Reviews tagging 'War'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

2119 reviews

megsssss_'s review

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challenging dark emotional 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

5.0


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megs3215's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

3.0


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ellenmcn's review

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

4.75


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jordana_dear's review

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Kuang is easily the best writer I have read. This story is compelling and original. The power structure is not one I have encountered before. While this books spans multiple years and skips over the daily life you do not miss out on world building, character or relationship development, and every character you encounter from the MFC to minor characters in a few pages feels fleshed out and real. 

You care for Rin but her imperfections and real and tangible. What compels her is clear and follows through the whole book. 

This books has some violent pages, that were incredibly difficult to read but is up front about violent acts that have been committed and are being committed in the effort to colonize "savage" peoples. Where most authors would shy away Kuang holds up a mirror to the way power can lead anyone to commit atrocities and to forget the humanity of another.

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lindseyhall44's review

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

5.0

I genuinely think that this might be one of the greatest fantasy novels I have ever read. R.F. Kuang is an incredible talent, and both her academic background and love of reading show in every page. It is a difficult read, but a rewarding one, and I am excited (and very afraid) to get my hands on the next installment. 

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astralfeline's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is an amazingly well written book with a ton of world building and very complex characters and themes. At some points it felt like it dragged a bit but I think that's because we see a very long development and I don't think I was prepared to get so sucked in. That's why I gave it a 4.5 star. But I would LOVE to come back at a later time and really closely reread and annotate this book because I think it is the type that would be fun to comb over like that. Definitely recommend if you enjoy historical fiction and fantasy, this book is a great combination of the two genres. I will also add this book has some tough to read moments. It does deal with war, drug use/addiction (opium), murder/death, and has some really dark parts -- definitely check out the TWs. 

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averyadventurous's review

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challenging dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

There’s been talk in a lot of bookish spaces about fantasy as a genre having an empire problem. R.F. Kuang completely subverts that trope. Empires are bad. Power of any type is bad. She pulls no stops with this book. It’s brutal. It’s disgusting. It’ll make you question your life choices and reconsider everything you think you know about world history. I need the rest of the series immediately.

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agustinac's review

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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readwithsophsx's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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raptor_cat's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25


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