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stephlikestoread'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, War, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
greatlibraryofalexandra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
But man, were there times when I wanted to beat this book against a wall. Hoo BOY was it a mess to get to the ugly-beautiful ending that it gave us.
This series could have been five books - less rushed, more time for the tapestry to artfully unravel. This final book somehow crammed too much in, and obliterated storylines without ending them in any remotely satisfying way.
Almost all of the things I want to rail about are spoilers so -
Then there are about 50 pages when Rin is training a handful of shamans to be powerful and able to control themselves - a process that took an entire book and two years of a vague time jump in Book 1 to come to fruition.
I do also want to petulantly note that at the end, during a heavy, poignant moment that was written so well, Nezha looks down at Rin's lifeless body and thinks only "you bitch, you fucking bitch" and it ruins the scene entirely - crass, immature, and edge-lord unnecessary.
Venka was also done really dirty in this book -- after everything, for Kuang to have Rin turn on her, and then never confirm for the reader if she was a traitor or not (she wasn't, Rin was just a wildly paranoid train wreck at that point, you will not convince me otherwise) - its a disservice to a character who was already used and abused as a monolithic punching bag for male violence while Rin was able to remain "pure" from both sexual assault and sexual activity.
Things I fucking loved: that Rin's parentage, though strongly alluded to, is never confirmed or revisited as significant; it's frustrating, but also drives home that it's not the point - this book isn't about inheritance and destiny, it's about ruthlessly obliterating the legacy you've been handed regardless of what tradition would have you do. Also, the different kinds of love that threaded throughout the trilogy subtly without explicitly naming or confirmation were great - platonic, manipulative, romantic, familial, etc. Despite what I said above about Venka existing so Rin can remain "unsullied", I liked that Rin got to "come of age" without sex/sexual initiation being a part of it - it pushes back against the tired narrative that loss of virginity is a key step towards becoming an adult. This is a victory for all of us out there who were late bloomers, and who were bombarded with teen media that constantly informed us that having sex was the right of passage to the horizon of adulthood. Neither does Rin ever second guess or lament her decision to sterilize herself in her early teens - I'm so glad Kuang never subjected us to long musings on 'whether she'd done the right thing'.
A vast majority of this book was sluggish retread of what we've already been through - Rin shooting off at the mouth, acting grown up, and then being promptly spanked and sat right down in her place by literally anyone near her who takes half a second to think. While I am enamored Rin as a wildly flawed, prickly, and off-putting female lead, by the end of this book I was fascinated that she'd managed to have a coming of age story that routinely confirmed she was a dumber bitch than when we started (and I promise I am saying that affectionately).
The lore we delved into further in this book was GREAT, and I'd sink my teeth into more content detailing it. Though I do think the last 100 pages just devolved into Kuang's thesis on socio-political systems and the results of civil war, it raises good questions, refuses to give easy answers, and then culminates in a grotesque but realistic ending that nobody wants, but everyone has to accept is the reality. Don't read grimdark fiction if you don't want this.
I agree with all the critiques of this series and absolutely fucking love it anyway. This book, in particular, was like watching a hundred iterations of "Revenge of the Sith" unfold over and over again in a multiverse, none of them with a happy ending.
I'm glad I read this after Babel, and my thoughts on that are complicated...overall, I think Babel is a vastly more mature book in which Kuang tackles huge issues with the same (overly dense) academic surgical precision and articulates the gruesome realities better. The Poppy War series, though, has more hearty, more faith, and more flayed-open imperfection.
Adding it to my bookshelf among Red Rising, The Hunger Games, and The Stormlight Archives as a hallowed tome.
Graphic: Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Addiction, Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
hailsatan'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
4.25
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Alcohol, Medical content, Cannibalism, Cursing, Sexism, Ableism, Addiction, Antisemitism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Violence, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, War, Abandonment, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Grief, Sexual content, and Torture
praaliine'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
5.0
<16 hours after>
it was a tragedy unlike anything i’ve ever read, and there were times when the story was just so overwhelmingly depressing. i actually read over the final chapter again after work and i wept even harder.
Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, Torture, War, Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Child death, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Alcohol
ka_ke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Xenophobia, Torture, Toxic relationship, War, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, Excrement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death of parent, Genocide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Rape, Vomit, Bullying, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Self harm
Minor: Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Alcohol, Confinement, and Pregnancy
ephemeralzen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Genocide, Addiction, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Violence, Xenophobia, Torture, Physical abuse, Vomit, Emotional abuse, War, Rape, Religious bigotry, Racism, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Blood, Suicide, and Slavery
pages_with_panda'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? Yes
5.0
She’s the newly appointed leader of the Cike, struggling with being a replacement to Altan as she vows vengeance against the Empress. In comes Yin Vaisra, the Dragon Warlord, who promises Rin her chance at revenge if she serves him in a war towards Democracy.
In the following war, we’re reintroduced to Nezha, Kitay, Venka, and even Chagin. The threat of Hesperians is closer than ever and we get to hear their philosophies from their own mouths as an evil race from the West.
We get to travel across Nikan in more details as the civil war erupts across the entire country. Rin plays her part but continues to be easily manipulated. Her journey in this book is breaking free from anyone who would command her and her finding the strength to make her own decisions and choices. I loved that the final chapter held her accountable to herself. She made the choices at the end. It was all her!
This book was full of returning to roots; of circles. Rin returns to Tikany, she returns to her people after trying to distance herself from them while in Sinesgard. She sees her foster family again, we revisit the history of the Trifecta from a new perspective. We visit old friends and old enemies.
Everything in the book reminded us that history comes full circle.
Some nitpicking about the books: because of how much traveling we do and how important the geography of the land is, I wish we could’ve gotten more detail maps.
I loved the series as a whole but this book may have been my favorite. A tragically beautiful story from start to finish.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Racism, Death, Violence, War, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Cannibalism, Child death, and Confinement
dixiecarroll's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Cannibalism, Colonisation, War, Vomit, Torture, Drug use, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Racism, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma
justlilah'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
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, War, Xenophobia, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexism, Self harm, Racial slurs, Murder, Death of parent, Violence, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Animal death, Cannibalism, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Physical abuse, Gore, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Rape, Racism, Hate crime, Colonisation, Misogyny, Mental illness, and Medical trauma
lanid's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Colonisation, Body horror, Cannibalism, Suicide, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Xenophobia, Drug use, and War
Minor: Gun violence, Mental illness, Alcohol, Excrement, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, and Rape