Can't-wait-wednesday #3: The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read.

This week, I can't wait for

The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War #2)

by R.F. Kuang

Description from Goodreads

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

In the aftermath of the Third Poppy War, shaman and warrior Rin is on the run: haunted by the atrocity she committed to end the war, addicted to opium, and hiding from the murderous commands of her vengeful god, the fiery Phoenix. Her only reason for living is to get revenge on the traitorous Empress who sold out Nikan to their 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. Rin throws herself into his war. After all, making war is all she knows how to do.

But the Empress is a more powerful foe than she appears, and the Dragon Warlord’s motivations are not as democratic as they seem. The more Rin learns, the more she fears her love for Nikan will drive her away from every ally and lead her to rely more and more on the Phoenix’s deadly power. Because there is nothing she won’t sacrifice for her country and her vengeance.

The sequel to R.F. Kuang’s acclaimed debut THE POPPY WAR, THE DRAGON REPUBLIC combines the history of 20th-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating effect.

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Genre: Adventure, Mythology, Fantasy 
Pages: 560

Expected Publication: August 6, 2019

Publisher: Harper Voyager

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The epic book two of the amazing The Poppy War series is just around the corner! Well, almost. But I couldn't wait to share this book with you all, whether you have read the first book or not. If you haven't started on this series yet: please do! Kuang has a very unique voice in fantasy storytelling: the author builds a detailed and dark world with an interesting take on gods and mythology. The first book was a mix of Harry Potter, The Game of Thrones, and Percy Jackson. I'm expecting a lot from the second installment, The Dragon Republic!! Those who have already got up and personal with The Poppy War, what are your thoughts on the second book?

Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Description from Goodreads

In a world where ash falls from the sky, and mist dominates the night, an evil cloaks the land and stifles all life. The future of the empire rests on the shoulders of a troublemaker and his young apprentice. Together, can they fill the world with colour once more?

In Brandon Sanderson's intriguing tale of love, loss, despair and hope, a new kind of magic enters the stage - Allomancy, a magic of the metals.

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Why on Earth did it took me so long to read Mistborn: the Final Empire? What's wrong with me?? Despite all the great reviews, the amazing blurb, the constant hype around Sanderson's books, what do I do? I WAIT. I really should have more trust on humanity when it recommends a book that has a rating of 4.40 on Goodreads. Because. Mistborn: The Final Empire was beautiful. I should probably warn you right now that there will be lots of rambling (probably incoherent), praise, and maybe even a couple of salty virtual tears on the screen. 

I don't think there was even one character who I didn't like. All of them were so well-written: they had distinct personalities, strengths and weaknesses, and they felt multidimensional. Vin, the main character found from the alleys of Luthadel, and Kelsier, incredibly talented Allomancer, were my favourite characters by far. Vin who is about sixteen-years old and Kelsier who is over thiry, were interestingly but probably not coincidentally, similar to each other, not only in terms of personality, but how they had experienced a very harsh lives. I'm not going to go in detail about that as it is part of the 'fun' to learn about these character's histories and what sort of tragedies they have gone through. In addition, Elend, a young nobleman from the House of Venture, and Sazed, a Terrisman, were really interesting characters and I'm very intrigued how they will be included in the future novels.

Sanderson is the king of world building: he has the most amazing imagination and he isn't afraid to play around with all the crazy ideas he has. First of all, even though Allomancy (or using the metals to give you magical powers) may not sound the most intriguing concept, Sanderson is able to make it absolutely fascinating by writing about it in so much detail and consideration that Allomancy comes alive on the pages and in readers' minds. Each specific metal gives you a specific ability and by using different metals you can have various different heightened senses or capabilities. Even though all the information was first a bit much to take in, the readers quickly learn what each metal does and what are its limits. The idea how the main character Vin, who is taken in by a rebel criminal group, (and other Allomancers too), is taught how to use the metals by Kelsier (the leader of the group) and how she learns to use them so beautifully, is really entertaining to read about. 

The funny thing is that I was expecting Mistborn: the Final Empire to be somewhat, well, more masculine in the traditional sense, for lack of a better word. The novel did have its gruesome scenes and very epic battle scenes, but there was surprisingly lot about dancing balls and etiquettes, dresses, and crushes. These a bit more lighter scenes were very welcome as they made the novel diverse in the sense that it didn't simply focus on Allomancy, but also explored the society of Luthadel and themes of love and friendship. There was a slight romance aspect to the book too, but the novel was never only about this romance. I really enjoyed this choice by Sanderson as otherwise the horrors caused by the Lord Ruler, the horrifying dictator, would have gotten less attention and so less emphasis and impact. 

