I just finished reading all of RF Kuang’s work, a while ago and I have to admit, I have some pretty mixed feelings. On one hand, I totally get why she’s praised: her ambition and the themes she writes about like colonialism, identity, and power, are undeniably important. She doesn’t shy away from addressing these big issues, which is bold ofc. But at the same time, there’s something about her execution that really didn’t land for me. I wanted to connect with her characters and stories more than I actually did.

The Poppy War, for example. Rin’s journey is intense, and the story itself is brutal in a way that forces you to confront the cost of war and trauma. But for me, Rin’s character arc felt more frustrating than complex. I get that she’s supposed to be flawed and deeply affected by everything around her, but her decisions often felt predictable. By the time I got to the later books, especially The Burning God, I found myself less invested in her fate because it all seemed like a downward spiral with no real moments of reflection or growth. Yes, it’s tragic, but without that emotional depth, it became exhausting rather than impactful.

Then there’s Babel. This book had so much potential, especially with the setting in academia which i love, and the themes of colonialism and language. The concept itself is super interesting for me, and Kuang clearly has a lot to say about the exploitation and erasure of cultures. But again, I felt like the characters took a backseat to the message. Especially Robin’s struggle to reconcile his love for academia with the reality of its colonial roots is central, but his character felt flat to me. The dynamics between him and the other students had so much potential for complexity, but they nothing ever developed in a way that felt natural or believable . It was like everything was building up to this explosive conflict, but the tension wasn’t fully earned. Instead, it felt forced.

That said, I do like how Kuang challenges the reader. She’s not afraid to dig into uncomfortable topics, and her books definitely make you think. There’s a lot of depth in how she tackles themes of identity and belonging, especially in Babel, where Robin’s experience of being an outsider in an institution that simultaneously reveres and erases his heritage feels very real. But sometimes the way these themes were presented felt too heavy-handed for me. It was like the messaging overtook the story, and while I appreciate the points she’s making. Whats the point of the story if the message is the story, i want more moments where the characters could just breathe.

I think that’s where my main issue is,

I wanted more from the characters themselves. I know they’re meant to be complex and morally ambiguous, but a lot of the time, they felt more like vehicles for the plot rather than fully realized individuals. Nezha, for example, starts out as this arrogant figure you almost hate, but then we get glimpses of something deeper. Still, it felt like we never really got to explore that complexity in a meaningful way.