The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang / Buy on Amazon US / Buy on Amazon UK / Buy on Bookshop.org

About The Dragon Republic

Author: R.F. Kuang
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Date Published: August 6th, 2019
Pages: 672

Book Summary

Peace is short-lived. The ruling powers of Nikan are determined to reclaim their land. After becoming the leader of the Cike crew of shamans, Rin is now caught in the middle of a political power struggle. Her only goal is to exact revenge on Empress Daji and The Federation for selling out Nikan. But, with little political power, she struggles to find the means to take down Daji and her comrades. That’s until Rin and the Cike are intercepted by a fleet known as The Dragon Army, who has an offer for Rin that she can’t refuse.

Rin must fight to keep her people safe, confront the demons of her past, and come to terms with the terrible price she has paid for her power.

My Thoughts

What is most impressive about The Dragon Republic to me, is that although the overarching plot progresses slowly, the many character-based twists and turns are deeply intriguing. Rin is a mess in this book. She is flawed in her thinking, and it’s clear from her opioid addiction that she’s mentally scarred from the events of the first book.

Though she doesn’t seem to regret her decision to burn the entire population of an island to death, it is clear that she feels the moral weight of her actions. She continues to be confronted by her actions throughout this book, and rightfully so.

What’s special about Rin as a character, is that I don’t think the author is trying to make us like her. We’re not supposed to be fully behind Rin’s journey. She is, after all, loosely based on Mao Zedong. And it’s the complexity of this reader-protagonist relationship that fascinates me the most in this story.

A tremendous weight has been put on Rin’s shoulders after the events of The Poppy War. Altan has passed away and left her in charge of the shaman group The Cike. But Rin finds herself butting heads with Cheghan, who believes that Altan made a mistake by promoting her to the commander.

Rin’s goal as a leader is to settle her score with Empress Daji for selling out her country, but she must operate as a freelancer to gain capital for the mission. By sheer luck, Rin is granted the opportunity to assassinate Daji early on. But she winds up losing control of her magic and burning down the parade, allowing Daji to flee.

After some reassurance from the Cike, Rin builds up her confidence enough to continue on the mission. Sometime later, the group’s boat is intercepted by a large vessel, and they are essentially kidnapped by The Dragon Army. And, it’s here where the meat of this story really begins.

Extreme spoilers from here on.

The Dragon Army is led by The Dragon Warlord, Vaisra. Vaisra is the father of Nezha (a returning character from The Poppy War). The Dragon Warlord’s goal is to conquer Nikan by unseating the Empress and strongarming anyone who should resist their plan to build a new republic. To achieve this dominance, Vaisra benefits from having the power of Rin and the Cike.

While much of the book focuses on politics and military strategy, R.F. Kuang gives us enough interesting character development to carry the reader along. Oftentimes, I found that the chapters focus heavily on character moments, with a brief passage explaining their intended strategy that comes before the end of the chapter. And although I noticed this pattern a few times, it doesn’t come across as formulaic. You can tell that much attention was paid by Kuang to not beat the readers over the head with strategy, and this is greatly appreciated.

Another interesting theme in this book is the cultural contrast between the West and the East. To further empower his dynasty, The Dragon Warlord finds himself dependent on the Hesperian fleet. The Hesperians are essentially this world’s Europeans. They bring with them their firearms and advanced military strategy. But, in order to support Vaisra’s Dragon Republic, part of their agreement includes access to Rin. To examine and experiment with her magic.

Rin is obviously reluctant to play ball with the Hesperians and doesn’t quite trust their motives. However, she must agree in order to stay alive and remain with the Dragon Army. A few segments of Rin being tested by the Hesperian scientist follow. And during these scenes, we get some interesting dialogue that examines the differences in religion and philosophy between the East and the West. Rin believes that there are many gods. And these gods don’t necessarily represent good. They are agents of chaos. The Hesperians believe in one god, and that their actions while living will lead them to reincarnation in god’s kingdom.

Rin thinks that the Hesperian’s take on religions is idealistic, but part of her likes the idea that you only have to serve the will of one god to then end up at peace after death. This exchange of perspective was interesting to read, and it opened up many more layers of thought for Rin and her journey.

Final Thoughts

I struggle to find too much fault with this book as I came out of it feeling satisfied. There’s much to say about the pacing, as the argument can be made that there isn’t much story progression through the first half of the book. To me, this is forgivable by the fact that the character development is far superior to the first book. There are many interesting twists that come during the book’s final chapters. Some are predictable, but still interesting to read.

The Dragon Republic falls into grimdark territory, and it doesn’t disappoint on that front. Violence, murder, and immorality are persistent throughout the book. The brutality of war is apparent. And we get a look into how these harsh realities can affect the psyche.

The Dragon Republic feels like the book R.F. Kuang wanted to give us this whole time. It’s almost as if The Poppy War was a necessary step for this incredible piece of work to be presented. I have yet to read The Burning God, the third book in the series, but many are calling The Dragon Republic the best in the trilogy. And I can already see why.

Buy The Poppy War | Amazon US | Amazon UK

About The Poppy War

Author: R. F. Kuang
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Date Published: May 1st, 2018
Pages: 544

Book Description

The Poppy War is a grimdark fantasy novel inspired by the politics of mid-20th-century China. The novel centers on a poor orphan, Rin, who trains in secret to pass a test that will award her entry into the elite Sinegard Academy. When a conflict surfaces between the Nikara Empire and their neighboring nation, the Federation of Mugen, Rin is called to the front lines. And it’s here where she discovers her shamanic powers, which are aided by the use of opium.

My Thoughts

The Poppy War does a wonderful job of making the reader follow Rin’s journey, and this is because her growth over the span of the story is eventful. One of the things I love the most about this book is the huge tonal shift that is best felt at the beginning of Part II.

In Part I of The Poppy War, we witness Rin’s triumph at scoring top marks in the Keju test and being accepted as a student at Sinegard Academy. Once she makes it to the academy, one might compare her journey to Harry Potter as she learns many secrets and theories about shamanism. But even throughout this early phase in the book, there are some exceptionally deep themes explored, including a life-altering decision that Rin makes about her body.

Once Part II kicks off, we begin to see Rin and her fellow students in a real battle situation. And from here on, The Poppy War holds no punches. It gets more brutal by the page turn. Sometimes in fantasy fiction, the large-scale war scenes are very much there as a backdrop for the story. But The Poppy War puts Rin—and the reader by extension—into the thick of war. Every brutal sight, smell and feeling is explored in the prose. And it’s in this violent chaos that we see Rin’s character develop.

Further into Part II, Rin’s comrades begin to realize her true power and potential, and that’s when she’s transferred to the Cike. Without saying too much, this is a unit full of warriors with special abilities. And although this is a fantasy book that reads very real, it’s through the Cike that we begin to delve into the book’s magical ethos.

They say writers should show and not tell. But on the occasions when The Poppy War begins to tell, I’m never bored or put off. The info-dumps are masked neatly and I’m never hesitant to learn more about this world that for some reason resonates so deeply. The Poppy War is inspired by real historical Chinese conflicts, but the book’s version of China is known as Nikan. And even though Nikan is fictionalized, it’s history feels just as real as the history the book draws its inspiration from. I felt like I was actually learning about real history while enjoying the journey of a young and determined girl warrior at the same time. This was helped by the fact that the writing in The Poppy War is clear and never convoluted.

Verdict

This is top tier fantasy fiction in my eyes. And even though it may not seem like it in the beginning, this is also a very raw grimdark story. I would highly recommend this book and I am eager to continue the series with the sequel, The Dragon Republic.

R. F. Kuang has inspired the writer in me.