Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

141 reviews

thewellreadlabrador's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.25

This book was quite the ride. It is incredibly heavy and dark and is by no means for the faint of heart. 

The darkness and evilness of the atrocities of war is conveyed in such a descriptive and vivid way that it pulls you in and makes you feel like you are there and truly witnessing it all. The world building and character development are phenomenal. The pacing is fast, but the density of the material makes reading it slow. 

This one is definitley worth a read, BUT make sure you check the content warnings and heed them. This book is incredibly graphic and is not for everyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Child death, Gore, Murder, Violence, Blood, Grief, Torture, War, Xenophobia, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Child death, Excrement, Animal death, Drug use, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Addiction, Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Abortion, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Body horror, and Vomit

kabarton416'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Genocide, Addiction, Blood, Torture, and Trafficking

crinkledmochi's review against another edition

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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I should’ve read this years ago!!! This was truly a wild ride with very complex characters. 

Definitely not gonna cry… yet. I’m just gonna be delusional as hell; pretend like what happened didn’t and all is well. 😀

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Trafficking, Abandonment, Addiction, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Vomit, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Classism, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, War, and Xenophobia

eldritch_archivist's review

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

This book is so fucked up. Truly do not read it if you are not prepared for graphic depictions of the horrors of war crimes and sexual violence. Left me asking: do I support women's wrongs? I just don't know but it sure was an incredible read. The author really took the main character and said "what if I made her so much worse?"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Classism, Colonisation, Self harm, Gore, Murder, Bullying, Body horror, Kidnapping, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, War, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Suicide, Torture, Child abuse, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Ableism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pandemic/Epidemic, Excrement, Miscarriage, Racism, Domestic abuse, Animal death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Pedophilia

alyssadavis'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

4.75

"You humans always think you're destined for things, for tragedy or for greatness. Destiny is a myth. Destiny is the only myth. The gods choose nothing. You chose. You chose to take the exam. You chose to 
come to Sinegard. You chose to pledge Lore, you chose to study the paths of the gods, and you chose to follow your commander's demands over your master's warnings. At every critical juncture you were given an option; you were given a way out. Yet you picked precisely the roads that led you here. You are at this temple, kneeling before me, only because you wanted to be. And you know that should you give the command, I will call something terrible. I will wreak a disaster to destroy the island of Mugen completely, as thoroughly as Speer was destroyed. By your choice, many will die.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Infertility, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Addiction, War, Death, Drug use, Violence, Gore, and Genocide

Moderate: Self harm, Murder, Confinement, Bullying, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Slavery, Death of parent, Child death, Classism, and Grief

hvega91's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Sexual violence, Drug use, Xenophobia, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Violence, Trafficking, Classism, Death, Hate crime, Murder, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Torture, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, and Grief

emmaloho's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Addiction, Gore, Murder, Grief, War, Drug abuse, Drug use, Classism, Death, Blood, Child death, Xenophobia, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal death, Infertility, Eating disorder, Rape, Vomit, and Medical content

Minor: Domestic abuse, Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Excrement

garden_goyle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.75

I can’t lie, I wasn’t sold on this novel until the very end. While I liked how heavily influenced it was by real-world Chinese history, I felt that such a perspective forced the characters to becomes archetypes, little more than pawns that had to fight in all the necessary battles to keep the history in-line with Chinese history. In addition, Rin could certainly be argued as a Mary Sue-type character for most of the first and second parts of the novel, succeeding and surviving against insurmountable odds. It was quite apparent that this was Kuang’s first novel, particularly due to the characterization of the first part.

The first part, as a whole, was quite enjoyable, if a little generic in terms of a YA-style magic school. It didn’t seem like anything particularly special, but I did enjoy becoming immersed in the world of Sinegard Academy because I’m a sucker for magical schools. The world building could veer into info dumping at times, but it didn’t really affect my enjoyment of it that much.

The second part wasn’t as strong for me, at least initially. The time skips confused the story a bit, but I did appreciate how thoroughly Kuang discussed the breakdown of soldiers in the face of war, as these characters who Rin had built-up images of were broken down by the war. It seemed like a sudden shift, but given all the references to war brewing in part one, it seemed inevitable.

Part three and that fucking ending though!

Blew the rest of the book out of the water completely. Really explained the why of Rin as a main character and her motivations, which aren’t truly her own. It makes her a tragic anti-hero, unable (presumably) to escape the same fate that beheld Altan and the rest of the Speerlies. The Phoenix and it’s shamans are inevitably tied to their fate, trying to avenge a country that, in all honesty, neither remember as much more than a vague concept. Yet, they remain loyally tied to it, because this generational trauma and self-destruction is all that’s been documented of their culture. Thus, they, as the two sole survivors, must bear the rage of an entire race that’s been boiling for centuries, and only that rage. They have nothing to fight for except for Altan’s vague recollections of a lush green island and the traditions they only vaguely experienced in shared hallucinations. Yet they still fight for it to feel some sort of connection to their ancestry. It’s a tragic way to live, but both seem fated for it.

The gradual reveal of bits and pieces of the Speerlies’ legacy was a deeply compelling portrait of the effect generational trauma has on minorities, particularly those separated from their culture, and I’m very intrigued to see how this will play out throughout the rest of the trilogy

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual assault, Child death, Xenophobia, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Genocide, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Blood, Gore, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Colonisation, and Drug abuse

storyofmyshelf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Addiction, Sexual assault, Rape, Body horror, Murder, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Death, Xenophobia, Torture, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Hate crime, Drug use, Child death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Genocide, Excrement, Racial slurs, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Violence, Racism, Infertility, Gore, and Fire/Fire injury

leighann13's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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: Classism, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Rape, Bullying, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, War, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Gore, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Slavery, Sexism, Murder, Blood, Addiction, Genocide, Ableism, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Vomit, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Medical trauma