Sally's Reviews > The Dragon Republic

This book was a stunning follow-up to Kuang’s debut, ‘The Poppy War’. ‘The Dragon Republic’ is a biting examination on the cyclic nature of conflict, colonialism, theatres of war and the destabilisation of nations by foreign powers. Perfectly paced and action-packed, R.F. Kuang continues to draw on Chinese military history to drive her plot forward, and her lovable cast of characters hurtle ever closer to devastating power, villainhood and corruption.

My prediction for this series is that (view spoiler)[Rin may ultimately end up becoming the villain of this story. So many times whilst reading, I felt dread shudder through me at how coldly and callously she'd receive and enact actions of such extraordinary violence. I actually had to put the book down and seek out a cat cuddle at one point, because of how completely unfazed she and a few other characters were—even bored—by watching others being horrifically tortured to death. (hide spoiler)] The disconnect between what the characters think is right, and what the reader knows is right, is often so at odds, it makes for some pretty uncomfortable reading.

The way the characters think and talk about the white-coded characters in this book was hilariously biting; I could practically hear R.F. Kuang snickering to herself through the page. I also loved the little nod to Ching Shih with the pirate queen Moag 🏴‍☠️

I adored this book and never wanted it to end. I’m both excited and nervous for the trilogy to come to it’s inevitably devastating conclusion in ‘The Burning God’!