Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

525 reviews

drjoannehill's review against another edition

dark fast-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

I'm not sure if I wasn't concentrating or if this is a mess. In places the writing is great, the story is interesting.... And then it all gets in a jumble, rushed, and head in a spin - what is happening? Why did this character just do that? Why is this storyline being skimmed over? I much preferred the first part in the war college to the later parts when they were actually at war.

Reading this at the same time in listening to the audiobook of Iron Flame is also a mistake, because both are about war college with unlikely, physically weak, heroines who find their niche ... And The Poppy War does not compare well to Iron Flame unfortunately (and surprisingly).

Babel demonstrated a much improved writing style for Kuang. Still contemplating if I'll read books 2 and 3 (for a book club)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Animal death, Racism, War, Torture, Drug use, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, and Confinement

kimreads14's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

First rating 3.75⭐️… but I think I need to digest it a bit more before sticking to a final rating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Animal death, Blood, Xenophobia, Violence, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Torture, War, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Colonisation, Drug use, Excrement, Genocide, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

xelanimation's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

On the back of this book, there’s a quote that says “I thought myself prepared. I was not”. That statement is entirely correct. This story was fantastic, the characters were achingly real, I understood each of them. Despite the many moving pieces, I understood everything I needed to about what was going on, which I sometimes need to take time to do with fantasy epics, which goes to show R. F. Kuang knows how to keep her writing clear. The first half of the book I would say was simply enjoyable, a classic tale of a student leaving behind and escaping her life with a bleak future for the promise of a bright future at a renowned school. Learning about the world through her, watching her work hard, it was all exactly the kind of thing I’ve loved before. But while the second half is just as good, if not significantly better, you should know it’s completely different. It’s harrowing, with vivid, disturbing imagery and descriptions, that can only be described as devastating. There are high levels of violence, of all kinds, so just proceed warned and with caution. All of that being said, R. F. Kuang is a fantastic writer, and clearly has been since she began publishing, I will read anything she writes. But I hope she understands that I need a break of a few fluffy books before reading the next instalment of the Poppy War.   

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Animal death, War, Racism, Grief, Genocide, Death, Violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Child death, and Addiction

thereadingmarshmallow's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Death of parent, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Child death, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Slavery, Torture, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Animal death, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Cursing, Dysphoria, Drug use, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, War, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt

elenagolub's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual violence, Gore, Sexual assault, Genocide, Slavery, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Classism, Animal death, Racism, Blood, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and War

jpshell's review against another edition

dark

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Very graphic. I went in blind and I wish I had known how graphic it was going in. Good book but go in prepared. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Gore, Rape, Violence, Animal death, Torture, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Trafficking, War, Murder, Blood, Death, Body horror, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, and Self harm

cora_aossey's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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

I would’ve enjoyed and appreciated this book so much more if it wasn’t falsely sold to me as enemies to lovers  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Violence, Cursing, Child abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Racism, Slavery, and Rape

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Body horror, Classism, Death, Addiction, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Xenophobia, Torture, Medical content, Drug use, Confinement, and Racism

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Bullying, Child abuse, Rape, Suicide, Colonisation, Animal death, Grief, Slavery, Child death, and Sexual violence

Minor: Pedophilia, Self harm, Alcohol, Infertility, Vomit, Animal cruelty, and Excrement

mooniguess's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

I love this series so much. Rin, Kitay, Nizha, and Vekna all tug my heartstrings. I wish there was a way for them to not go through all of these horrible things. Learning about china and its relation to Japan and operation 721 was add to the pile of sadness

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Genocide, Grief, Addiction, Animal death, Sexual violence, and War

Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Bullying, Torture, Rape, and Physical abuse

cleonia09's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This book took me by surprise. I'd heard that it's very dark and graphic, and it definitely lives up to that description. The changes to the characters are so interesting, almost unexpected.
The violence is explained in extensive detail, which would be off putting if it wasn't all rooted in actual history. 
Only thing keeping it from being a 5 star review is the weird pacing at times. One paragraph takes us forward 2 years in the middle of a chapter, and that was weird.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Classism, Death, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, War, Racism, and Child death

Moderate: Animal death