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The Burning God

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The Burning God

Written by: R. F. Kuang
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
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About this listen

The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R. F. Kuang’s acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect.

After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead.

Despite her losses, Rin hasn’t given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much—the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges—and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation.

Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix’s intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it?

©2020 R. F. Kuang (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
Epic Epic Fantasy Fiction Historical World Literature Fantasy War Scary
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What listeners say about The Burning God

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Best trilogy since Hunger Games

I grew up loving the Hunger Games and other fantasy books, this is by far my new favourite. Incredible story

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wow

just wow

What an amazing finish to the trilogy

20/10 recommend

lots of blood, violence and over all tragedy

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Simply Genius

There are so many historical parallels in this series. The destruction of Spear, the burning of Mugen, Rin's journey from naive to disillusioned, traumatized, and paranoid, the types of warfare, the toll of war, & the occupation of China by the West...it's all got historical basis. As a historian reading this for leisure, The Poppy War series was pure gold.

Since I listened to the audiobooks, I have to say that Emily Woo Zeller is an amazing voice actor. There is so much emotion in her voice & she brings the characters come to life. Pure perfection.

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Emotionally Heavy Finale

A devastating finale filled with action, drama, sacrifice, and triumph, this is just the sort of ending I'd imagine for THE POPPY WAR trilogy, as Rin and her allies fight against humans and gods to reshape the world.

Rin's character arc has been filled with complications and challenge. She remains fierce and dedicated to her cause, no matter the cost. She is an interesting paradox of traits, so even when I disagreed with her choices, I understood them and remained mostly empathetic toward her. She has always been morally grey and I found that aspect of her to be particularly prevalent in this finale, where it was needed most.

Her relationships with other characters, both enemies and allies, remain equally complex. They each complement Rin in different ways and lived up to their own arcs, even if their role was relatively small at some points.

The action and world building are stronger than ever, with the stakes and danger fully realized. I appreciate the defeats and victories in equal measure, because it means that nothing is easy for the characters and it adds to the drama. And there is plenty of drama.

THE BURNING GOD is emotionally heavy by the end, and it was interesting to see the fallout of the final battle once it had played out. Nothing was simple and I didn't expect things to go the way they did. Still, I think it was a good choice to have the plot play out this way, even if it extended the book's length in some obvious ways.

THE POPPY WAR trilogy is a heart-wrenching and excellent series that has powerful and important messages in it. I loved exploring this historical fantasy, going on truly dangerous journeys, and following characters dedicated to a cause, willing to fight for it no matter how hard or how painful. It's an inspiring read, and I recommend the series for fans of dark, emotional fantasy epics.

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A difficult end to the story

The fall in paranoia of Rin is a difficult one to follow. After getting attached to her for two books she makes the worst decisions and changes her behaviors to a point where it's difficult to understand why you ever liked her as a character.
The story around her is well woven but comes to an abrupt end that seems a bit rushed.

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Great book!

This series is amazing! The story and narrator are some of the best historical Sci-Fi ever.

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    3 out of 5 stars

A bit disappointing

I absolutely loved this trilogy. Emily Woo Zeller brought every character and their personalities alive to the point where I forgot it was all one person voicing every character.

I am however a bit disappointed at how it ended.
it’s just I wish we got more time to explore the world, pantheon and the characters that are introduced about 3/4 through the book.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Dark and fantastic

An amazing final installment to the Poppy War trilogy. will have me thinking about it for years to come.

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An Unsatisfying Conclusion

This series had a lot of promise, and the author had an important story to tell, but I just did not enjoy this final book. It was too abrupt, and by the end I was wondering what I was supposed to feel, coming out of it, because I felt nothing.

Grim dark isn’t usually for me, but there are some gimdark stories that I deeply enjoy amd value. The first two books of The Poppy War were solidly in that company until I got to this book.

Rin’s character development was all over the place and yet, somehow, didn’t develop at all? She was a character I cared about and was invested in, but this final book made me not care about her, which is so frustrating because I shouldn’t be responding to this story with apathy, with just a lack of emotion.

It’s okay that Rin isn’t a good person, that isn’t the problem I have. It’s that we knew this was likely to end with the Phoenix destroying everything in Rin’s life, and I should care about that! I should care about the ramifications of colonialism and western imperialism and eugenics have in this world and the fear Rin feels when she thinks about the Hesperian threat to her and her nation.

I should care about the dire situation the people of Nikan are in at this point directly because of the years of war, but the execution of this entire book just didn’t do the job for me.

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