The burning god

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Author:

Kuang, R. F. (Rebecca F.), author.

Gunther, Eric, cartographer.

Genre:

Fantasy fiction.

Historical fiction.

Abstract:

"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. As her power and influence grows, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix's intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it?"-- Provided by publisher.

Geographic Term:

China -- History -- 20th century -- Fiction.

Edition:

First edition.

ISBN:

9780062662620

Series:

The poppy war ; book three

Poppy war (Series) ; bk. 3.

Physical Description:

622 pages : map ; 24 cm.

General Note:

"Map by Eric Gunther"--Copyright page.

Subject Term:

Imaginary wars and battles -- Fiction.

Shamans -- Fiction.

Goddesses -- Fiction.

Magic -- Fiction.

Good and evil -- Fiction.

Added Author:

Gunther, Eric,

Personal Author:

Kuang, R. F. (Rebecca F.), author.

Title:

The burning god

The poppy war ;

Poppy war (Series) ;

Available:*

Library	Shelf Number	Material Type	Status
Searching... Hattiesburg Library	FICTION KUANG	Book	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

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?

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kuang's Poppy War series, the saga of a young shaman fighting to bring the old gods back to her homeland, comes to a striking close in this gritty finale (after The Dragon Republic). Nikaran shaman Fang "Rin" Runin, now a part of the rebel Southern Coalition, leads troops to clear out the remaining rogue Mugen invaders whose own homeland Rin destroyed earlier in the wars. But the bigger threat to Rin comes in the form of her former colleagues in the northern Republican Army. The Republicans plan to turn her over to their western allies, the Hesperians, who hope to use their advanced technology and devout monotheism to disprove the existence of Rin's gods altogether. To win the war once and for all, Rin must ally herself with the monsters who once betrayed Nikara--and avoid becoming a monster herself. Kuang pointedly underlines the ambiguous moral choices and personal costs of the path toward victory and lasting peace, sparing neither characters nor readers from the horrors and consequences of war. The result is a satisfying if not happy end to the series. Agent: Hannah Bowman, Liza Dawson Assoc. (Nov.)

Booklist Review

Having defeated the empress and escaped the dragon warlord at the end of The Dragon Republic (2019), Rin is attempting to gather an army to overthrow the remnants of the foreign forces occupying the Southern Provinces, freeing the people to rebel and march on the newly formed republic. The leaders of the Southern Coalition have no love for the eastern warlords, but they also have no respect for a young girl and plan to use her powers as many so-called allies have before. Rin needs others like herself--those who can draw on the power of a god to destroy indiscriminately. She could align herself with the three most powerful shamans who ever lived, but their motivations are suspicious. Her other recourse is to train fledglings in the shamanistic arts and convince them to work with her before they succumb to the same pain and eventual madness, as she did. Rin is so obsessed with battles and victory that she has no time to consider what comes in the aftermath of war. Bringing her complex Poppy War trilogy to a poignant conclusion, Kuang shines a searing light on the devastating price and valiant sacrifices that warfare requires of all involved.

Library Journal Review

Fang Runin has been betrayed and left for dead, after facing off against numerous enemies during a disastrous civil war. Rin returns to her home, the Southern Provinces, where the rebel Southern Coalition has been fighting the Dragon Republic and their colonizing allies, the Hesperians. While her relationship with the Southern Coalition is tenuous at best, she realizes that most of the commoners of Nikan desire vengeance for the havoc wreaked upon them--and they believe Rin is their savior, with the Phoenix inside her. Backed by some old friends, a couple enemies, and the Southern Army, Rin is determined to free her people. Yet freedom comes with a heavy price, and with the Phoenix's encouragement, Rin may decide that the only way to bring change is to burn it all down. Kuang (The Poppy War) doesn't hold back on the physical and emotional toll of war, along with the cycle of abuse and trauma that can cause good people to make painful choices. VERDICT An incredible end to this epic trilogy. Mixing historical parallels of Chinese history, the themes of war, politics, and colonialism are balanced with terrific, flawed characters and amazing worldbuilding.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton