Scan barcode
doodeedoda'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: Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Grief, Drug abuse, Gore, Religious bigotry, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Addiction, Child death, Classism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Minor: Pregnancy, Abortion, Abandonment, Miscarriage, and Panic attacks/disorders
dani_reviews's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Classism, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Gun violence, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, and Vomit
liaraluiza's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Vomit, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Miscarriage, Hate crime, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Colonisation, Child death, Child abuse, Blood, and Abortion
zahraa_aj'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: Addiction, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and War
andromeda_1998's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As the people who read my review of the poppy war will know, I love the character and worldbuilding in this series. R.F. Kuang shows us the brutality of war in a really graphic way. And I believe this is the only way to make people see the history of humankind. A lot of readers have problems with the gruesome depictions of war in this series but this is how war looks like. The most horrendous things have been done in wartime’s and we have to acknowledge the fact that humanity could have been spared a lot of horrors if we would just accept each other. R.F Kuang says it best: “They believe in a singular and all-powerful deity, which means they cannot accept the truth of other gods. And when nations start to believe that other beliefs lead to damnation, violence becomes inevitable.”
Why did I give this amazing book 4 stars instead of five? The start of this book is slow. At around a hundred pages the story picks up but around 300 pages it falls flat and I had to fight till around 500 pages in for the plot to pick up again.
This book could have been better and I feel one of the reasons that this happens is because there isn’t a lot happening between the characters. We don’t really get scenes where they get to know each other. This book focuses on the war talk and the strategy behind fights and sometimes you head just needs a break and some human interaction between characters could do the trick.
I would still recommend this series though! The books are amazing but before you start reading them check the triggerwarnings!
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Genocide, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Trafficking
phoenixfire'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
Graphic: Child death, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Racism, Miscarriage, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Emotional abuse, and Death
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
plumpaperbacks'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
4.5
I love Rin and Kitay’s friendship. I loved seeing Venka and Rin become allies and then friends. Rin and Nezha’s dynamic was also very interesting to me. I know this series is a military fantasy inspired by real Chinese fantasy and it isn’t at all focused on romance, but can I just say that there’s SOMETHING going on between those two? Is that just me? While I like the way his character was written, I don’t love Nezha the way I do Rin and Kitay. I’m in a love-hate relationship with him at the moment. I’m excited yet concerned to see what unfolds in the final novel, given that every single review of it I’ve seen just talks about how heart-wrenching it is. I’ll get there eventually.
Representation
- protagonist of color
- some side characters of color
Graphic: Violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Blood, Body horror, Addiction, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Xenophobia, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Ableism, Abortion, Pedophilia, and Miscarriage
tinytrashqueen's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Rape, Drug abuse, Body horror, Child death, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Blood, Death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Vomit, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Genocide, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Dementia, Pedophilia, and Slavery
mathildejosephine's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Genocide, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, and Xenophobia
Minor: Miscarriage