WeHa Book Club

*Spoiler-Free Review*

I will start this review with a disclaimer. I’m only human, and my opinion of a book – or any piece of media for that matter – is undoubtedly influenced by my general mindset at the time of consumption.

And put simply, I have been busy as hell lately. Working on a demanding project at work, scrambling to plan a wedding, general logistics and obligations… I’ve been drowning in details these past few months.

Naturally, that’s slowed down my pace of reading and also affected my focus whenever I do make time to pick up a book. So I say all that to hopefully buy me some grace when I give an underwhelming score to The Dragon Republic. I know people love this series and I’m really enjoying it so far, but Book #2 fell a little flat for me.

I feel like it could have been considerably shorter, for one. I understand that there is a certain expectation with ‘fantasy epics’ and I can appreciate the increased scale from the first book of the series, The Poppy War.

And, while necessary to progress the plot, I felt as if the subject matter wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. The first book is basically a coming of age story. The second is heavily descriptive military strategy. And the third, I’m guessing, is closer to a superhero story with a battle of ‘gods vs. gods’.

But I also don’t want to be too harsh on this book, as it was undeniably well-written. The lore and world building is as good as ever, and there were some truly high highs and compelling plot twists.

So I suppose I’ll leave it at this… I absolutely loved the first book. I am very much looking forward to the conclusionary third book. And if The Dragon Republic is the transition that bridges that gap, then so be it.

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“The Dragon Republic” by R.F. Kuang