JANUARY 2021 - AudioFile
Narrator Emily Woo Zeller expertly delivers the dark climax to the Poppy War series. Despite several betrayals and sacrifices, Rin pulls together a coalition to take Nikan back from the Dragon Republic and the Hesperians. Forming a risky alliance brings with it the unpredictable powers of the gods, including the phoenix that desires to burn everything indiscriminately. Zeller fiercely depicts the brutality of war, commanding listeners’ attention throughout with visceral passion that engrosses them in Rin’s triumphs, overconfidence, devastation, and slip from sanity. The plot is precisely paced to build momentum and rising tension, and listeners will be hard-pressed to pause before the series reaches its gripping conclusion. A.K.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
08/24/2020
Kuang’s Poppy War series, the saga of a young shaman fighting to bring the old gods back to her homeland, comes to a striking close in this gritty finale (after The Dragon Republic). Nikaran shaman Fang “Rin” Runin, now a part of the rebel Southern Coalition, leads troops to clear out the remaining rogue Mugen invaders whose own homeland Rin destroyed earlier in the wars. But the bigger threat to Rin comes in the form of her former colleagues in the northern Republican Army. The Republicans plan to turn her over to their western allies, the Hesperians, who hope to use their advanced technology and devout monotheism to disprove the existence of Rin’s gods altogether. To win the war once and for all, Rin must ally herself with the monsters who once betrayed Nikara—and avoid becoming a monster herself. Kuang pointedly underlines the ambiguous moral choices and personal costs of the path toward victory and lasting peace, sparing neither characters nor readers from the horrors and consequences of war. The result is a satisfying if not happy end to the series. Agent: Hannah Bowman, Liza Dawson Assoc. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
"Kuang has crafted a story that is truly epic in nature, making this trilogy one of the best epic fantasies of the past decade." — Tor.com
"Bringing her complex Poppy War trilogy to a poignant conclusion, Kuang shines a searing light on the devastating price and valiant sacrifices that warfare requires of all involved." — Booklist (starred review)
"An incredible end to this epic trilogy. Mixing historical parallels of Chinese history, the themes of war, politics, and colonialism are balanced with terrific, flawed characters and amazing worldbuilding." — Library Journal (starred review)
"The Burning God is an excellent book, and the trilogy as a whole is a masterpiece. Decades from now, I’m sure that R.F. Kuang’s Poppy War trilogy will prove to be one of the most influential fantasy series of the modern era." — Grimdark Magazine
"A dark and devastating conclusion that transcends its roots in historical fact to examine brutal truths." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The Burning God is a triumph....It is a spectacular work—perhaps my favourite release of 2020." — Fantasy Hive
“Kuang’s Poppy War series, the saga of a young shaman fighting to bring the old gods back to her homeland, comes to a striking close in this gritty finale.” — Publishers Weekly
"A wholly unique experience." — Washington Post on The Poppy War
"It feels nostalgic, wistful even … The Burning God is the best-written book of the trilogy … This place and this protagonist are singular in fantasy literature." — Book Marks
Book Marks
"It feels nostalgic, wistful even … The Burning God is the best-written book of the trilogy … This place and this protagonist are singular in fantasy literature."
Booklist (starred review)
"Bringing her complex Poppy War trilogy to a poignant conclusion, Kuang shines a searing light on the devastating price and valiant sacrifices that warfare requires of all involved."
Washington Post on The Poppy War
"A wholly unique experience."
Library Journal
★ 11/01/2020
Fang Runin has been betrayed and left for dead, after facing off against numerous enemies during a disastrous civil war. Rin returns to her home, the Southern Provinces, where the rebel Southern Coalition has been fighting the Dragon Republic and their colonizing allies, the Hesperians. While her relationship with the Southern Coalition is tenuous at best, she realizes that most of the commoners of Nikan desire vengeance for the havoc wreaked upon them—and they believe Rin is their savior, with the Phoenix inside her. Backed by some old friends, a couple enemies, and the Southern Army, Rin is determined to free her people. Yet freedom comes with a heavy price, and with the Phoenix's encouragement, Rin may decide that the only way to bring change is to burn it all down. Kuang (The Poppy War) doesn't hold back on the physical and emotional toll of war, along with the cycle of abuse and trauma that can cause good people to make painful choices. VERDICT An incredible end to this epic trilogy. Mixing historical parallels of Chinese history, the themes of war, politics, and colonialism are balanced with terrific, flawed characters and amazing worldbuilding.—Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton
JANUARY 2021 - AudioFile
Narrator Emily Woo Zeller expertly delivers the dark climax to the Poppy War series. Despite several betrayals and sacrifices, Rin pulls together a coalition to take Nikan back from the Dragon Republic and the Hesperians. Forming a risky alliance brings with it the unpredictable powers of the gods, including the phoenix that desires to burn everything indiscriminately. Zeller fiercely depicts the brutality of war, commanding listeners’ attention throughout with visceral passion that engrosses them in Rin’s triumphs, overconfidence, devastation, and slip from sanity. The plot is precisely paced to build momentum and rising tension, and listeners will be hard-pressed to pause before the series reaches its gripping conclusion. A.K.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2020-10-27
In the final installment of the Poppy War trilogy, a warrior shaman resolves to seize control of her homeland from enemies far and near, no matter the cost.
Having suffered severe losses and betrayals, Rin rallies the Southern Coalition in an effort to defeat the Mugenese troops still in Nikan, the president of the Nikara Republic, and the foreign menace of the Hesperians, with their almost unimaginably advanced technology. But a southern army is not enough, and Rin must also rely on the unpredictable powers of her wild god, the Phoenix, and form a risky alliance with the Trifecta that once ruled Nikan. Drawing heavily on 20th-century Chinese history, Kuang continues to explore familiar themes—including imperialism, racism, colorism, and the terrible and long-lasting effects of war—while deepening Rin’s portrayal, as Rin experiences moments of heartfelt sympathy and connection with others while also continually seeking power and succumbing over and over to her own hubris and paranoia. This installment dwells heavily on the devastating realities of war and the costs of leading a nation in crisis but does not sink into overly grotesque meditations—or perhaps we, along with Rin, have become desensitized and hardened. Ultimately, despite the epic scope of the plot, the novel hinges on the relationships between Rin and those closest to her: A nation may rise or fall and thousands may lose their homes or starve in the process, but their fate depends not on magic from the divine plane but on simple, fallible people.
A dark and devastating conclusion that transcends its roots in historical fact to examine brutal truths. (Map, Dramatis Personae)
