Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

545 reviews

withlivjones's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

4.5

You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain

WOW. Mind-blowing. HOW was this Kuang’s debut novel?? Rin is such a fascinating protagonist, she’s so driven and has so many wants and makes so many bad decisions because of that, and she is just unbelievably human. You’d be mad to agree with everything she does but you can’t help but root for her anyway. And Kuang doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to depictions of the horrors of war - this book is awfully gruesome at times but it’s pretty realistic (since much of the book was inspired by events that actually happened in history), even when you add in the fantasy elements. 

Also, as a final note, it’s so refreshing to read a fantasy book where there’s absolutely no romantic subplot. I need more of those please! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Murder, Vomit, Xenophobia, Rape, Child death, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Physical abuse, War, and Classism

kshertz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

This book feels like a slow burn long epic journey. I really enjoy the writing. This author is the best at inserting magical realism when things in life become predictably unequal and unfair. I love the themes of the book. It’s equal parts heartwarming and heart wrenching. So much is accomplished by our protagonist and also so much is taken away. It’s so heartbreaking and yet magical and epic. I’m glad I read it!

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Drug abuse, Murder, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Child death, War, Body horror, Classism, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Xenophobia

davidportnov's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, War, Drug abuse, Torture, Medical trauma, Genocide, Violence, Vomit, Death, and Rape

hsami22's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Colonisation, War, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Xenophobia, Addiction, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug use

Moderate: Rape

ladynocturnal's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

4.5

 I couldn't put this down. The world building and characters were captivating. There were some rushed elements, but I loved this novel. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, War, Addiction, Blood, Colonisation, Gore, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Torture, Xenophobia, Genocide, Racism, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual violence

Minor: Bullying and Self harm

cubbywasabear's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Self harm, Torture, Xenophobia, Child death, Classism, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Sexism, Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Slavery, Death of parent, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts

The content warnings are absolutely no joke. This is a brutal read, with a section that is

a retelling of the Rape of Nanjing. Read with care.

zlewis's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Pretty good. I was really into the world building at first and I liked the academy and the political intrigue, but then it felt like all the characters from the first 1/3 of the book are abandoned when the war starts, and the driving conflict of the war didn’t really make sense to me. Like, mugen wanted the land, okay, but why is the empress so weird about it and then a traitor? Why is Rin SO loyal to the empire? 
The other piece I don’t reaaaaallly get is the pantheon and how it works, and the nature of Jiang’s power. Like they call the gods, but they need drugs to do it, but Rin didn’t need drugs the first time she did it, and apparently you are like assigned a god? And there was this entire subplot of ki manipulation and that scene where Rin cracks the stone by discharging ki using the animal martial arts forms, but it just gets abandoned. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Xenophobia, Violence, War, and Sexual violence

linus_rieper's review against another edition

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

4.5

This was a really hard book to get through.

This is not a book one should go into blindly. It is rough, and terrible. Well written, but heartbreaking in a way I have not experienced in a book before this. 

I cannot stress it enough, read the trigger warnings before reading this, and prepare for the unfiltered horrors of war.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Animal death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, War, Child abuse, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Addiction, Pregnancy, Rape, Violence, Xenophobia, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Drug abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Bullying, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Classism, Misogyny, and Pedophilia

weareinheritors's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

1.0

Hoo boy, this book.

Hated the first half. I don't like academy/school fiction. This book had most of the tropes (plain girl good at everything, abusive curriculum, shitty teachers, two gorgeous boys (a rich Malfoy and a dark stranger)—thank goodness there was no romance, goofy best guy friend, etc). It was a slog and I nearly DNFd it, if not for the supposed promise of the better second half...

Which. My goodness, the whiplash. 

The second half is not for the faint of heart, from the (TW)

Rape of Nanjing sequence to the descriptions of actual rape to full-on genocide

. 

It's an okay book, but Rin is so damn unlikeable. The surrounding cast are decent at their best, but Rin is so detestable that she drags them all down with her. The ending feels like she's gonna

start a revolution

or something, but I don't see anybody rallying behind her for any reason other than maybe fear.

I'll get to the sequel eventually. Maybe.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Addiction, Genocide, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Gore, Kidnapping, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

taemd58's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Murder, Rape, Infertility, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Body horror, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Classism, Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Violence, Vomit, War, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, and Hate crime