly, which it did. But you know what, I think falling action is the perfect way to avoid an unnecessary sequel. This story is done, and I think it should be left as such.
Aaaaaaand that's about all I can say while skirting around specifics to avoid spoilers. I'll sit on it for awhile, because I might just add The Dragon Republic or The Burning God to my all time favourites list. Yeah, that's how good they are. You (yes, you reading this) just need to pick up The Poppy War.