With the numerous themes wonderfully explored in the book, once I truly start talking about The Burning God, I risk writing a whole (very spoilery) thesis. I’ll try my best to be very brief, but here’s what this review basically says: The Poppy War is the most amazing book series ever written, and if you haven’t read it yet, you must drop everything and do so immediately! You can thank me later!

At the beginning of The Burning God, we find Nikan in the middle of a civil war, as Rin lets the Phoenix run rampant and leads the Southern Coalition into a rebellion against the Dragon Warlord Vaisra and his Republic. Rin has come such a long way from being the naive, vulnerable girl who was manipulated into being a weapon of mass destruction for influential men to use and then toss away; this time she has her own people to protect and an entire nation to take back. As Rin makes her way back home to Rooster province, she’s ready to do whatever it takes to bring down the Republican and Hesperian armies.

First and foremost a historical and political allegory, the Poppy War trilogy has always primarily been about the cycles of violence and trauma, and about the effects of colonialism and the erasure of entire cultures and identities. However, where the first two books were mostly cantered around the sheer chaos and devastation in a war-ravaged country, in The Burning God we also get to see the aftermath of a war. Kuang doesn’t flinch away from drawing real life parallels here once again as she portrays the deep trauma of being the survivor; how even as you try to move on with your life after a war is over, the past never really stops haunting you.

In The Burning God, Kuang also acutely discusses how violence has a way of recreating itself as long as dehumanising narratives are carried forward. The Nikara have always considered themselves better than Rin’s people – the Speerlies; in turn, the Hesperians have never thought of the Nikara as human.

“Who decided who counted as human? The enemy was not human— fine. But if they were animals, then they must be inferior… Maybe no one was truly a beast. Maybe that was just how murder became possible. You took away someone’s humanity, and then you killed them.”

To me, the absolute best thing about the whole Poppy War trilogy is Rin’s character arc. Her journey in The Burning God can be best described as horrifyingly fascinating. Witnessing her slowly spiral out of control and descend into paranoia is absolutely terrifying, because it’s shaping up to be a familiar narrative you have seen repeated many, many times over the course of history, and you know it never ends well. But it’s also undeniably cathartic to see Rin finally letting her rage and indignation turn her into the ruthless leader her people need to win their war for them. As Rin’s saga comes to an end, you are left questioning whether she is a monster or a goddess, and if, at the end, those two things really are that different, after all.

Kuang has always excelled at writing vividly rendered, immensely gripping battle scenes, but with The Burning God, she has genuinely outdone herself. The military strategies and tactics employed were once again compelling, and it never stops being amazing to me how Kuang manages to interweave the shamanic powers wielded by Rin and some others so realistically into the action sequences. One particular combat scene from chapter nine is quite possibly one of my top 5 favourite moments in this trilogy, and while I can’t really talk much about it, I will say this: be prepared to cry a lot. This scene is destructive in a gorgeous way, and it’s going to ruin you.

In conclusion, if there exists a perfect book series, The Poppy War might just be it, and  I’ll be forever grateful to R. F. Kuang for creating this heartbreakingly beautiful masterpiece. If you haven’t read The Poppy War yet, you should definitely consider checking it out at once. I won’t say you’ll enjoy it, but it’s going to be an experience you truly don’t want to miss.

The Burning God is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up The Burning God? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

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 intoxi

The post Review: The Burning God by R. F. Kuang appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen
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When a young man’s planet is destroyed, he sets out on a single-minded quest for revenge across the galaxy in Nophek Gloss, the first book in this epic space opera trilogy by debut author Essa Hansen, for fans of Revenger and Children of Time.

A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova
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Perfect for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses and Uprooted, this stand-alone, fantasy romance about a human girl and her marriage to the Elf King is impossible to put down!

The Betrayals by Bridget Collins
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An intricate and utterly spellbinding literary epic brimming with enchantment, mystery, and dark secrets from the highly acclaimed author of the #1 international bestseller The Binding.

The Awakening by Nora Roberts
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts begins a new trilogy of adventure, romance, and magick in The Awakening.

The Way Back by Gavriel Savit
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Perfect for readers of Neil Gaiman and Philip Pullman, a sweeping historical fantasy that follows two teens on a journey through the Far Country, a Jewish land of spirits and demons.

The Alpha Enigma by W. Michael Gear
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A thrilling new science fiction mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of the Donovan novels.

The Thief on the Winged Horse by Kate Mascarenhas
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A dazzling mixture of crime, romance, magic and myth from the acclaimed author of The Psychology of Time Travel.

