The Burning God

“Dying was easy. Living was so much harder—that was the most important lesson Altan had ever taught her.”

“Her voice, thin and reedy, faded without echo into the frigid air. But she screamed it again, and then again, and then again. It felt so good to say that she'd survived, that she'd #!@% finally come out on top, that she didn't even care that she was screaming to corpses.”

(Poppy War 3) The Burning God by R. F. Kuang Review

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My Rating:

I highly recommend this 3.5 star novel/trilogy. It's sort of a historical novel, like Outlander, obviously far east of Scotland. The quasi historical fantasy of ancient Asia is expertly woven into a brilliant story about a pantheon of gods. Additionally, it's about how dealing with this pantheon of gods on a personal level makes the characters both powerful and crazy.

Match those powerful crazy god-filled-folks against the techno-advanced first-world-power-society who worship "the one true god" -- generously salt it all with political intrigue, backstabbing, hope, love, clashing of gods and hopelessness, then you've pierced the first level of depth to this trilogy.

Generally: --- Possible Spoiler Line ---
It gets deeper still. Yet, while reading/listening to this final book in the trilogy, The Burning God, I largely felt detached, almost uninterested. I can't identify why I felt this way. I was interested, anxious in all the places I should be, and so on.

Thinking about the novel afterwards revealed a depth I hadn't noticed while actively reading.

Regardless of how I felt, there's no denying this is action packed, exciting, and can keep you turning pages. Because it is intense in that way, I THINK, I hardly noticed how profoundly deep and complex it was.

My Notable Notes:
I recall at the end of "The Dragon Republic", the second book, I was nearly standing and cheering. Whatever I was so excited about then, none of it is going on in this novel.

I nearly lost any good sentiments towards Rin in this novel. I was finding her near impossible to like.

Despite it being action packed with tons of things are going on, these stories largely rise and fall on the reader's good will towards the characters. Rin is simply a shithead in most of this final novel. Seems to have become either egomaniacal or self-centered in addition to being stupid since the last novel.

Likes and Dislikes:
What did endear me to Rin was her indefatigable "never give up" soul. It's as if giving up had been burned out of her DNA. Sadly it's also what so troubled me about her.

The trilogy, complete, gave me far too many things to ponder... about me, about the world, about ambition, about the soul's unquenchable thirst for freedom.

I've been in soul battles where surrender was never an option. Then, after far more pain than any human should endure, did surrender, and discovered freedom. Then, when the terror of surrendering subsided, I discovered I was no longer afraid. In this way, I felt many connections with this novel.

One of my giant likes are the reminders of the unintended consequences of good intentions hidden throughout this story.

The Technical: About the writing critique?
There is so much more to this book than I consumed. I know when I know that I've missed a lot.

There are layer upon layer of compare and contrast mixed in with parallel meanings - mixed with gods, history, maybe even numerology. That may just be me and my ever more feeble memory skimming over what little I've retained about this trilogy. Most authors get in two or three layers of ideology into even feeble amateur work. This trilogy is like Mozart or Rembrandt when it comes to layers of depth.

I'm inclined to offer a long personal epiphany I once had about a book being at least 7 layers deeper than I understood--even after I studied that book for decades. I thought I knew... but someone who knew better showed me the layer upon layer of meanings. This book, in hindsight, reminded me of that epiphany. I've only room for one of the hundreds of examples.

The multiple provinces in this story were all united under the power of a mighty trifecta of shamans in the past. In a scene near the climax of this trilogy, a weary trifecta of main characters set aside their differences to sit together quietly basking in their deep friendship or love/hate relationships -- when they were but students back in scenes in the first book. Because of a recent scene in this book, my mind was drawn back to the original trifecta of mighty shamans, what had united them, and ultimately caused their downfall. In that one scene are a dozen layers of meaning. History repeating itself, how people are drawn together and torn apart, how love, ambition, strategy, intelligence, and intimacy have been cyclic through the sands of time. And I still feel like I missed more than I understood after recalling just that one scene.

Conclusion
The Poppy War Trilogy is a Shakespearean tragedy.

While I get to sail free through great fiction like this trilogy, due to age and experience I too often understand the who, what, when, and why of the real world that created the fiction I'm enjoying. And, that the fiction is more true than the historic facts of the world would have you believe.

“It’s not for you. It’s not a favor. It’s the cruelest thing I could do.” - Fang Runin

Folks can enjoy this trilogy as an action packed struggle to save a nation against all odds, full of intrigue. It can be a rags to riches story, even a coming of age adventure. If consumed slowly and thoughtfully this read can draw you into the multiple levels of depth Rebecca intentionally, or accidentally wove into this tale. Don't let my 3.5 stars confuse you. I highly recommend this trilogy.

Read on: Mar 14, 16, 20, 21, & 22, 2021
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Author: R. F. Kuang, Author
Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller
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Basic Info: Audiobook Runtime: 23:46:13, Epub: 3 parts, 36 Chapters, 530 pages