To be honest, I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it was an exciting read. Yes, most of the story is very dark, bloody, and often very cruel scenes. On the other hand, it was a challenging read with all the war strategics that went on over pages and which made reading this book sometimes hard. Sometimes I thought it couldn´t get any better only to see that followed by the thought what is this all about? So, if you are not in for a book with bloody and very brutal scenes, a more than once weak main figure, and a dark and twisted story, you better don´t touch this book at all. If it is exactly what you want – go right ahead.
Im Zeichen Der Mohnblume-Die Kaiserin*
by R. F. KuangThe Poppy War #2
Translation Michaela Link
Original Title The Dragon Republic**
Publisher Blanvalet on November 16, 2020
Genre Fantasy
Pages 794
Format Paperback
Source Blanvalet
✶✶✶✶
Rin is on the run. They are still following the atrocities she committed to save her people. Addicted to opium, she follows the deadly orders of Phoenix, the merciless god who gave Rin her frightening power for better or for worse. Rin´s only reason to live is to seek revenge on the treacherous Empress, who turned her homeland Nikan over to her enemies. Rin has no choice but to ally herself with the mighty dragon warlord. He plans to conquer Nikan, overthrow the empress, and found a new republic. Rin joins his war. Because after all, fighting is what she does best … (personal translation by ©Vi at Inkvotary).
Story
Rin is a wreck. Opium has become her food and air she needs to be alive at all. Revenge is the only thing she can think of and the fact, that the man she loved more than anything else in the world, died right before her eyes something she can´t forget. The pain is unbearable and the demon she has inside her a threat she is not able to control. So, what can she do to get what she wants? Another war is on the horizon and Rin ready to do her part to bring whatever a normal life means to her people.
Style
The author´s style is basically easy to read and relatively varied. Well, the many pages on war strategies have not knocked me off my feet and in my eyes also took some momentum from the novel. But apart from that, this novel shows a lot of grandiose scenes, dialogues, and passages. The main character, Rin, is an absolute wreck. Her addiction to opium has transformed her into a barely breathing creature who has ignored all self-discipline and basically only wants one thing. To forget. Her self-esteem is practically nonexistent. She has become a functioning puppet whose strings are moved by others.
The author shows the conflict in which Rin has been for some time in an impressive way. Well, a feeling of contempt arose in me, because Rin literally bathes herself in self-pity and doesn´t blame everything and everyone for it. But somehow, she got a little respect from me as the story progressed. At some point, she began to show me that is more than just a pile of dirt and that, despite all her mental agony, she can still distinguish good from bad and right from wrong. And that she cares about her people.
Characters
I met Rin for the first time in the reading sample the German publisher offers for the first volume, The Poppy War. And what I saw there somehow spoke to me and fascinated me in a strange way. To see what has become of Rin and to get some details from her about the things she had gone through in book one, was partly moving and a repulsive mixture of pity (on my part), contempt, and the loud scream, she should kindly pull herself by the belt and finally conquer her addiction.
Well, what Rin can´t do herself, someone else can do. And even if it briefly looked as if she was finally on the safe side, Rin is again dangerously close in the wrong direction. War and nothing but war determine the characters´ lives and that became almost too much in the long run.
Conclusion
I´m torn about this novel. On the one hand, I´m excited about all the great scenes and the plot that is behind it all. On the other hand, I am still shocked by the many bloody, brutal, and often very cruel scenes. I would not have expected this. The Dragon Republic is not an easy-to-read novel and my rating is probably also due to the fact that I did not read the first part, The Poppy War. Don´t ask. And I´m not sure if I´ll ever do that. Yes, the mixture of mythology, monsters, and the way a young woman changes over the course of her life is fascinating. But the many pages on war strategies were a tad too much for me in the end and in some cases kept my enthusiasm for reading within limits. It is best to read it yourself and form your own judgment.
Happy reading
*This book was kindly provided to me by Blanvalet in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Thank you. Therefore, the cover of the German edition is shown first in this review.
