The Burning God
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5.0 • 4 Ratings
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- 249,00 kr
Publisher Description
The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R.F. Kuang's acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of 20th-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect.
After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead.
Despite her losses, Rin hasn’t given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much – the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges – and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation.
Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners.
As her power and influence grows, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix’s voice, urging her to burn the world and everything in it?
Reviews
PRAISE FOR THE POPPY WAR TRILOGY:
‘An outstanding debut’
DAILY MAIL
'Literary super-stardom doesn't seem too far out of her reach now'
THE HERALD
‘A masterpiece by grimdark’s newest and perhaps darkest daughter’
FANTASY BOOK REVIEW
‘A wholly unique experience’
THE WASHINGTON POST
‘R.F. Kuang’s fresh approach to magic and hard-hitting story is a punch to the gut fantasy has needed for a long time’
Peter V. Brett, bestselling author of The Demon Cycle
‘Enthralling from start to finish … I thought myself prepared. I was not’
Nicholas Eames, author of KINGS OF THE WYLD
‘A blistering, powerful epic of war and revenge that will captivate you to the bitter end’
Kameron Hurley, author of THE LIGHT BRIDAGE
‘Her story’s refreshing, shocking … Behold the horizons of fantasy expand’
WIRED
‘An epic journey of vengeance, friendship, and power’
LIBRARY JOURNAL
‘Straight up incredible … It’s big, bold, beautiful, and badass’
FANTASY HIVE
About the author
Rebecca F. Kuang immigrated to the United States from Guangzhou, China, in 2000. She has a BA in International History from Georgetown University, and she will pursue her graduate degree in Modern Chinese Studies at the University of Cambridge on a Marshall Scholarship in 2018. Her research focuses on Chinese military strategy, collective trauma, and war memorials.
Customer Reviews
The ending really broke my heart
I didn’t want this book to end 😭💖
I’m speechless. The Poppy War series has now become one of my favourite book series of all time. With good reason. I've never read anything like it before.
The book embraces many interesting and grimdark themes; Shamanism, war, an asian-inspired world with gods, legends and myths. The great power of elements; fire and water. Craving for power. Who has the right to call themselves more human than others?
Being attached to a god and being able to use this god's insanely powerful power really puts a character's morality to the test. To our protagonist, Rin, the ability of using the Phoenixes power of fire, tears her apart from the inside. And sometimes, it almost made her insane. Rin has a drip of darkness in her, an inner, mental conflict in her mind that tear her apart from the inside - which makes her very interesting to follow as the protagonist. Rin struggeles a lot with herself. Is she going to use her powers to save her people, or will she only use them for herself and become the most powerful goddess in the country? Will she save the country or will she burn it down? What is the difference between a god and a monster?
There’s complex characters, complicated relationships, small crushes that never became the main story, but always burned a little bit «underneath» the whole time. You really cheer on the characters, even if you’re unsure of who the real enemy is. It's impossible to predict what the characters in Kuang's universe will do next. Betrayal, heartache, rage and revenge happen all the time, and the action is thrilling from start to finish, while it does not become too much action either - it’s perfectly balanced.
(The character gallery is very huge, but fortunately there is an overview of all the names at the back of the book.)
What happens when you have won a war, and it turns out that the people who are left are a total disaster; they are starving, they are poor, they are angry, desperate, they do not respect you as a leader, what do you do then? What did you really gain by winning this war? There is no romanticization of war in The Poppy War series: all the ugliness and horror that war brings is part of the story.
To me, The Poppy War was heartbreaking. It was epic. Raw. Brutal. Beautiful in an ugly way. The ending really broke my heart. I will remember The Poppy War series for a long time. It's one of the best fantasy books I've ever read.