Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

155 reviews

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

kat1105's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism and Animal cruelty

Minor: Pregnancy

hailsatan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

lferris's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.25

The decisions made by the main characters were infuriatingly illogical and childish more often than not. 

The trigger warnings are also a must - this book has immensely graphic details of rape, violence, and torture in it. This normally wouldn’t deter me from reading a book, but I found it to be too much for me.

Overall, the world building, fantasy, and lore I enjoyed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and War

abijmieds's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

starryrage's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Trafficking, and War

praaliine's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.5

this book…i mean wow. i have so many thoughts but i’ll cut it short, it was everything they said it would be but at the same time it wasn’t. the book was so incredibly written and the plot and characters were so intricately developed, the story unfolded in a way i didn’t expect. i honestly don’t think i’ve ever had such an immersive reading experience before. yes it was as dark and violent and gory as they said, i was warned but i didn’t listen (i beg you, heed the tws, especially for the infamous chapter 21). now this is what it wasn’t: they love to rave about how rin is such a badass etc. but this is not what this book is about, it’s nothing short of a TRAGEDY! the heaviness of this makes my head swirl with a million thoughts.
so much for keeping of short lol.

i actually mourn for rin the most, i feel like she’s turned into something from a nightmare, sigh

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship