Description
The third and final book in The Poppy War trilogy by R.F. Kuung was published in 2020 and brings the story of Rin, (Fang Runin), to a brutal and tragic conclusion as she fights for control of the Nikara Empire amidst civil war and power struggles and the weight of her own and her juniors’ potential for destruction. That’s just a short summary.
Following the events of the second book, The Dragon Republic, Rin is sent to the south of Nikara, where she assembles an army of peasants to fight against the Dragon Republic and its leader, Yin Vaisra, coupled with the invading Hesperians-the foreign colonizers, inspired by Western imperial powers. It now feels like a second nature to Rin, in fact, using the destructive powers of the god, Phoenix, to destroy her enemies. Now, the more she applies her powers, the closer she feels to the rage of Phoenix that threatens to devour her mind and body.
Rin finds herself in a leadership position, uniting disparate southern regions, but her thirst for power and vengeance puts her at odds with old friends, such as Kitay and Venka, and now her former mentor, Nezha, as he has pledged to the Hesperians. As the war continues, Rin’s purpose shifts between saving her people and fulfillment of her own desires for revenge and dominance.
On the other hand, the novel traces Rin’s downward journey from the moral purview, as she struggles with questions about justice, leadership, and her identity as both a peasant and a warlord. The cost of her power becomes increasingly personal and political. Themes characteristic of the colonialism trilogy, war, and the destructive aspect of unchecked power all converge for Rin: whether to continue fighting for a vision of an independent, unified Nikara or to surrender fully to the Phoenix’s hunger for destruction.
“The Burning God” gives such a deeply, devastatingly rich conclusion that the trilogy stands as dark, unflinching, and into the teeth of war, imperialism, and vengeance and ambition at any cost.
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