The Burning God was an amazing culmination for this series. I don't know if I could create a better ending; I didn't expect it, but it makes such sense. No spoilers, I promise! I was particularly struck by the relationships between Kitay and Rin and Rin and Nezha at the end; that's what made me tear up the most. I think the pacing at the end honestly became too fast, however; that's my only complaint and why I didn't give this a whole five stars. However, I loved the continued inclusion of political theory and strategy in this third installment. Grappling with the questions of regime type, military justice and ethics, and the reality of governance were all right up my alley. This is the best series for any politics-loving fantasy reader. The book doesn't shy away from the moral dilemmas it chronicles; it walks right up to them and looks them in the eye, no matter how dark it may be. I can't say enough good things about the nuance and mastery shown in this book, of history, of politics, of language, of ethics, and finally, of love, friendship, religion, bigotry, and power. R F Kuang is a master. 

I actually prefer The Dragon Republic to the first book in this series. This installation grapples with political ideology, military alliance strategy, and the complicated motivations of waging war itself. The pacing of this book (while long and detailed) was more appropriate than the first installation, and it didn’t feel as though it dragged as much. The beginning was slow and frustrating, but the middle and end was satisfying and kept me turning page after page. The plot twists were predictable, but that didn’t make them any less disheartening or effective as plot devices. Great ending to this book, and the third and final installation is set up perfectly. This book is a masterpiece of cerebral, political, military fantasy-fiction. 

I feel as though this whole book's length could have been cut down by half and it would be a better book. Towards the middle, it started to really drag, and I think the whole novel could have benefitted with some paring down. That being said, the story gets better, darker, and more troubling as it goes along. The Poppy War provides a completely different perspective than I'm used to in the fantasy genre. It begs the question of how seemingly good people who have been wronged become the wrongdoers themselves. Watching Rin's quest for power and revenge causes the reader to look within themselves and really ask what they would do.

While I loved getting to continue to interact with the cast of characters from Six of Crows, I did feel like this sequel was a little bit lackluster in comparison. The focus on Ketterdam was nice, but I feel like this book was a lot more action- and heist-detail-focused than the first book. I loved the mix of action and emotion in the first book, but I feel like the balance wasn't quite right in this sequel. The ending was definitely satisfying, and I'm glad I read this addition, but I definitely still prefer Six of Crows!