Tag: r.f. kuang

Book Review: Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Fantasy
Length: 544 pages
Author: R.F. Kuang
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: August 23rd, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a historical fantasy epic that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British Empire

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world’s center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.

For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . .

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?

WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG TO READ THIS?

Well I do know why, I didn’t love the conclusion to The Poppy War series, but I heard too many good things about this book not to give an [eventual] go, AND HERE WE ARE.

I loved it.

I loved how complex it was. I would sit there and be in absolute awe that R.F. Kuang created this amazing story. I felt like I learned so much and with the audio it really came alive (highly recommend this route, I think it saved me from thinking it was too slow).

Robin Swift is the definition of a tangled character. Going through everything he does and choosing some good and some bad decisions. I loved following his story and the intensity at which I felt for the high and low moments. Some of those moments towards the end had my heart breaking. There is so much I could discuss but also no way I could fit it into a review, if you’ve gotten this far just know YOU SHOULD READ IT.

I felt a whole range of emotions reading this and this dark academia story is a new favorite.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Fantasy
  • Language: some strong
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, murder, colonization, war themes, discussions of slavery, physical abuse, racism, xenophobia, colorism, mentions of suicide, inhuman work conditions, police brutality, brief sexual assault, misogyny, anxiety depiction

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Book Review: The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War #2) by R.F. Kuang

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Adult Fantasy
Length: 672 pages
Author: R.F. Kuang
Publisher: Harper Voyage
Release Date: July 14th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Rin’s story continues in this acclaimed sequel to The Poppy War—an epic fantasy combining the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters.

The war is over.

The war has just begun.

Three times throughout its history, Nikan has fought for its survival in the bloody Poppy Wars. Though the third battle has just ended, shaman and warrior Rin cannot forget the atrocity she committed to save her people. Now she is on the run from her guilt, the opium addiction that holds her like a vice, and the murderous commands of the fiery Phoenix—the vengeful god who has blessed Rin with her fearsome power.

Though she does not want to live, she refuses to die until she avenges the traitorous Empress who betrayed Rin’s homeland to its enemies. Her only hope is to join forces with the powerful Dragon Warlord, who plots to conquer Nikan, unseat the Empress, and create a new republic.

But neither the Empress nor the Dragon Warlord are what they seem. The more Rin witnesses, the more she fears her love for Nikan will force her to use the Phoenix’s deadly power once more.

Because there is nothing Rin won’t sacrifice to save her country . . . and exact her vengeance.

WHO’S SIDE AM I ON?

This book got me FEELIN’ over that ending. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW. I have THOUGHTS and I need resolutions in the last book or we might be seeing a book throwing scenario. I can’t trust anything in this series and I hate [read: LOVE] that. By the time I’m feeling settled in one scene and its movement I am twisted around by the next chapter trying to find my footing again. The intense action and politics are continuing on and I can’t even begin to tell you which side I actually stand on.

Rin annoyed me on and off this go around. Many many decisions were made for her and I wish that she would have listened or been more open about those in her life. It did move the story along, but it did leave me wondering what hill our main character is going to stand on. I did however, enjoy seeing Rin develop a lot of relationships (platonic, and maybe something else?!?). That was a big part of this read and I think is going to play an even bigger role in the last book.

I love the audio version and how well everything is narrated. I am easily swept away by the story and it helped pass the slower middle area quicker by listening rather than physically reading this go around. I am anxious to get my hands on book three to see how this all ends. WHO SURVIVES.

Overall audience notes:

  • Adult fantasy
  • Language: some strong throughout
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: rape, sexual assault, attempted assault and rape, extreme gore and violence; extreme blood and physical altercations; dismemberment, loss of loved ones, war scenes, racism, genocide, colonization, substance abuse and addiction, PTSD, suicide, self-harm, suicide ideation, forced medical examinations, animal death/torture

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Book Review: The Poppy War (The Poppy War #1) by R.F. Kuang

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 527 pages
Author: R.F. Kuang
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: April 23rd, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting debut with this epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic, in the tradition of Ken Liu’s Grace of Kings and N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy.

When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late. 

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

I LOVED this book. I have seen the error of my ways holding off for so long on reading it. I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know what happened next. The pacing and writing was beautiful and kept things moving and engaging. I am officially here for this series.

I’m not generally a fan of books that involve a school/academy/etc. This played it perfectly. There wasn’t a copious amount of time spent going to class and other mundane tasks that ultimately wouldn’t affect the plot. Each scene and conversation led into Rin’s life and her story as well as connecting to the over arching plot of the coming war. I loved the side characters and the rolls they played in developing Rin’s character as she grew over the years. The time covered in more/less five years never felt too long or short.

The action was intense and at times hard to read. It doesn’t shy away from the trauma of war (and that’s putting it lightly). This is a dark read and brimming with context on many levels. Definitely read the authors notes at the end about incorporating modern Chinese history into this series.

Fantasy wise, the world building and magic system were stellar. No big info dumps that leave you more confused rather than clear-headed. Slowly built within the story itself it was easy to follow. I love the ideas being used in how it works and based on the ending, can’t wait to see how it further expands. I’m fascinated by many things and will be getting my hands on book two soon!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: some strong
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: war themes, drug use, substance addictions, self-harm, racism, misogyny, genocide, bullying, abandonment, abuse, animal death and cruelty, torture, killing, rape, mutilation, graphic depictions of child death, medical experimentation, colonization

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