The Burning God is the third and final book in the Poppy War trilogy by R.F. Kuang.
Finished on: 10.2.2024
[Here are my reviews of the other books in the trilogy.]

Content Note: rape, genocide, addiction, abuse (and pretty much everything else)

Plot:
Rin has withdrawn to Tikany, the city she is from. There, she makes new plans to defeat everybody who threatens her people and the shamans. For now, that means not only her former allies of the Dragon Republic, but also the Hesperians who are preparing to bring their culture to the land and the people – and that means eradicating the already existing culture, and especially any trace of the gods. But her quest for liberation is also a quest for vengeance, and with the Phoenix urging her to destruction, Rin might be on the wrong path.

Endings are difficult, and the longer a story becomes, the harder it can be to actually finish it. The Burning God is a rare example of a really, really good ending – in terms of quality, definitely not happiness. But it wasn’t good enough to make me fall in love with a series that so far had only made me moderately enthusiastic.

The Burning God manages not only to tie up pretty much all of the plot threads that were dangling around, it also gives Rin an appropriate ending. The story is aware that Rin needs redemption, that she really made some spectacularly bad decisions. Given the harshness of the story so far and the world this is set in, redemption cannot come as some therapy and community work, either. Kuang finds the right balance to do right by Rin in both acknowledging how deeply fucked up her decisions were and still giving her a chance to do right.

The book also gives us some backstory to the Trifecta which I found very interesting. The relationship that Rin develops with the Empress was also really well done. But Rin’s continued relationship with Altan got on my nerves a little bit. I am convinced that there could have been a better narrative ploy to give us more of Rin’s inner life than this.

What I liked most by far was the keen light Kuang shines on colonialism and the role the Hesperians play in everything, including the future of Nikara. That was really insightful, making the violent nature of colonialism palpable and suffocating.

All in all, I’d say that The Burning God is easily the best book in the trilogy. But it wasn’t that good that it elevated the entire trilogy beyond the rather middling reaction I’ve had to it so far. I am happy I finished it, and I might check out other novels by Kuang at some point, but these books aren’t keepers for me.

Summarizing: well done ending.