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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.
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.
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
surefinewhatever_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
3.0
I’m sorrrry, I know this one is a booksta darling but I just didn’t love it. My biggest complaint (besides it feeling slow) was that I felt Rin was always defining herself based on the relationships she had with the men in her life, From tutor Feyrik, to Kitay, to Irjah & Jiang, to Nezha & Altan, and even to Chaghan. Maybe this is also me just wishing there were other women in this book? Idk hard to say. I appreciated that Rin was imperfect and that the book is tackling a lot of different ideas. This book did get incredibly brutal though, and having had to read this one for class, I really would have appreciated some content warnings. Not to mention, the casual anti-fatness (trope of the greedy/wealthy constantly being depicted as fat) and casual ableism. All the same, I get why this book has meant a lot to so many people, it just wasn’t that for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and War
Minor: Fatphobia and Ableism
valpuri'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Excrement, Fatphobia, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Pedophilia
albusmumblecore's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Rape, Sexual violence, Child death, Genocide, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Medical content, Kidnapping, Infertility, Hate crime, Gore, Grief, Excrement, Death, Cursing, Body horror, Blood, Animal death, and Ableism
Moderate: Bullying
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
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
5.0
I feel a bit broken and shaky, like I'll probably cry when I get a chance. I’d been warned that there were very graphic depictions of trauma in this book, so I spent the first three quarters wondering whether I just had a high threshold for fictional depictions of trauma or if I just hadn’t gotten to the worst of it yet. I just hadn’t gotten there. There are some things so awful that just saying what they are is enough to turn your stomach, and the litanies of events in this war are such things. It's not made any easier by knowing that they're based on real events, for more information please refer to "A Note from the Author" at the back of the book. These events are crucial to the plot, as it's a story about how a teenage girl gradually breaks from a focused and idealistic war orphan into a shape driven to wield rage and wage war, and how the power she intends to wield is so immense and all-consuming that only the driven and damned would court it.
The characters are vibrant and distinct, even the ones the MC doesn't like are interesting as individuals. I felt like I really got to know them during the first half or so of the book. It showed at times how individual characters understand the same events differently, and I didn't always find myself agreeing with the MC's interpretation. I understood why even some minor characters made their choices. The narrative continually conveys nuanced and varied interpretations of events, making it feel simultaneously like there were so many better options and also like, for these particular characters, there was no other way. It's deftly done.
Read this if you like books featuring war in a fantasy setting with excellent worldbuilding and a large cast of complex characters. Read it when you're ready to feel broken.
The characters are vibrant and distinct, even the ones the MC doesn't like are interesting as individuals. I felt like I really got to know them during the first half or so of the book. It showed at times how individual characters understand the same events differently, and I didn't always find myself agreeing with the MC's interpretation. I understood why even some minor characters made their choices. The narrative continually conveys nuanced and varied interpretations of events, making it feel simultaneously like there were so many better options and also like, for these particular characters, there was no other way. It's deftly done.
Read this if you like books featuring war in a fantasy setting with excellent worldbuilding and a large cast of complex characters. Read it when you're ready to feel broken.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
CW for ableism, racism, xenophobia, drug use, drug abuse, emotional abuse, bullying, confinement, self harm, excrement, blood, gore, rape, body horror, child abuse, violence, animal cruelty, animal death, torture, suicide, genocide (graphic), parental death (backstory), child death (graphic), major character death, death. Contains graphic descriptions of genocide, including various means of rape and death in the context of genocide during war.bayleyreadsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is an absolutely wild ride. It covers so much ground it feels very difficult to properly organize my thoughts for a coherent review. I am going to try, mostly just so I can look back on the experience. If you care about my opinion at all, you probably just need to know this book is dark and I think you should read it.
I will go very briefly over what I didn't like about the book. I wasn't quite as enthralled with the last 70-ish pages as I was with the rest of the book; I am unsure why and if it is at all the fault of the writing or if I just was slightly distracted while reading. I was still very invested, just less feverish. The only other thing is Kuang uses a trope I personally dislike, which is having a disability healed by magic. I think this was used to further a larger plot point, and I think it is going to be relevant and contribute to a twist in future books, but obviously, I don't know. If you also don't like this trope, this is just a heads up that it is used, it totally isn't egregious or anything, just a thing I tend to not love.
Almost the entirety of this book completely gripped me. It took me a while to read this book, mostly because of life events. Still, partly because I knew I was going to be completely committed to reading this book, so I didn't want to pick it up if I didn't have a significant amount of time to just pay attention to this story. I was very engaged in the narrative; the story both went wildly away from what I expected and covered the ground that I initially assumed would be the entire trilogy. The pace is breakneck. This book goes through what could have been entire series in one installment. I am so excited that I can just go read books 2 and 3 immediately.
The character development in this book is wild. Just as the pace, we cover so much ground. The cast changes significantly multiple times. Either three or four times, we get almost completely new casts. I really loved the experience; it really served to help us feel Rin's instability; her surroundings are constantly changing, and she is constantly being unmoored from those who provide her with stability. I also just liked seeing what Kuang did with various fantasy character archetypes, particularly with two of the 'mentor' characters. It was set up very much in the style of a good love triangle, each person representing a different ideology, and Rin's character arch following her choice between the two. Her choices were broader than just these two characters, and I really did like the way the book ended, reflecting on choice. Also, books about people doing bad things doesn't mean the author is pro those bad things; the story clearly wants the reader to be uncomfortable. A good dark book should not make you love terrible things; it should make you see how easy it is for people to choose to do terrible things. Or something like that.
I have also seen lots of reviews talking about the shift between the 'school' part of the book and the 'war' part of the book. And obviously, there is a big shift there, content and tone change. But what struck me was the mirror of the school section in the war section. Most of what Rin encounters in school come up over the course of the book; if you are really paying attention and able to zoom out while reading, I am sure there will be things that won't surprise you the way I was surprised (even when I thought 'bet this is gonna come into play later' I still didn't really nail when later would be). Basically, I really liked Kuang's foreshadowing.
I cannot wait to see where this story goes, see how these characters change and continue to react to one and another, and see where Kuang's mind goes with the politics and philosophy her series explores. I loved reading a book so clearly by someone who loves history, and I really love thinking about the political theory she is engaging within the text. This is an enthralling read on so many levels; the characters are dynamic, the plot is fast and exciting, the historical reflection is raw and makes you want to explore that aspect more fully, and the philosophy presented is wonderful to engage with.
Basically, I love this book and think you should read it. Now I have to decide if I should take a break or jump right into book 2.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Drug abuse, Death, Genocide, Infertility, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking
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