Soulswift by Megan Bannen
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A dark, epic fantasy about a girl who must reevaluate everything she believes after she is betrayed and hunted by the religion that raised her—from Megan Bannen, author of The Bird and the Blade. Perfect for fans of The Winner’s Curse and The Girl of Fire and Thorns.

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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.

The Arrest by Jonathan Lethem
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From the award-winning author of The Feral Detective and Motherless Brooklyn  comes an utterly original postapocalyptic yarn about two siblings, the man that came between them, and a nuclear-powered super car.

Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
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The Stormlight Archive saga continues in Rhythm of War, the eagerly awaited sequel to Brandon Sanderson’s #1 New York Times bestselling Oathbringer, from an epic fantasy writer at the top of his game.

Rebel Sisters by Tochi Onyebuchi
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In the epic, action-packed sequel to the “brilliant” (Booklist, starred review) novel War Girls, the battles are over, but the fight for justice has just begun.

What fantasy and sci-fi releases are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post November 2020 Book Releases: Fantasy + Sci-Fi appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Read on to discover what books are coming out this month and tell us in the comments if you will be picking any of these up!

The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon
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From the New York Times bestselling author comes a breathtaking fantasy of a cursed kingdom, warring clans, and unexpected salvation.

Turning Darkness Into Light by Marie Brennan
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Marie Brennan’s Turning Darkness Into Light is a delightful fantasy of manners, the heir to the award-winning Natural History of Dragons series, a perfect stepping stone into an alternate Victorian-esque fantasy landscape.

The Warehouse by Rob Hart
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Set in the confines of a corporate panopticon that’s at once brilliantly imagined and terrifyingly real, The Warehouse is a near-future thriller about what happens when Big Brother meets Big Business–and who will pay the ultimate price.

The Heart of the Circle by Keren Landsman
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Sorcerers fight for the right to exist and fall in love, in this extraordinary alternate world fantasy thriller by award-winning Israeli author Keren Landsman.

Lord of Secrets by Breanna Teintze
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With the humour of V.E. Schwab, the scale of Trudi Canavan and the deftness of Naomi Novik, Lord of Secrets is a heartwarming fantasy novel about saving the people you love without destroying the world (or yourself).

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang
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Rin’s story continues in this acclaimed sequel to The Poppy War—an epic fantasy combining the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters.

The Cruel Stars by John Birmingham
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With a ruthless sect of humanity intent on wiping out their species, five intrepid heroes must think like their enemies in this epic sci-fi adventure for fans of The Expanse and Battlestar Galactica.

The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. Hossain
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When the djinn king Melek Ahmar wakes up after millennia of imprisoned slumber, he finds a world vastly different from what he remembers. Arrogant and bombastic, he comes down the mountain expecting an easy conquest: the wealthy, spectacular city state of Kathmandu, ruled by the all-knowing, all-seeing tyrant AI Karma. To his surprise, he finds that Kathmandu is a cut-price paradise, where citizens want for nothing and even the dregs of society are distinctly unwilling to revolt.

The Gossamer Mage by Julie E. Czerneda
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From an Aurora Award-winning author comes a new fantasy epic in which one mage must stand against a Deathless Goddess who controls all magic.

Blood of an Exile by Brian Naslund
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After trying to assassinate a fellow noble, Flawless Bershad was given a death sentence. He’s never lost a fight, the most successful dragon slayer in history. But that is about to change. The man who sentenced Bershad to his fate has just given him an out. Kill a king and walk free forever. He doesn’t care about the fates of kings and kingdoms, until, that is, he discovers he is the only person able to save an innocent child and, possibly, the life of every creature in Terra.

Pricked by Scott Mooney
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Briar Pryce has the power to change the emotions of others by handing them a rose. It is a talent that has done surprisingly little for her, besides landing her a dead-end enchantment delivery job and killing any chance she had with her childhood-crush-turned-roommate. Worst of all, her ability might be responsible for getting her best friend transformed into a cat via a cursed muffin basket. Needless to say, Briar is nowhere near happily-ever-after. But that’s just life as a twenty-something in the Poisoned Apple, New York City’s lost borough of fairy-tale wonder and rent-controlled magic.

The Deaths and Afterlife of Aleister Crowley by Ian Thornton
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The Death and Afterlife of Aleister Crowley is an epic novel that will make you see this notorious figure in a completely new light, as he encounters an impressive cast of real-life characters including Timothy Leary, The Beatles, Princess Margaret, Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock.

Are there any sci-fi or fantasy releases you’re looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post August 2019 Book Releases: Fantasy + Sci-Fi appeared first on The Nerd Daily.