Reviews

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

moonhead_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

robdawgreads's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

brosenberg's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

panda's review

3.0

3.5 good book

cecilie_flohr's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This book takes inspiration from the Sino-Japanese wars. As someone who has learned a decent amount about those wars and the circumstances around them, it is interesting to see the differences and similarities.
The rating does not reflect the first part of the book. The first part was good (and incredibly fast-paced), with Rin coming into herself, getting friends and allies, and learning more about herself and her abilities. 
The later part of the book wasn't as good. She has some inner conflicts about who to listen to (her commander or former master), and her questioning what she believes is interesting. 
Then shit hits the fan, and I'm not a fan of that.

Rin's development is thrown out the window because she wants revenge. Altan commits suicide (by enemy hands) and then Rin commits GENOCIDE and doesn't feel bad about it.

The characters aren't very consistent, and sometimes (Altan in particular) just do a complete 180, which is annoying, and often undoes some nice character development.

elia_stucki's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

8ookworm's review

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

firiel_earth_maiden's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

tifaenjoyer's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

4.0

rolsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holy shit.