Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

89 reviews

miciahsreads's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.25

characters - 1
worldbuilding - 1
writing - .75
enjoyment - .75
plot - .75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Death, Child death, War, Chronic illness, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Addiction, Racism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Rape, Slavery, Murder, Sexism, Genocide, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Rape and Child abuse

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

noosh_pdf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-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

When they say this book is dark, they mean it. Do not be fooled by the beginning chapters of this book that feign hopeful stories of aspiring soldiers. The darkness of this book has subjected itself to one specific chapter, chapter 21. There are gruesome, cruel, horrifying depictions of war crimes. Nothing will prepare you for it. Read trigger warnings. Please.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Mental illness, Abortion, War, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Grief, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death, Addiction, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Vomit, Violence, Self harm, Genocide, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Racism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Forced institutionalization, and Cursing

winterwoodbooks's review

dark emotional tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The beginning and end were really strong, however the middle part felt a bit like a disjointed slump.
Whlile I always want to give the benefit of believing that maybe that was just how the character felt, this does not seem to be the case here.

The Fact, that there were mere chapters between the setup of the facility and arriving there annoyed me SO much. And then they were out again just as fast, ugh

One of the strongest parts of this book is the bluntness of talking about themes- as well as just vivid and brutal pictures, actually depicturing horrors and topics often glossed over. I have to mention the feminism here, loved everything about it!
Overall a great book with some annoying points, I am interested to see more and hope for an in depth journey of the mind of our main character!

The worst part were the animal deaths tho :c

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Animal death, Suicide, Slavery, Blood, Death, Abandonment, War, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Murder, Infertility, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Cursing, Body horror, Hate crime, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Rape, Mental illness, Excrement, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Animal cruelty, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Child death, and Abortion

hunter_uhl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Gore, War, Drug abuse, Murder, Self harm, Colonisation, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Drug use

whattaylorreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Self harm, Physical abuse, Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Drug abuse, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Child death, Child abuse, Gore, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Rape, War, Violence, Death, Animal death, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, and Forced institutionalization

secretgoldfish's review against another edition

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

5.0

I've never read a book where I didn't know who to root for by the end. I've also never read a book that went from 0 to 100 so fast.
The vibe of this book is the scene in Mulan where they're singing about girls and then they come over the hill and see the village burned to the ground.
Its so sudden. So jarring. And so intense. I loved every second of this book. Its so real and mystical at the same time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Vomit, Bullying, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, War, Addiction, Blood, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Classism, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Child death, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, War, Murder, Death, Torture, Violence, and Genocide

Moderate: Medical content, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Child death, Colonisation, and Sexual assault

sarah_wedeking's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

Wow this was crazy. A fantastic but very dark read that makes you reflect on war and history. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Drug use, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

georgia_lou's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Murder, Body horror, Bullying, Addiction, Confinement, Genocide, Grief, Child death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Xenophobia