Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

230 reviews

jaz_apples's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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

2.25

I found the writing to be a bit juvenile and the pacing to vary wildly. It has an excellent premise and I think could have been something great. The execution lacked however. This was very nearly a dnf for me due to the lack of cohesion and flow within the plot. The character interactions were engaging however the character development and the development of the relationships between them were rushed, forced, underdeveloped, on several occasions did complete 180s, and overall were hard to follow. The lack of effective character development made it very hard to relate to the characters and even like them in some cases. 

This book was incredibly graphic. It goes into heavy detail of body horror, death, murder and SA. The author did a good job of painting the picture of the scene but could have done so in a more tactful and effective way. 

“The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.” -Richard Price

The author could have elicited an even greater emotional response from the reader, without being quite as triggering by using metaphors and focusing on a smaller, seemingly inconsequential aspect.  

Another thing to be wary of is the heavy drug use and abuse within this book. 


I believe that the most triggering chapter is chapter 21 and I’ll have a general description of the events for those who wish to skip it under a spoiler. This chapter covers exceptionally graphic and detailed descriptions of: murder, genocide, torture, body horror/mutilation, the postmortem state of bodies, SA, sexual violence, miscarriage/forced abortion/violence towards a pregnant women, and drug abuse. With that said, here is the general description of the chapter: 

The Cike travel to Golyn Niis and find that the Federation soldiers had already reached the city. They had brutally killed almost every citizen and Nikan soldier within. There were very few survivors, of which two were students Rin went to school with: Kitay, Rin’s friend who suffered no lasting injuries, and Venka, a girl Rin shared a dorm with. Venka had suffered from repeated SA and explains to Rin the details of what happened to her and to other women and Rin swears to get revenge for them. Afterwards Rin goes to find Altan and finds him practically incapacitated from smoking mass amounts of opium.

See the content warnings for the rest of possible triggers

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Genocide, Child death, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Drug use, Violence, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Murder, Slavery, and War

Moderate: Racism, Classism, Cursing, Misogyny, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Abortion, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, and Religious bigotry

bookswithgracie's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, Body horror, War, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Drug abuse, Death, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Grief, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Torture, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Abortion, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Rape, Cursing, and Animal death

n_mutanu16's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Grief, Classism, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Genocide, Violence, Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Bullying, Gore, Child death, Blood, and War

Moderate: Murder, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Abandonment, Torture, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Medical content and Infertility

taque's review against another edition

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Child abuse, Blood, Torture, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Rape, War, Xenophobia, Violence, Death, Child death, Sexual assault, Racism, Physical abuse, Bullying, Murder, Drug abuse, Abortion, Medical content, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Animal death, and Addiction

Minor: Vomit and Excrement

hearkenheretic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Self harm, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Blood, Grief, Child death, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Torture, Addiction, Gore, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Medical content and Infertility

lilaudio's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Racism, Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Addiction, Classism, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

might_be_may's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Bullying, Drug use, Vomit, Racism, Death, War, Child death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Classism, Sexual violence, Violence, Genocide, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Addiction

Minor: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Body horror, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, and Gore

cowardlyteaman's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This is my second R. F. Kuang book, and she never seems to disappoint.

There's so much to say here that I'm sure other readers in these reviews can express much better than me.
Currently in history class, we're learning about the history of Emperial Japan (where much of it is also taught from the perspective of the Chinese), and the parallels are prominent. Sometimes it becomes hard to distinguish between what is real and what is fiction, because just like the Mugenese, the Japanese soldiers were terrible—terrible—terrible.

There's so much of this book to praise, and I did love Rin for a while. However, as she continued to go against her master's advice, I continued to dislike her. I see where her need is coming from, but it was very frustrating and frankly quite uninspiring to read about these very predictable consequences to her horribly naïve decisions.
This, however, is the ONLY complaint I had about the book, and I still very much enjoyed the book. I am looking forward to the coming books!

I deeply recommend this book, but be aware of the warnings. Many of the warnings are descriptions and mentions made from character's rather than the direct actions, but they can still be disturbing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Misogyny, Rape, Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Miscarriage, Torture, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Child abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

Moderate: Racism, Suicide, Self harm, Animal cruelty, and Classism

Minor: Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, and Vomit

namjin's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Medical content, Violence, Xenophobia, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Torture, Toxic friendship, Child death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Misogyny, and Vomit

This book contains the most detailed descriptions of brutal killings, torture and rape I have ever seen. Please exercise caution. Personally it came as a surprise, so be aware of that.

thatnewbooksmell's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

It’s heavy like heavy and some parts of the book I don’t think i’ll ever be able to scrub from my brain but it’s truly an amazingly written book that I think really shows the horrific reality of war. The spiritual part was genius and felt natural to the overall lore as sometimes in fantasy books it can feel off. On to read the second book wish me luck 🥲🫠

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Rape, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Drug use, Torture, and War