REVIEW: The Dragon Republic, by R.F. Kuang

In the aftermath of the Third Poppy War, shaman and warrior Rin is on the run: haunted by the atrocity she committed to end the war, addicted to opium, and hiding from the murderous commands of her vengeful god, the fiery Phoenix. Her only reason for living is to get revenge on the traitorous Empress who sold out Nikan to their enemies.

With no other options, Rin joins forces with the powerful Dragon Warlord, who has a plan to conquer Nikan, unseat the Empress, and create a new Republic. Rin throws herself into his war. After all, making war is all she knows how to do.

But the Empress is a more powerful foe than she appears, and the Dragon Warlord’s motivations are not as democratic as they seem. The more Rin learns, the more she fears her love for Nikan will drive her away from every ally and lead her to rely more and more on the Phoenix’s deadly power. Because there is nothing she won’t sacrifice for her country and her vengeance.

the dragron republic made me fall in love with this series even more.

i read The Dragon Republic last year pre-release, but never got around to writing a review because i was so emotionally distraught. but a year late and a reread later, here are my thoughts! The Poppy War was one of my favorite books of 2018 (and likely ever), but somehow: The Dragon Republic is even better, and what ultimately sold me on the series.

The Poppy War follows the events of the sino-japanese wars, but The Dragon Republic is the chinese civil wars after. i was, once again, amazed by the way r.f. kuang retold history using a complex world and in-depth characters. since the backbone of the setting was in place, TDR had more opportunities to focus on the plot. and boy, the plot twists and pain really hit hard. this book was definitely more fun (albeit MUCH MORE PAINFUL ;-;) and i had so many LOL moments, despite the stakes. (specifically with the cike!!! i love them T–T the bizarre children are my kids.) plot twists, high stakes, and so much pain!!

It must get worse before it gets better.

as we follow modern chinese history, kuang also tackles colonialism and the ~west~. (see: white people exploiting literally everyone!!) i was HERE FOR IT !!!! The Dragon Republic had a wonderful balance of high fantasy and real-world issues, which is something we rarely see in SFF. (and i understand that because it’s likely very hard to balance both!) like The Poppy War, i was devastated by the events in history, and angry i didn’t learn about them sooner. this book is incredibly important to me, as a chinese-american reader, and prompted me to study more about my own culture. while it may not move everyone, i believe the experience will hold true for diaspora readers like myself. executed beautifully and i’m off to take modern asian history courses for it. (or at least wikipedia-ing everything and pretending like i’m a Scholar)

now let’s discuss the characters and relationships!!! aka my favorite part of novels. rin is forced to cope with her actions post-TPW and she’s slightly unhinged. but i still love her!! she’s so complex and morally gray. actually, all the characters are morally gray (except kitay, maybe). it makes it more realistic and interesting. these characters help me realize that there’s no true right or wrong – just choices based on circumstances. the cike (ramsa!! baji!!!), nezha (T–T), kitay, and venka were also favorites.

overall, The Dragon Republic is a fantastic sequel to an already fantastic book. i didn’t realize there’d be another one after so i finished it REELING. if you haven’t read it yet, be prepared for a cliffhanger. ;-; i’m utterly obsessed with this series and refuse to shut up about it!!!!

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