The Burning God (The Poppy War #3)

R. F. Kuang

★★★★★

Having loved The Dragon Republic to pieces, I walked into this book prepared to be let down. I believed Kuang couldn't outdo what she did with the previous book of this trilogy: and while that fact still stands (TDR definitely appealed the most to me), TBG came quite close to doing so. The character work once again felt genuine and their emotions came across vividly. If you're reading this, you've most probably heard about how painful this book is. That is indeed true. While the previous two books made me feel sad, there were no extreme reactions. I assumed the same would happen with TBG too- boy was I wrong. Not only did it result in a full breakdown, but it also left me feeling hollow hours after I finished it- or rather say, it finished me instead.

//mild out of context spoilers//


Reading Rin descent into madness was a very fulfilling, albeit harrowing, experience. One thing I absolutely adore about Kuang's writing is how she manages to justify the worst of war crimes through Rin's point of view. While you're immersed in the writing you feel yourself nodding along, (mostly) agreeing with Rin- but the moment you take a step back and think the tiniest amount about it, you realize whatever this girl says is ghastly.
I'm also a self-proclaimed fan of the writer's foreshadowing skills. The way the conclusion was being built up from the beginning added so much to the story. The central theme to the whole series is how history moves in circles, and so find yourself drawing parallels between historic figures and our protagonists. You know how the old stories end, and so you fear for Rin, Kitay, and Nezha. On the other hand, Rin is nothing if not a person who exists to break cycles, to make her own path. So an air of uncertainty looms over you as you read on, ending in a predictable- yet devastating conclusion.
The frequent tonal shifts between Rin's thoughts and words are yet more evidence of how she's slowly losing her mind, and it was a wonderful thing to read. Her mind is shown to work like a flame-constantly flickering, reaching new highs and lows, ready to burn everything down. As expected, she steadily moves from morally grey to morally charcoal throughout the trilogy which gave us a number of disturbingly fascinating scenes.
The ending of the book isn't one that leaves you feeling satisfied, but neither does it leave you wanting more. It's an ending that befits the trilogy for all its themes of brutality and abruptness of war. In conclusion, The Burning God is a splendid finale to an equally splendid series.

PS: make sure to check out 'The Drowning Faith' after you finish this book. It's available for free on the author's website and consists of some scenes from Nezha's point of view. And if you truly hate your own sanity, reread the epilogue of TBG after reading The Drowning Faith :-)