But I have to make a confession. As I liked Mistborn: the Final Empire so much, I'm hesitant to start reading the second book of the series, The Well of Ascension, because I'm afraid it won't be able to live up to the first book. I know, it's silly, but what if the second book isn't as good and that kind of eats away my love for the series? But, fear not, I'm going to read the next book for sure, but I'm just going to need my time to muster all the courage and plunge into the world of Allomancy again. Most likely, I'll feel exactly the same after reading the second book as I after finishing reading Mistborn: the Final Empire: "What's wrong with me?? Despite all the great reviews, the amazing blurb, the constant hype around Sanderson's books, what do I do? I WAIT."

☆☆☆☆☆

The Mirror Empire (Worldbreaker Saga #1) by Kameron Hurley

Description on Goodreads

On the eve of a recurring catastrophic event known to extinguish nations and reshape continents, a troubled orphan evades death and slavery to uncover her own bloody past… while a world goes to war with itself.

In the frozen kingdom of Saiduan, invaders from another realm are decimating whole cities, leaving behind nothing but ash and ruin.

As the dark star of the cataclysm rises, an illegitimate ruler is tasked with holding together a country fractured by civil war, a precocious young fighter is asked to betray his family and a half-Dhai general must choose between the eradication of her father’s people or loyalty to her alien Empress.

Through tense alliances and devastating betrayal, the Dhai and their allies attempt to hold against a seemingly unstoppable force as enemy nations prepare for a coming together of worlds as old as the universe itself.

In the end, one world will rise – and many will perish. 

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Oh wow, where do I even start? The book was so massive and epic (and not just in terms of page numbers)! The different cultures, political systems, the reversed gender roles – there was so much in this book that it’s difficult to include everything in a single review. But. I’ll do my best to convey my feelings about this revelling new series.

I think the strength of the book was that the world of Worldbreaker Saga is so unique and distinguishable from what the typical fantasy worlds provide. I absolutely adored the idea of different jistas who had their own star and god they worshipped, receiving magical powers from them. And of course, the cherry on top was that there was this one category of jista called Omajistas, who arise so rarely in power yet they are the most powerful jistas known. The cycle of jista powers was so intriguing, getting more power as they star was rising and losing power when another start was rising. It is so difficult to try to explain the system in one paragraph, so if this concept interests you, please pick up the book.

One of the fascinating elements of the Mirror Empire was the fact that the gender roles were reversed. Women traditionally were the army commanders, spiritual and political leaders, usually had multiple husbands, and men were the pretty things who were kept at home. It was so conflicting yet utterly compelling to read about a society like this when you’re used to the norm, which dictates that women are usually the inferior gender. I can’t even begin to describe how I felt about the fact that men were basically treated as sex objects in the novel and treated like second-class citizens, while our society still tends to treat women like that. I felt so bad for the men in the novel, yet I know that women, myself included, go through similar experiences. I think the author wanted to evoke discussion about our society’s gender roles, and I must admit that she did fantastic job doing it.

I did have one problem with the novel though. The characters. The main characters were decent and likeable, but that’s about the only adjective that I can come up with while trying to describe them. Even though the overall concepts and the backgrounds of the characters initially were very different from each other, I didn’t feel like their personalities per se differed very much. I know that the author most likely disagrees with me on this one, but I can’t help but to say that the characters felt very flat to me, with the exception of Anavha (a trophy husband of an army commander). The novel was so concentrated on the world and society building, which in itself is a marvellous thing, but it definitely ate away from the character development. While the characters were okay, I never really felt for them or felt like I needed to root for them (again with the exception of Anavha, bless his soul).

The Mirror Empire’s author most definitely is a fan of A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones, and you can see it – the violence, different cultures and political structures ooze the similar atmosphere that George R.R. Martin’s popular series carries. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, and in fact, I would recommend the novel for the fans of A Song of Ice and Fire. There definitely are similar elements, meaning that both series do not shy away from gruesome things and are not afraid to mix up things without any warning.

Lastly, I want to mention that I’m so stoked that the author is a woman. I’m not sure if I have looked at the wrong places, but it is relatively rare to come across with an epic fantasy book, which was written by a woman. So content at the moment that I got the chance to read this book!  It would be very pleasing to see more female writers in the epic fantasy genre for sure. The Mirror Empire was a very different, but enjoyable read which did have its highlight moments but also some less thrilling times but I think that’s all due to the fact that this was so massive novel which needed the slow world-building element.

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