Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses racism, rape, physical abuse, and substance use.

The Burning God is the third installment in the Poppy War trilogy, a military fantasy series rooted in the history of mid-20th-century China. The series began with The Poppy War in 2018. In The Poppy War, protagonist Fang Runin (“Rin”)—whose parents have been killed in the Nikan Empire’s continual wars and whose foster parents force her to participate in their opium smuggling business—tests into the prestigious military academy Sinegard. There, she excels academically, but her only friend is Chen Kitay. The Nikan Empire won the Second Poppy War with the help of three shamans—wielders of powerful magic bestowed by the god of the Speer race, the Pheonix—called the “Trifecta,” one of whom is Empress Su Daji. The whereabouts of the others—the Dragon Emperor and the Gatekeeper—are unknown. A teacher named Jiang Ziya privately tutors Rin to turn her into a shaman. Rin and her rival Nezha get into a physical fight, and Rin accidentally summons the Phoenix. The next year, Jiang teaches her more about how to control her power using drugs.