Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - The Poppy War

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Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

407 reviews

lucylovesgrapes's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative 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

my new favourite fantasy series. masterfully written and i am in awe that someone has written it. r.f. kuang writes rin as one of the most HUMAN characters i've read. she is brave and strong and intelligent and resilient and steadfast in her beliefs, but she's also vengeful, angry, disturbed by the atrocities she sees, scared, guilty and shameful. can't say i liked her at the end, but i also can't hate her. we are so entrenched in rin and her beliefs that not even slighlty understanding her rage and need for vengeance is impossible. this book was written by a deity among people. the shamanism is such an interesting process. there is no good governing body in the book and it just perfectly shows that everything isn't black and white. also, many parts of this book, if not all of it, reflect the current geopolitical climate. the utter frustration, guilt and helplessness is so familiar. i am so excited to read the dragon republic

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davidportnov's review against another edition

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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

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weareinheritors's review against another edition

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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

squiggly_cj's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

This book deals very explicitly with a lot of heavy themes around genocide, (sometimes forced) drug addiction, child abuse, colonisation, and war, and it bordered on getting too shockingly violent for me (particularly with the descriptions of physical violence and mutilations). Although I felt the main character's journey was predictable, and that her relationships weren't as nuanced as they could have been, I found the plot and worldbuilding compelling. I'm not sure if I'll continue with the trilogy given the graphic violence, but I overall enjoyed the experience of reading this! I read this after Babel, and am enjoying seeing Kuang explore some similar themes in new contexts.

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njstew's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.75

Ever so slightly predictable but it doesn’t take much away from the story which was so lovely. Incredibly dark and heavy themes and trauma but these made a lot of sense for the story and characters (and I’ve almost definitely forgotten to add some content warnings)

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jhbandcats's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

A story of epic proportions, The Poppy War is a fantasy-infused telling of the repeated Japanese invasions of China in the 1930s. The first third is about the outcast Rin at a military academy, the second third corresponds to the Battle of Shanghai in 1937, and the third is the Rape of Nanking and its aftermath as Rin seeks vengeance for the destruction of her country and the deaths of her friends.

It’s beautifully written and violent and ghastly and imaginative, an amazing endeavor for any writer but especially one who was writing this as an undergraduate. As in her later book Babel, Kuang’s scholarship shines throughout. The best part, though, is the storytelling. I was riveted by the first sentence (‘Take off your clothes!’) and my attention never flagged.

I’m glad this is a trilogy because I am NOT ready to say goodbye to this world.

Content Warnings