“They believe in a singular and all-powerful deity, which means they cannot accept the truth of other gods. And when nations start to believe that other beliefs lead to damnation, violence becomes inevitable.”
“And you think you're on the brink of madness, you think that this moment is going to be when you finally snap, but it's not.
"How do you know that?"
"Because it gets easier every time. Eventually you learn to exist on the precipice of insanity.”
(Poppy War 2) The Dragon Republic by Rebecca F. Kuang
Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller
Basic Info: Epub via PocketBook Android App has 38 Chapters containing 526 Pages. Audiobook on Smart Audiobook Player Pro: runs 23 hours, 46 minutes, and 9 seconds. The review is 700± words.
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My Rating:
Recommended 4-star novel, The Dragon Republic, a fantasy primarily about Fang Runin (Rin), a war orphan from Rooster Province; commander of the Cike; and the last living Speerly. This is the second book in The Poppy War series taking place in Nikara, a fantasy representation of ancient China.
The Cike, if you only heard the audiobook, never saw the written page, you might think it spelled "The Psyc".
Speerly were a race of people who worshiped a fire god. In this fantasy, their god could and would answer their prayers, conveying to them an ability to wield fire.
The Dragon Republic begins with a prologue you'd only really understand with a remarkable memory towards the end of the novel or if you returned to read it after completing the novel. It was the same in "The Poppy War" as well.
Generally: (Entering Possible Spoiler Zone).
Towards the end of the first book, The Poppy War, Rin had learned some horrible truths about
In chapter one, we begin with Rin, the new commander of the Cike, some time after surviving and overcoming the invasion of Nikara by the Federation of Mugen (a fantasy stand-in for Japan). The Cike, a military unit of ill repute and refugees after the war, have completed 29 assassinations. They are beginning the last assassination mission. Once completed they will have earned the weapons and supplies they needed for the one assassination Rin has dreamed of for months, Emperess Su Daji.
Unfortunately, since Altan passed command of the Cike unit to Rin, she's deteriorated horribly and is barely a shell of what she once was. Chaghan, Altan's old second in command, seems barely able to hold the Cike together. There's growing tension and hostility between Chaghan and Rin. But there's always been trouble between all the Cike. Each is a shaman who wields the power of a god. They rarely remain sane long trying to contain and control a god's power.
My Notable Notes:
As usual my notes are failing me. They primarily belong under "technical" where I'll share them.
Likes and Dislikes:
Backstory reveals. When these reveals are happening, you know whoever you're learning backstory about, survived. They are usually the people revealing backstory. When revealed, however,
it's like a dozen jigsaw puzzle pieces suddenly fall into place. A time or two, while listening, I either did stop or wanted to stop and let my mind re-arrange puzzle pieces to fit in with what the reveal made into a different
story from what I thought I understood.
I usually praise authors for their courage in killing likable or key characters. I know authors are with these characters for weeks, if not months or years, so killing them is almost like losing a family member, since they've been in your head so long. It's unfair to call these "dislikes", but these deaths do jar readers.
The Technical: (About the writing critique?)
Originally from my notable notes... Ch1-7: Rebecca F. Kuang (author) seems intimately aware of opiate addiction. Her narrative is so accurate as to raise
the question in my mind if she is writing from experience or research. Seems more like from experience.
Not really a "technical" issue but it is about the only partially relevant note about anything in particular.
I noted, post reading, that The Dragon Republic has three very distinct "parts". I noticed this in The Poppy War, as well. I can almost write down an outline of bullet points. This suggests Ms. Kuang does extensive outlines that she manages to follow rather closely.
Seems she paid close attention to the style(es) on theme as well. I was probably truant during "themes" style but I suspect I have a clue. I'll not be certain until I've finished the series.
Conclusion:
The Dragon Republic is a good middle-of-this-trilogy-story-arc.
The story of Fan Runin, the Cike, The Empire, Foundation and Republic continue to be fascinating and thought-provoking.
Read on: Feb 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 2021
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Author: Rebecca F. Kuang
Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller
Book Design: Micaela Alcaino © Harper Collins Publishers Ltd 2018
Cover Illustrations: © Jung Shan Chan
Buy a copy: Goodread's list of retailers
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