Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

The Poppy War (Perang Opium) by R.F. Kuang

91 reviews

middumullu's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Very good book. If you want to read, please please go through content warnings. I loved just about every character and also could not put this book down. It was very dark and very disturbing and intriguing. I don't think the summary does it justice - over half of the book is spent on war, not schooling. Honestly just want everyone to go to therapy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexism, Torture, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Maybe I forgot some? There's just a lot of traumatizing events and a lot of trauma that presents in a variety of ways. Since it's based on history, there is a chapter that graphically reflects the rape of Nanjing. also war is rough, there's a lot about corpses, drugs, opium use.

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

my first military fantasy, and hands down the most violent, brutal, blood-soaked book ive ever read, as it should be. i like stories that make me feel things, and the poppy war def succeeded in that regard (heck, i even dreamed abt it), thought it also comes w/ countless tws.

the writing, like the story, was done w/ military precision: no needless prose but impactful all the same, w/ kuang wholly embracing the show-not-tell mantra. perhaps benefiting from its parallels w/ chinese history, the worldbuilding is rich and steeped in culture, beliefs, and lore, and i particularly liked the almost dizzying array of myths, gods and legends, as well as its critique of the west.

the book's jam packed w/ events, and it was a lil dreadful to see rin go from a shopgirl to a full-fledged soldier in a brutal war, entangled w/ gods, tho many of the plot points were predictable (jiang, empress, tearza, for example). the vast array of characters were a delight, whether from sinegard or the cike, and it was gripping to delve deep into many of them (esp altan, very complex, tragic, vengeful altan..). i also liked how there's a price to the magic in nikara, as it rly raised the stakes, tho i wish there were more detailed explanation for why rin shouldnt wield it.

and ofc, the blood-soaked brutality and savagery of war in this book shouldnt go unnoted. it was of a horrible, horrific scale, made even more sickening by the fact that they actually happened, they were fact-based. and i certainly couldnt help reflect on the legacy of their real life counterpart, and how it all still plays out in chinese geopolitics and conflicts today. also still cant get over the fact that kuang's basically the same age and she wrote this in college like wtf am i doing w/ my life...the poppy war wasnt a perfect book but it was one that made me feel a lot of things, and that rly rly counts for sth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Murder, Violence, War, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Genocide, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Torture

Moderate: Slavery, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Mental illness, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Racism, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Rape

Minor: Child death

rhum's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexism, Racial slurs, Racism, Misogyny, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Drug use, Addiction, Rape, War, Classism, Animal death, Child death, Sexual harassment, Murder, Death, Sexual assault, and Drug abuse

mermista00's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Genocide, Rape, Bullying, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Colonisation, Death, Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and War

bookedandbusy's review against another edition

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

I don’t know why I waited so long to read this book because I absolutely loved it! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Blood, Addiction, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Rape, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, War, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Death, and Confinement

Toward the end of the book, there’s some extremely graphic depictions of a village of people that were murdered/tortured. Including children. This scene was disturbing and may be upsetting to some.

charlereads's review against another edition

dark 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, War, Xenophobia, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Confinement, and Colonisation

nicksalex's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Violence, War, Body horror, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Sexual violence, Addiction, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gore, Drug use, Xenophobia, Drug abuse, Murder, and Rape

Moderate: Bullying

foreverinastory's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.5

Damn. This was something else.

Rep: Chinese coded cast.

CWs: Addiction, blood, body shaming (especially for having darker skin), bullying, child abuse, child death, colonisation, cursing, death, drug abuse, drug use, emotional abuse, fire/fire injury, forced institutionalization/medical experimentation without consent, genocide, gore, grief, infertility, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content, medical trauma, misogyny, murder, physical abuse, racial slurs, racism/colorism, rape, religious bigotry, sexism, sexual assault, sexual violence, torture, violence, war, xenophobia. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

frogspawn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Blood, Murder, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Violence

Minor: Abandonment and Infertility

afi_whatafireads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• 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

Its my second time reading The Poppy War, in hopes to FINALLY continue the series, (this is due to the fear for emotional damage), and I am very much still in awe of this book. It was heartbreaking, emotionally draining, a start to a very well-written series, and best of all, one of my top fantasy books ever. Thanks to my friend Zara for gushing to me about this book the first time that I read it in 2020, even two years later now, I still love it so very much.

This book does not shy away from the gore and very graphic scenes of war, how brutal it can be to the survivors, and at one point, where everything has came to a standstill, all you had was yourself and a source of power that you don't understand, but is the only thing that can help you to save your friends and yourself. The Poppy War is one of the most well-constructed books I've read in a long time. With very powerful characterization of characters that are so-very-morally gray, where you'll doubt their actions to the maximum but you'll also understand why it is the way it is.

"Order is present in the earthly kingdoms when all beings understand their place. All beings understand their place when they fulfill the roles set out for them."

Kuang had shown a side of war that is brutal. The characters here are not people of power, but is from the perspectives of soldiers at the front of war, merely teenagers that were forced to grow up right after going out of school, and having through go such traumatizing events, there will come a time that we will emphatize with what they choose to do to survive. Fang Runin is a character that you can't help but love. Its like reading a very stubborn child grow up, where there are moments of vulnerability but there are times where you will question her judgment, but still, you can't help but just love her. Her strength and resilience to survive and her DESPERATION to prove to everyone around her that a war-orphaned, dark-skinned child like her can survive too in the very prestigious military academy and the war.

“War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who remains.”

There were two parts of the book that still broke my heart, even having read it the first time around. It was brutal and just very very graphic. The horror of war, the effects it will have on children and the living survivors, and mostly, what happens to each and every individual in handling war is just so painful to read, and one that I can't imagine going through myself. I love that Kuang does not shy away from showing how brutal war can be, and how someone can lose every piece of themselves, little by little until what remains is the act of vengeance.

“I have become something wonderful. I have become something terrible.

Kuang's writing is indeed exceptional, with very fast-paced plot, and almost none filler scenes, we will gobble her story right up. Despite being a grim-dark book, it also showcased friendship and comradeship among Rin and her friends. Her with her classmates, and her with her comrades after school, those are one of my favourite moments in the book. Even if short, those few chapters lived through to be support for me to keep going on .

I think my first review of this book, and even now, it does not does justice to the book. The Poppy War will remain one of the books that changed my life and reading game , in such a way that made me realize what I loved and craved in a book. Found family elements, politics and the rich history that was displayed, with the emotional toll that it left, it leaves to remain one of the books that I will still talk about in a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Body horror, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, Abortion, Bullying, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Cursing, Drug use, Medical trauma, Violence, Genocide, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts