The Dragon Republic (2019) by R. F. Kuang is the second installment in The Poppy War trilogy, a grimdark fantasy inspired by 20th-century Chinese history. The novel follows Rin, a battle-scarred shaman and war criminal, as she grapples with the aftermath of her god-fueled genocide in The Poppy War. Now aligned with the rebellious Dragon Warlord, Rin seeks to overthrow the corrupt Empress, but her addiction to opium and the Phoenix’s destructive power threatens to consume her.
Kuang’s unflinching prose explores trauma, colonialism, and the cost of vengeance, with battles that blend military strategy and supernatural horror. A harrowing escalation of Rin’s descent into darkness.