Deutsche Rezension
Stil
Der Stil der Autorin ist im Grunde leicht zu lesen und relative abwechslungsreich. Gut, die vielen Seiten über Kriegsstrategien haben mich jetzt nicht so vom Hocker gerissen und in meinen Augen dem Roman auch einiges an Schwung genommen. Aber abgesehen davon zeigt dieser Roman sehr viele grandiose Szenen, Dialoge und Passagen. Die Hauptfigur Rin, ist ein absolutes Wrack. Ihre Opiumsucht hat sie in ein kaum atmendes Wesen verwandelt, das jegliche Selbstdisziplin in den Wind geschossen hat und im Grunde nur noch eines will. Vergessen. Ihr Selbstwertgefühl ist praktisch nicht mehr vorhanden. Sie ist zu einer funktionierenden Marionette geworden, deren Strippen von anderen bewegt werden.
Den Konflikt, in dem sich Rin seit geraumer Zeit befindet, zeigt die Autorin auf eindrucksvolle Weise. Gut, in mir entstand dabei ein Gefühl der Verachtung, da Rin sich im Selbstmitleid buchstäblich badet und alles und jeden nur nicht sich selbst dafür verantwortlich macht. Aber irgendwie hat sie mir im Verlaufe der Handlung auch ein wenig Respekt abgerungen. Irgendwann fing sie an, mir zu zeigen, dass sie mehr ist als nur ein Häuflein Dreck und dass sie trotz all ihrer seelischen Qualen immer noch Gut von Böse und richtig von falsch unterscheiden kann. Und dass ihr ihr Volk nicht egal ist.
Charaktere
Ich habe Rin zum ersten Mal in der Leseprobe kennengelernt, die der deutsche Verlag für den ersten Band Die Schamanin anbietet. Und was ich dort sah, sprach mich irgendwie an und faszinierte mich auf seltsame Weise. Zu sehen, was aus Rin geworden ist und von ihr einige Details über die Dinge zu erfahren, die sie in Buch eins durchgemacht hatte, war teilweise bewegend und eine abstoßende Mischung aus Mitleid (meinerseits), Verachtung und dem lauten Schrei, sie solle sich gefälligst am Riemen reißen und ihre Sucht endlich besiegen.
Tja, was Rin selbst nicht hinbekommt, schafft dann ein anderer. Und auch wenn es kurzzeitig so aussah, als ob sie endlich auf der sicheren Seite angekommen wäre, geht es wieder gefährlich nahe in die falsche Richtung für Rin. Krieg und nichts als Krieg bestimmt das Leben der Figuren und das wurde auf Dauer fast zu viel.
Resultat
Ich bin hin und hergerissen, was diesen Roman angeht. Einerseits bin ich begeistert über all die vielen grandiosen Szenen und den Plot, der hinter allem steht. Auf der anderen Seite bin ich noch immer geschockt über die vielen blutigen, brutalen und oftmals sehr grausamen Szenen. Das hatte ich nicht erwartet. Die Kaiserin ist kein leicht zu lesender Roman und vermutlich ist meine Bewertung auch der Tatsache geschuldet, dass ich den ersten Teil Die Schamanin nicht gelesen habe. Und ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob ich das jemals tun werde. Ja, die Mischung aus Mythologie, Monstern und der Art und Weise, wie sich eine junge Frau im Laufe ihres Lebens verändert, ist faszinierend. Aber die vielen Seiten über Kriegsstrategien waren mir dann am Ende doch einen Tick zu viel und haben meine Lesebegeisterung streckenweise in Grenzen gehalten. Am besten selbst lesen und ein eigenes Urteil bilden.
**The book was published in the English language The Dragon Republic by Harper Voyager on August 8, 2019.
Rebecca F. Kuang
Rebecca F. Kuang immigrated to the United States from Guangzhou, China, in 2000. She holds a bachelor's degree in International History from Georgetown, where she focused on Chinese military strategy, collective trauma, and war memorials. In 2018 she received a scholarship and has been studying Sinology at the University of Cambridge ever since. Rebecca F. Kuang loves corgis and likes to drink good wine.
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This is a series I still need to read but it kind of intimidates me. 🙈
ReplyDeleteIt had the same impact on me. I had heard so many good things about The Poppy War within the blogger community that I asked the German publisher for a review copy. Well, instead of receiving the first book, I had the second one in the mailbox and soon it became clear to me, that I had to read it first because of the huge amount of pages and the deadline that came with it. I am still torn about buying and reading the first one, not to mention asking for the third one because I am not reading fast enough these days to get it done within a week or two...
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