Category: Grimdark

Recent Reads: The Burning God by R. F Kuang

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Burning God by R. F Kuang is the third book in the series, and you really need to have read the two previous books before you read this one!  Fang Runin has won the war, and now has to deal with the after effects, of ruling a devastated land, and the after effects of a civil war.

There are Hesperians, the Dragon Republic, and the remnants of her people, who thirst for revenge.

This is the end of the Poppy War series, and it packs a punch! 

I enjoyed the end to the story, and the ways it tidied up all of the loose story threads.  As with the other books in the series, it’s not going to hide the realities of war, or the sacrifices people make.

The Burning God by R. F Kuang was published on 17th November 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones, and your local independent bookshop.

I’ve read the previous books in this series (The Poppy War and The Dragon Republic), and you can read my review here.

You can follow R.F Kuang on Twitter, or through her website.

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to  HarperCollins for this book.

Recent Reads: Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Darkdawn is the third, and final book in the Nevernight series, featuring Mia, a orphan who swears vengeance on those that killed her father and had her mother thrown in a jail that would kill her.

At this point, I need to say this book is also grimdark fantasy.  What is grimdark?  It’s dark, disturbing and in a dystopian setting.  Joe Abercrombie writes it, J R R Tolkien did, and according to Wikipedia, so does George R R Martin, and I can see that now.  

If you haven’t read any of the Nevernight series, starting with Nevernight, and the second is Godsgrave, then please stop reading now, because spoilers ahead!

…..

Ah good, now that they’ve gone, we can get down to it!  Darkdawn is obviously another bloody book, after all, grimdark!  Mia assassinated Cardinal Duomo, stabbed Consul Scaeva, grabbed her brother Jonnen, and bolted.  Her vengeance taken, and her brother returned to her, so all is good, right?

Jay Kristoff* has written a great ending to this story, and one that I didn’t feel like there were any loose ends.  I enjoyed the tone of the book, the author’s voice, the characters, the magic and the world.  It was all really good!

And I would be more than happy to visit there again!

I felt like I needed to learn Photoshop in order to take a photo of this book, as I wanted to make the shadows from the book swirl, and creep, and maybe put a cat in there.  Instead I just tried to make the shadow darker.  That’ll have to be enough!

Darkdawn was published on 5th September 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones, complete with signed editions!  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Jay Kristoff on Twitter, or through his website.

If you’re interested in grimdark fantasy, then check out Joe Abercrombie, starting with The Blade Itself, or George R R Martin with A Game of Thrones, or maybe J R R Tolkien with The Fellowship of the Ring!


I borrowed this book from the library, so thanks to the library service for having such great books!
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

*Who loves his footnotes, and makes fun of writing them constantly.