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The Dragon Republic

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The Dragon Republic

By: R.F. Kuang
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
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About this listen

The searing follow-up to 2018’s most celebrated fantasy debut – THE POPPY WAR.

Rin is on the run…

Haunted by the atrocity she committed to save her people, addicted to opium, and driven by the murderous commands of Phoenix, the vengeful god who has blessed Rin with her fearsome power.

Rin’s only reason for living is to get revenge on the traitorous Empress who sold her homeland, Nikan, to her enemies.

With no other options, Rin joins forces with the powerful Dragon Warlord, who has a plan to conquer Nikan, unseat the Empress, and create a new Republic. She throws herself into his war.

After all, making war is all she knows how to do…

©2019 R.F. Kuang Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Historical Military Fiction War Dragons

Critic reviews

PRAISE FOR THE POPPY WAR:

‘An outstanding debut’

DAILY MAIL

‘A book that will go down as one of the best grimdark/military fantasy debuts of all time’

BOOKNEST

'Literary super-stardom doesn't seem too far out of her reach now'

The Herald

‘A masterpiece by grimdark’s newest and perhaps darkest daughter’

FANTASY BOOK REVIEW

‘A wholly unique experience’

THE WASHINGTON POST

‘R.F. Kuang’s fresh approach to magic and hard-hitting story is a punch to the gut fantasy has needed for a long time. I can’t wait for THE DRAGON REPUBLIC’

Peter V. Brett, bestselling author of The Demon Cycle

‘Enthralling from start to finish … I thought myself prepared. I was now. R.F. Kuang’s debut is a masterful must-read, and I’ve no doubt the best is yet to come’

Nicholas Eames, author of KINGS OF THE WYLD

‘A blistering, powerful epic of war and revenge that will captivate you to the bitter end’

Kameron Hurley, author of THE LIGHT BRIDAGE

‘Fresh, assured, character-driven fantasy that’s choc full of magic, war, and betrayal. I loved it from start to finish’

Peter Newman, author of THE VAGRANT

‘A powerful, emotional journey, compellingly written’

Adrian Tchaikovsky, award-winning author of THE CHILDREN OF TIME

‘An original and engrossing tale of the coming of age of a talented young soldier amid the horrors of invasion and genocide’

Anna Stephens, author of GODBLIND

‘I so enjoyed The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang … It is all about survival, and how a person’s will and determination can change the course of their life. I loved the central character, felt her pain and her far-too-brief moments of joy, and just loved how Kuang breathes fresh life into the warrior training school … Highly recommended’

John Gwynne, author of MALICE

All stars
Most relevant
I think I've loved the most the fact that romance is barely there . Great story build. love the characters

Emily Woo Zeller is one of my favourite narrators

heartbreaking and great

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Gods, men, pirates and empires with lots of twists and turns and so much blood

So much war! Gripping and relentless storytelling

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can't wait for the next book. very good sequel, very well thought out and brilliant narration

excellent sequel to the first book.

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I generally like the story, but sometimes the change of voices to fit characters are a bit annoying. And I was quite annoyed at how whiny Ren was in the first and start of this book. But if you can get over that, the story is really good.

Greay story

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It took me a few attempts to finish this book. I loved The Poppy War but really struggled with Rin's attitude and passivity throughout this book.
The final, and successful, attempt to finish happened after I read a review of the book commenting on this particular element and discussing it in relation to character development in response to the events of The Poppy War. This particular reviewer felt that Rin's character traits that I had found difficult to read about were, in fact, a completely reasonable path for her character to take in light of what we already know about her. She found her God and her power but the cost was incredibly high. She is, in effect, traumatised by her experiences - not just those that happened to her but those that she caused. Rin, who I always felt was strong but quite brittle, ended up breaking under the weight of responsibility and her complete abdication of control/responsibility for her subsequent actions is how she manages this in this second book.
I found that I whole-heartedly agreed with this perspective and found myself able to accept Rin as she now is and enjoy how the plot developed.
I would encourage any reader to set aside expectations of what they believe a "hero/heroine" should be and to approach this book with a much of an open mind/ blank slate as you can. This very improved my experience of the book and I'm very much looking forward to reading The Burning God with the same approach.

Grows on you...

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