R.F. Kuang

A collection of scenes from Nezha's point of view throughout the first two novels in the trilogy, and in an opening scene of the final novel in the trilogy. It is recommended to be read after the first 5 chapters of The Burning God (Book #3).

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.

After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead.  Despite her losses, Rin hasn’t given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much—the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges—and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation.  Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix’s intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it?  The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R. F. Kuang’s acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect.

Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek. The story of a hero's descent to the underworld. Two academic rivals from Cambridge must travel to hell to rescue the soul of their advisor. Getting there was easy. Surviving it – and each other – is another thing entirely. 2025’s most unexpected love story is going to be hell in the new novel by Sunday Times Number One Bestseller R.F. Kuang. Coming August 2025.

A collection of the year's best science fiction and fantasy writing selected by New York Times bestselling author R. F. Kuang and series editor John Joseph Adams. R. F. Kuang, New York Times bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy and Babel, selects twenty pieces that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year and explores the ever-expanding and changing world of science fiction and fantasy today.

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars: same year at Yale, same debut year in publishing. But Athena's a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn't even get a paperback release. Nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I. So what if June edits Athena's novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song--complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn't this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That's what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree. But June can't get away from Athena's shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June's (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves. With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface takes on questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation not only in the publishing industry but the persistent erasure of Asian-American voices and history by Western white society. R. F. Kuang's novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.

When Rin aced the Keju — the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies — it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard — the most elite military school in Nikan — was even more surprising. But surprises aren’t always good. Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power — an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive — and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school. For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away. Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity ... and that it may already be too late.

Rebecca F. Kuang interpretiert in ihrem Debüt die asiatische Geschichte neu und erschafft eine Welt voller Kampfkunst, Götter und uralter Magie. Rin ist ein einfaches Waisenmädchen, das im Süden des Kaiserreichs Nikara lebt. Ihre Adoptiveltern benutzen sie als billige Arbeitskraft, und um sie herum gibt es nur Armut, Drogensucht und Ödnis. Um diesem Leben zu entfliehen, setzt sie alles daran, um an der Eliteakademie von Sinegard aufgenommen zu werden. Doch auch dort wird Rin wegen ihrer Herkunft verspottet und ausgegrenzt. Da bricht ein Krieg gegen das Nachbarreich aus. Rin muss nun kämpfen und entdeckt dabei, dass ihre Welt nie so einfach war, wie sie geglaubt hatte – und dass sie zu viel mehr in der Lage ist, als sie selbst je für möglich gehalten hätte.

From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a historical fantasy epic that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British Empire Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. 1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire's quest for colonization. For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . . Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?

Deux pays s’affrontent depuis des siècles : l’immense empire de Nikara et une petite île voisine, Mugen. Jeune orpheline, Rin décide de tout faire pour échapper au mariage qu’ont arrangé ses parents adoptifs. Aidée d’un bibliothécaire qui s’est pris d’affection pour elle, elle se met à étudier en vue du concours Keju, qui ouvre aux enfants les plus brillants du pays accès à l’académie militaire de Sinegard, chargée de former les futures élites de l’Empire. Sous l’égide d’un vieux maître fantasque et mystérieux, elle s’éveille peu à peu aux pouvoirs chamaniques qui sont les siens, mais quand la guerre larvée éclate de nouveau, sous les coups de boutoir de Mugen, l’Académie est dissoute et ses membres affectés à l’une des douze divisions des Douze Provinces qui composent l’Empire. Rin rejoint les sicaires de l’Impératrice… Mi-roman de formation évoquant les meilleures pages de Harry Potter, mi-épopée grimdark de fantasy militaire, le premier roman de R. F. Kuang, salué par la critique, détonne par son originalité.

Treinaram-na para a guerra. Ela pretende pôr-lhe fim. Quando Rin passou no Keju — o teste para encontrar os jovens com mais talento do Império — todos se admiraram, até a própria Rin, que percebeu que estava livre da servidão e desespero da sua existência. O facto de ter entrado em Sinegard — a escola militar de elite de Nikan — foi ainda mais surpreendente. Mas as surpresas nem sempre são boas, especialmente quando se é uma órfã de pele escura com raízes camponesas pobres de quem veio de territórios do Sul. Perseguida por rivais, Rin vai descobrindo que detém um poder letal e sobrenatural — uma aptidão quase mística da arte do xamanismo. Explorando o seu poder com a ajuda de um professor aparentemente louco, Rin descobre que deuses considerados mortos estão, afinal, bastante vivos; e que dominar os seus poderes significa bem mais do que sobreviver à escola em Sinegard. Mesmo com o Império Nikara em paz, a Federação de Mugen espreita, perigosa, do outro lado do mar, antecipando uma nova Guerra das Papoilas. Rin, aprendendo com os seus poderes, teme que, para vencer uma guerra, possa ter de perder a sua humanidade. Se é que já não é demasiado tarde...

A raiva. Raiva que transforma a alma num fogo furioso que nunca pode ser extinto. Este é o mundo inteiro de Rin, assombrada pela atrocidade que cometeu para acabar com a guerra, viciada em ópio e escondendo-se das ordens assassinas do seu deus vingativo, a Fénix ardente. A sua única razão de viver é vingar-se da imperatriz traidora que vendeu Nikan aos seus inimigos. Sem outras opções, Rin junta forças com o poderoso Senhor da Guerra dos Dragões, que tem um plano para conquistar Nikan, destituir a Imperatriz e criar uma nova República. Rin lança-se na sua guerra. Afinal, fazer guerra é tudo o que ela sabe fazer. Mas a Imperatriz é um inimigo mais poderoso do que parece, e as motivações do Senhor da Guerra dos Dragões não são tão democráticas quanto parecem. Quanto mais Rin aprende, mais ela teme que o seu amor por Nikan a afaste de todos os aliados e a leve a confiar cada vez mais no poder mortal da Fénix. Porque não há nada que ela não sacrifique pelo seu país e pela sua vingança. Por isso, ela lança-se de novo na luta. Porque, afinal, lutar é o que ela faz de melhor.