Joined in 2023 
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The promises and well-intended declarations of “ look to the future because what’s passed is in the past”? I did wonder where the author was going to go from there, since having a book end with your main character committing a grave atrocity is definitely a choice. If I look back now to everything that happened in this single book, it was A LOT— but it was all so well executed and put together. The same situation as its predecessor, the quality of the content of the book did justice to the beautiful cover art and vice versa. Death or utter madness as the Gods seem to easily overpower their hosts so that these shamans will no longer be able to control their actions.
That's even more magnified here, where Rin spends the bulk of her narrative shrieking, yelling, insulting people, threatening people, mooning over the man who used to abuse her, and gulping down opium like a stoner with a Slurpee. Lucy Lockley wrote in Booklist that the author's "descriptive storytelling reveals the grueling psychological and material cost of war. One of my favourite aspects of this novel was the relationships between Rin and a lot of the major characters. On top of this, I felt that all support characters from the Cike through to Feylen were still under-developed and the final battle was anti-climactic.Forgiveness, or even love, those are foreign countries to her, and her (ongoing) journey of learning them is nothing short of heartbreaking. F. Kuang’s acclaimed debut THE POPPY WAR, THE DRAGON REPUBLIC combines the history of 20th-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating effect. Actually I already fell in love with the first book but second installment was like more ripen, juicy, well-rounded, detailed and perfectly developed!
Rin: It’s quite rare to read healing journeys gone wrong, weaving the ways characters slip instead of succeed in their battle with mental illness, so I appreciate how Kuang delves into Rin’s mentality, her excuses behind addiction, and her immediate flight when encountering grief and guilt. Może i nie jest to książka idealna ale wybaczam jej absolutnie wszystko, bo to jakie wywołuje we mnie emocje i ekscytację jest nie do porównania z niczym.They believe in a singular and all-powerful deity, which means they cannot accept the truth of other gods. It’s a pity that his character and his dynamic with Rin did not get the time and attention they deserved, because they could’ve been my new obsession. We join her here as the commander of the Cike; potentially orchestrating her shamans who can wield the extraordinary power of certain Gods. Kuang wrote The Poppy War while teaching debate in China and graduated with a degree in Chinese History from Georgetown University a few days after its release.
There are characters who now have more complex narratives, and others who fade to the back, to make room for the new.The action sequences were simply magnificent and the last 20% of the book demonstrates Kuang’s best battle scenes and closing sequences so far.
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