Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

315 reviews

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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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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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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manicake's review against another edition

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4.0

This went in much more complex and dark twists and turns then I expected when I first picked it up. Getting through it certainly was a journey, but I’m glad I stuck it out!

I truly loved part one, and thought it would set the tone for the rest of the story. Boy, was I wrong. I really struggled with part two, both because it was confusing to me but also because I had to take a moment to grieve what I thought the book was gonna be like. And it was really dark and have parallels to real life atrocities that truly twist my stomach and keep me up at night. Everything tied in splendidly in part three and even though I thought this series wasn’t for me I’ll continue reading it. 

I’m beyond impressed that this was the authors debut novel published before her 22nd birthday! The complex world building and magic system, knowledge of warfare, drugs and trauma - and the writing style. Absolutely gobsmacked!

I recommend everyone who is affected by triggers to look them up before embarking on this journey of a book, and to stick it out if it should feel rough!

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danisaur's review

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adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

This is my second time through and I still absolutely love this book. There is so much that challenges my worldview while also shaping the same worldview. I agree with some aspects and disagree with others. There are times that I forget just how young the characters are, but it makes it that much more impactful. The book has a lot of challenging scenes. It is based on Chinese history and some parts of it make me question my own Japanese heritage. It feels so far removed from myself and yet so obviously tears at the fabric of the societies that it affected. I am glad books like this exist and I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

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graffitithesky's review

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adventurous challenging dark 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

4.0


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chiaraculpo's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

la parte iniziale è quella che mi è piaciuta di più, mentre era l'accademia. non mi aspettavo he la parte della guerra fosse così lunga sinceramente e mi sono annoiata in molti punti. le parti in cui descrivevano gli dei non mi hanno fatto impazzire e molte volte non capivo. è un libro molto duro e non so se continuerò la trilogia: in questo momento non andrò avanti ma non escludo che potrei farlo in futuro.

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katrod's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense slow-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

2.5

2.5… I wanted to love this book so much… all of the ideas were there, but I just really didn’t like some of the ways Kuang told this story.  

First, it read like all 3 books of a trilogy.  It was just wayyyyy too much for one book, without getting some of the human relationship details I love.  It was literally just war.  I felt like our main character had 3 almost fleshed out relationships, but besides that, she kind of lived in a vacuum.  

Second, the amount of real history that Kuang used as inspiration for the book was extremely graphic and detailed and felt wrong in the context of a fantasy book (that starts off with her innocently taking a test to get into school at the age of 16… it goes from 0-100 real quick).  I didn’t know about the Massacre of Nanking and other details from the second Sino-Japanese war in the early 20th century.  Kuang drew heavily from these events in her writing of The Poppy War.  I can see why she wanted to write about it and bring awareness to such a heinous part of human history.  I just really felt uncomfortable reading about it through the lens of a fantasy novel.  And there was nothing about the book or descriptions that prepared me for that or for how absolutely horrifying and disturbing some of the things she describes are.  Seriously… just google trigger warnings and this book.  It’s like every trigger you could ever think of.

Third, I had no one to root for.  I’m all for writing about flawed characters, but I felt like I truly had no one I could get behind.  And Rin, our main character, kind of flip flopped a lot.  Sometimes she behaved in a way that made her seem really sensitive and scared, and other times she was this unflinching, unyielding, fearless radical.  It was confusing.  I felt like I never really understood who she was at her core… and why she cared so much about a country that really didn’t give a rat’s ass about her.  

I really reeeeally wanted to love this, but I almost put it down so many times, I really didn’t like it. 

Love Kuang’s other stuff though (Yellowface and Babel).  I won’t be reading the rest of this series but I still look forward to whatever she does next!

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a_novi's review

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

‼️READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING.‼️ This is a truly devastating and descriptive depiction or war, war crimes, and genocide. Much inspired by real life events while still adding some mythology and fantasy elements. I’m eager to read the rest of the trilogy to see where we go with this character. Right now the reader may justify her actions but will she find justice or go to far? This is the ethical dilemma at the end of this book leading into the sequels. AGAIN. READ THE TRIGGER WARNING BEFORE YOU PICK UP THIS BOOK. IT IS DARK. 

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opinkb's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0


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