Pages & Pressings

SPOILER WARNING (you shouldn’t even be reading this if you haven’t read the first book.)

The way this book had me staring at a wall for hours after finishing it… yeah.

Altan truly haunts the narrative and I love that for him. No matter what stance you take on him and his actions, his legacy can’t be overlooked. He was the first person that Rin felt she could relate to even if it was in the most diabolical ways. His otherworldly presence helped move the plot on via Rin, and it speaks to the quality of the writing itself. It’s very rare when character deaths can impact the story without taking the easy way out and bringing them back to life. This is another way that Kuang expertly ties fantasy and reality: the dead never really leave us and can cause us to grow and change, even if it’s not in the same supernatural way that Rin visits Altan.

If I though Rin was a hot mess in book 1, she really outdid herself in book 2 and… I kind of love it. Some may dismiss it as an unlikeable character, but I think it’s genius. You have a young adult wrecked by grief, drowning in responsibility that she didn’t ask for or can handle, all while trying to stay alive and find purpose during tumultuous times. Having to carry all of that while being surrounded by people who claim to be able to help and guide you. If you can’t trust anyone, even yourself, then who can you trust? That’s the genius part. Every character in this trilogy is so smart, calculating, and conniving that every turn may be the wrong one and that’s just life.

I should’ve known that the Republic was phony considering I’ve been mistyping The Dragon Republic as The Dragon Empire this whole time. I wish I could say it didn’t shock me, but it did. Just like Rin, I chose to believe Vaisra and his vision for the future too. I wish Nezha wasn’t a part of it- his betrayal was the one that truly broke my heart.

I have nothing but praise for The Dragon Republic, and I’m eager to see how the trilogy concludes in The Burning God.