As with all sequels, I went into this book (thanks to the publisher for giving me the ARC) with expectations set by the previous book. The Poppy War, though well done, was in large part also cliche. It hit many of the tropes, and the plot and characters developed in precisely the way I expected them to … until RF Kuang pulled the proverbial rug out from under me, and suddenly I had no idea what to expect. The last third or so of the book was stomach punch after stomach punch, with an ending that shocked me.
The Dragon Republic was similar in many respects. The first two-thirds or so of the book, again, followed many of the classic tropes, though a very well-done version of them. It honestly had trouble holding my attention at times.
And then, like with The Poppy War, that changed abruptly, and I was glued to my Kindle for the final third or thereabouts of The Dragon Republic.
This series is inspired by the history of China starting in roughly the late 19th century, and much like Guy Gavriel Kay at his best, Kuang had me spending a lot of time scrolling through WIkipedia and /r/AskHistorians learning about a period of history of which I was largely ignorant. This was the case with the previous book, but to a much lesser extent: things like the Rape of Nanjing and Unit 731, though inarguably horrible, were also relatively straightforward in their brutality. This book gets into the much more complicated history of Western imperialism and colonialism with regards to China. Despite my conscious efforts to diversify my reading on general principles, my perspective does for the most part remain distinctly Western. Reading this was something of an eye-opener.
Moving away from specifically Chinese history, this book (like The Poppy War) pulls no punches in addressing difficult topics such as drug addiction, rape, and war in general. Rin is indeed “terribly good at war,” and she is self-aware enough to wrestle honestly with what that means.
World-building wise, we learn a good deal more about the history of the world, the nature of the shamans and the gods, and especially about the Triumvirate.
And (probably the best recommendation any book can give): I really, really, REALLY want the next book. Like, right now.
Kuang’s Nebula nomination for The Poppy War was very well earned. The Dragon Republic proves it wasn’t anything like a fluke.
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