The Dragon Republic

The Poppy War was probably the most exciting debut book I read last year and so The Dragon Republic had a lot of promise to live up to. Fortunately it did not disappoint. The book starts pretty close to the end of the previous one with Rin and the Cike on the run again. Straight away we jump into the action and it never really lets up.

There is a notable increase in the bitterness in this book. This actually works quite well as the characters are getting more and more jaded by the actions and betrayals they have seen. The same semi-historic allegories are present and make the book all the more powerful for it.

With such a large amount of the fantasy oeuvre available in Europe set in a quasi-European setting it is refreshing to get the more oriental take on things. The cultural changes are subtle, but they do give a distinct and refreshing flavour to the books.

An impressive follow up to an impressive debut, and the ending leaves me anxious to start the next book!