Rebecca Kuang Books

The searing follow-up to 2018's most celebrated fantasy debut - THE POPPY WAR.

A war orphan rises from her humble beginnings to become a powerful military commander, and perhaps her country's only hope for survival

The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R.F. Kuang's acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of 20th-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling 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, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix's voice, urging her to burn the world and everything in it?

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War, this book is described as "absolutely phenomenal" and a "brilliant, razor-sharp" work that delves into colonial history and the Industrial Revolution. From award-winning author R. F. Kuang, it serves as a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, exploring student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the role of language and translation as tools of the British empire. In 1828, Robin Swift, an orphaned boy from Canton, is taken to London by the enigmatic Professor Lovell. He undergoes years of training in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, preparing to enroll in the Royal Institute of Translation at Oxford, known as Babel. This institution is not only a center for translation but also for magic, where silver working enables the British to dominate through knowledge that fuels their imperial ambitions. For Robin, Oxford initially appears as a utopia for knowledge. However, as a Chinese boy in Britain, he grapples with the reality that serving Babel means betraying his homeland. Caught between Babel and the secretive Hermes Society, which opposes imperial expansion, Robin faces a critical choice as Britain engages in an unjust war with China over silver and opium. He must confront whether meaningful change can occur from within powerful institutions or if revolution necessitates violence.

'Katabasis is a formidable, timeless work, destined to be a modern classic' OLIVIE BLAKE 'Katabasis is more than a novel to savor. This book is an experience. I envy those who get to read it for the first time' REBECCA ROSS 'A witty, gorey, harrowing ride' LEIGH BARDUGO Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek. The story of a hero's descent to the underworld. Grad student Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become the brightest mind in the field of analytic magick. But the only person who can make her dream come true is dead and - inconveniently - in Hell. And Alice, along with her biggest rival Peter Murdoch, is going after him. But Hell is not as the philosophers claim, its rules are upside-down, and if she's going to get out of there alive, she and Peter will have to work together. That's if they can agree on anything. Will they triumph, or kill each other trying? 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 new dark academic fantasy by the New York Times bestselling author of The Poppy War Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. Oxford, 1836. The city of dreaming spires. It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world. And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows. Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by a mysterious guardian, Babel seemed like paradise to Robin Swift. Until it became a prison... But can a student stand against an empire? An incendiary new novel from award-winning author R.F. Kuang about the power of language, the violence of colonialism, and the sacrifices of resistance.

The Number One Global Sensation *Foyle's Fiction Book of the Year* *Amazon Book of the Year* *Shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year* *Fiction Book of the Year 2024 - British Book Awards* 'Addictive' Grazia 'Hugely entertaining' Observer 'Provocative' Mail on Sunday THIS IS ONE HELL OF A STORY. IT'S JUST NOT HERS TO TELL. When failed writer June Hayward witnesses her rival Athena Liu die in a freak accident, she sees her opportunity... and takes it. So what if it means stealing Athena's final manuscript? So what if it means 'borrowing' her identity? And so what if the first lie is only the beginning... Finally, June has the fame she always deserved. But someone is about to expose her... What happens next is entirely everyone else's fault. 'The book that everyone is talking about' Glamour 'Ingenious, astute, hugely entertaining' David Nicholls 'Breathtakingly clever on jealousy, talent, success, and who gets to tell which story' Elizabeth Day 'Hard to put down. Harder to forget' Stephen King R.F. Kuang's book Yellowface was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 04-06-23 R.F. Kuang's book Yellowface was a #5 New York Times bestseller w/c 04-06-23

From R. F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel, this collection brings together her historical military fantasy trilogy—The Poppy War, The Dragon Republic, and The Burning God—an epic inspired by China’s tumultuous twentieth-century history, rich with treachery and magic. In The Poppy War, war orphan Rin secures her place in Nikan’s elite military school, where she uncovers her shamanic powers and realizes that ancient gods are alive. As conflict looms between the Nikara Empire and the Federation of Mugen, Rin learns that her powers may be her people’s only hope, but the cost of victory may be her humanity. The Dragon Republic follows Rin as she grapples with guilt and addiction after a horrific battle. Driven by vengeance against the Empress who betrayed her, she allies with the Dragon Warlord. As she navigates the complexities of her allies and enemies, the temptation to unleash the Phoenix’s destructive power intensifies. In The Burning God, after saving Nikan from invaders and confronting the Empress in a civil war, Rin recognizes the true strength of her homeland lies with its people. As she vows to protect the shamanic arts, her power grows, but so does the Phoenix’s insidious call to destroy everything. “Mixing historical parallels of Chinese history, the themes of war, politics, and colonialism are balanced with terrific, flawed characters and amazing worldbuilding.” — Library Journal (starre