Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - The Poppy War (Perang Opium)

this book is spectacular in every sense of the word, and yet I hated every second of it (I'm clinging to the single moment of levity in this entire book, when rin and kitay spend the summer festival together, like a lifeline).

having read kuang's other work (i.e. babel and yellowface, both of which I thought were brilliant), my expectations for the poppy war were tremendously high. however, nothing could have ever prepared me for how brutal this book ended up being. it's genuinely one of the most horrifying and brutal books - if not the most horrifying and brutal book - I've ever read, and one that will surely stay with me for the foreseeable future. luckily I buddy-read this with a friend, because I need to talk about this book with someone otherwise I'll combust.

it's no secret that kuang's depiction of war between nikan and mugen is heavily inspired by the japanese invasion of china in the 1930s, with specifically the rape of nanjing and unit 731 being significant influences. (chapter 21, which is based off of real accounts of the nanjing massacre, is by far the most brutal depiction of genocide I've ever read - even after reading a chapter summary and skimming most of the chapter, I had to take a break from the book because of how horrific it was. believe me, if you think you'll be okay reading it, you won't be.) although these parts of the book are heartbreaking and gut-wrenching to say the least, I was even more horrified reading this knowing that the atrocities kuang depicts in this book have been experienced by real people.

despite its occasional issues with pacing and characterisation (namely of some of the minor characters, even though I still loved them - I thought the characters of rin and altan were superbly written, and admittedly I have a soft spot for kitay), this is such an extraordinary debut that is certainly not for the faint of heart. everything from the magic system, to the intricacies of this high-fantasy world kuang managed to create, to rin's astounding and meticulously-crafted character arc... this is definitely a book I'll continue to think about for a while.

please check the trigger warnings before you read this. it can get very intense and brutal, and as I've said it is not for the faint of heart. don't be afraid to take it slow with this one because it can get very extreme very quickly.

Content Warnings

rthresher28's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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bludgeoned_by_hail's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny tense medium-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

2.0

I had pretty high hopes for this book based on what I've heard of the author, and my interest in fantasy based on anything other than medieval Europe. Came out massively, massively disappointed.

I think the true downfall of the book is that it doesn't ever decide what it wants to be: a sassy, slightly edgy YA or a gory grimdark about the horrors of war. As a result, neither of these competing halves are done particularly well. The plot throws in some of the most clichéd, sometimes downright cringy interactions and plot-points, and then in the next chapter follows them up with horrifyingly disturbing war imagery. It just makes me wonder, who is this book really for? Adult military historical fantasy buffs won't enjoy the shonen-anime meets Marvel-style stuff, but preteens will definitely be turned off by all the rape and war crimes.

The worldbuilding, which was the aspect I was most interested in, is a big letdown. The universe seems less inspired and more directly lifted from Chinese history, more precisely, a mash of the Second Sino-Japanese War and feudal China. I think such a close parallel to history is not only a bit uninspired, but also makes the portrayals of some nations (such as Taiwan) feel slightly inappropriate. On top, the mixing of historical eras leads to wild inconsistencies and anachronisms

(like a full on WW2 human experimentation laboratory with syringes and viral containment canisters in the middle of feudal China)

that really broke my immersion. The mythological/magic system feels underdeveloped too, despite what feels like half of the book being dedicated to it.

And honestly all of this would be fine and I wouldn't mind, if it was in service of a compelling story, or interesting character dynamics, or some sort of deeper reflection on war, but we get none of that. Rin is unlikable, has weird and unclear motivations, and gets fully choked out by

Altan's storyline

in the second half. There is no arc to her story, and whatever it's meant to say about war or patriotism or dehumanization or ambition or power's corrupting influence or whatever rings pretty hollow. There are likable characters and well executed tidbits, but none of it feels ever truly developed or in service of a grander story. Not to mention the ending,

which basically renders the conflict anticlimatically solved for good. I'm not even fully clear on what the other two books will be about.

R.F. Kuang is clearly a talented, passionate writer and I've heard great things about her other books. But this one didn't do it for me at all.

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sisira107's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-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

This is a really good book, i really liked the first part and the ending was amazing but the middle part (50% to 85%) was a bit confusing for me and i didn't get strongly attached to any character (except ramsa, i love that kid)
Rin was a really interesting character, her evolution through the book is crazy and i think eventually i'll read the other ones.

Edit.
ok a few months have past and i think this deserves 4.5 stars at least because the 40% that i didn't got it was because i wasn't paying enough attention but it made total sense and i loved the academy part too much to lower a whole point.

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tabea1409's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

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nixxstorm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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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