The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang REVIEW

Started: 21/02/21

Finished: 21/03/21

Spoilers: No

3.75⭐

Great sequel to an awesome series. I liked this more than the first one, as school settings aren't my jam, and war settings very much are. This book is pretty much all war in one shape or another, whether that be actual battle sequences, or battle straegy, or the difficult politics that shrouds war. Kuan has an excellent way of portraying it.

Characters

The stand out character for me was Nezha. He had the most voice, and so also felt like he had the most personality. I have a feeling I didn't care much for him in the Poppy War, but he really shone in this book. And then the ending happened and just annoyed me, lol.

Rin is a walking shitshow who always says the wrong thing at the wrong time. And I don't think this aspect of her personality makes her morally grey, it just makes her rude and unempathetic, and a little self-absorbed. I think this is why I struggle to like Rin, her personality is the exact opposite of my own. We would definitely clash in real life, lol.

It didn't feel like Rin had a whole lot of agency in this book. A whole lot of plot happened to Rin. But not a whole lot of Rin happened to the plot. Many important plot points that helped develop her character happened purely by chance through the coincidence of other plot points happening.

Plot

I love the story of this book, but its quite a slow book. It didn't feel like the story truly found its stride until part 3. I had this same issue with the Poppy War. The last quater always seems to save an otherwise slow book. But I can't fault how brilliant that last quartet was.

I didn't see the twist at the end coming at all, but I found it super interesting and I'm pretty excited to see how things turn out in book three. Truly an awesome ending. Very unexpected and very well done.

Setting

A little bit in love with its own world building. I mean I love a well developed world with details that really ground the reader within the setting, but at times, it feels like this book has more world building than story. That doesn't mean the world building isn't fantastic. It's the book's strongest point. It's just perhaps a little too strong.

That being said, the information and attention to detail we're given is top notch writing.

Writing Style

Other than the pacing and overwritten world, the writing in this book is fantastic. Kuan has already grown as a writer from book 1 and honed her skill. I'm excited to see where her writing takes her next. She'll only get stronger and stronger.

I also love how Kuan isn't afraid to expose the gory details of war. War is brutal and tragic. There's nothing heroic about war, and that idea definitely makes itself apparent in these books. Brilliantly delivered. First class.

Final Impression

I'll definitely be reading the final book, especiallyafter that ending. I've come this far so I may as well see it through to the end. This is a very enjoyable series.