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lilly24's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Alcoholism, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Abortion, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, Deportation, Drug use, Murder, Self harm, Slavery, Stalking, Terminal illness, Torture, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Sexism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Excrement, Xenophobia, Classism, Cursing, Gaslighting, Racism, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Rape, Trafficking, Violence, and Vomit
stephaniemcuervo's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: War, Death of parent, Infidelity, Death, Colonisation, Violence, Rape, Racism, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Blood, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Genocide, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Murder, Animal cruelty, Torture, Child death, and Slavery
miak2's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"What does it matter? They're coming, and we're staying, and at the end of the day whoever is alive is the side that wins. War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who remains." p. 233
This book was beautiful and horrible and utterly un-put-downable.
For context, this is based on the Second Sino-Japanese war, and Kuang did not hold back in her portrayal of the very real and very horrific atrocities that were committed. (Seriously, please read the content warnings before going in because the latter half of the book is a very difficult read). This is a military fantasy, but when you hear war, don't think about quiet, off-screen deaths. Kuang was absolutely honest and brutal in her depictions of it. And the book is better off for it.
What I also wasn't expecting was the strong focus on shamanism and the character's connection to their gods. This made for such an interesting arc alongside the growing war, and absolutely raised the stakes. My god, what's to come in the next two books?
I absolutely inhaled this book though. It occupied my thoughts relentlessly. At one point, I woke up at four a.m. and contemplated reading a chapter right there and then just because I was so invested in the story. (I did not, I went back to sleep like a responsible human being). Part of the reason that this was such a quick read, despite sitting at some 500+ pages, was because Kuang's writing just went down like a spoonful of sugar. Despite the epic fantasy story that she's weaving, her prose was so easy to read. Graphic or beautiful when it needed to be, but never bogged down in superfluous detail. And, y'all, this was her debut novel. Immediately became an auto-read author.
I loved the characters that she wrote. Each of them was dynamic and flawed, in different shades of morally gray. (And when I say that, I don't mean the "aw they're edgy," kind of morally gray, I mean ranging on a scale of "classist prick" to "willing to commit actual genocide" kind of morally gray.) The dynamics between different sets of characters were endlessly interesting, and ever-shifting as they faced different challenges. Rin, as the protagonist, went on an especially interesting journey, and I loved (hated?) seeing her slowly realize not only her capabilities but also her willingness to do bad things for a just reason. I simultaneously found her very easy to root for and yet the most goddamn frustrating character to follow. So, in a word, compelling.
I am scared out of my wits to continue this series. Already, Kuang flipped all my expectations on their heads, and I know that trend will continue. I definitely need a bit of a mental break before continuing on, but you best know I'll be picking up book two here shortly.
Graphic: Murder, Genocide, Suicide, Infidelity, Torture, Drug abuse, Addiction, Rape, and Sexual assault
book_sense's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Reread: Rin is Wifey. I love her. I love this book. I just love the pain it causes me.
First time: Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me. This fucking amazing book with these fucking amazing characters. I died like fifty fucking thousand times. Fuckk. Fucking read this book. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia
violaceae's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Vomit, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Child death, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Misogyny
Minor: Abortion, Alcoholism, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Chronic illness
maudsmeets's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A quick warning: this book is brutal. If you have certain subjects you don't want to read about I would first look up a list of trigger warnings. Your mental health is more important than any novel. Please look after yourself and do your research.
This book was excellent. The writing was easy to read but intricate. Most of the characters were really fleshed out, especially the ones that were introduced to us in the first half. Some of the members of the Cake could have used a bit more development in my opinion. The world was vivid and easy to imagine. The Poppy War transported me to another world. A harsh and brutal world, but also a world full of power and people willing to fight.
I flew through the first half of this story, but after that the story really took a turn and it felt like the novel was split into two halves. Everything just changed drastically, our circumstances, our cast of characters and the atmosphere of the story. This makes me intrigued to see what will happen in The Dragon Republic. I'm excited but I also think it won't top the first 250 pages of this story for me. I can't help it, I'm weak for fictional fantasy schools. Rin her character also really took a turn in the second half of the story. I find it difficult to explain how I feel about it. It was good character development, it felt natural, but I kinda wish her character would have gone in a different direction. So I liked it but I also didn't. I just- I loved Jiang (He's a fictional character that I would love to sit down and have a long conversation with, preferably with a cup of tea.) and I agree with him. (If you've read the book, you know) You know, at the end, what Kitay said when he heard what happened? That's exactly how I felt. I'm still conflicted. Let's see how I feel when I read The Dragon Republic.
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Infidelity, and Murder