Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

60 reviews

stephlikestoread's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Child death, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Vomit, Violence, and War

juneylu's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

For me, this book read like the story of Attack On Titan but with a Chinese, Maoist inspired coat. I really enjoyed it, the comparison doesn’t diminish the excellence of the book. The critique of pacing and the academy arch was valid, it was definitely not as exciting as later parts.

The Nanking inspired massacre was the emotional high point of the novel. I found it very moving as someone who is Chinese, it was personal. Some may say it was unnecessary, I felt it made sense as it was something that effected all of the characters in some type of way, it’s impact can be felt in later books as well. Its brutality still is lighter than the real events, and I hope this book has helped many people to learn about the Nanking Massacre.  Rin is a very complicated character. She went from a hard-working small-town girl to a genocidal warrior in one book, but the character development felt understood. Is she someone I should personally support? Not at all, but I enjoy the grey morality she exists in.

Overall, I loved this book, it’s a start of a great series. Is the hype deserved? Not entirely, because many misadvertise it as a romance. But it is still a great book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Medical content, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Physical abuse, War, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Violence, Torture, Body horror, Child abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying, Addiction, and Cursing

rejena's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Kidnapping, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Infertility, Murder, Addiction, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Death, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Toxic friendship

shainalite's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

This book is insane. 
Karena buku ini buku pertama, kita dapat pengenalan dunia The Poppy War pelan-pelan, ga langsung seabrek jadi meskipun bikin penasaran maksudnya percakapan si A ini apa, pembaca ga bakal kebingungan dengan banyaknya informasi karena ntar juga dijelasin di bab-bab selanjutnya. 
Seperti buku-buku R.F. Kuang yang lain, meskipun buku ini buku terjemahan, bahasanya mudah dipahami dan engaging banget. Sebagai pembaca yang suka masukin 3-4 buku dalam current read, aku ga bisa berpaling dari buku ini buat nyari buku selingan.  Deskripsi yang digunakan untuk segala hal di buku ini juga pas porsinya sesuai dibutuhkan, jadi pembaca ga sampai bosan. 
Seperti yang disebutkan di blurb, buku ini terinspirasi dari chinese history yang bikin aku mengira-ngira wilayah ini di dunia nyata sebenarnya apa ya atau negara ini kayaknya negara anu deh di dunia nyata. Selain itu jenis bahasa yang digunakan para karakternya (meskipun R.F. Kuang ga menciptakan bahasa baru) juga aku pikir juga berasal dari bahasa dunia nyata, kayak logat Sinegard mungkin kayak American English, sedangkan logat orang-orang Tikany kayak British English. 
Di buku ini kita bisa melihat perkembangan karakter Rin sebagai tokoh utama dan gimana pembaca bisa terus mengikuti kisahnya meskipun Rin sudah memiliki pendapat yang jauh berbeda dari awal dia muncul. Aku suka semua karakter yang dimunculkan di buku ini terlepas mereka baik atau jahat, menurutku mereka sudah melakukan tugas mereka sebagai karakter tertentu dengan menggunakan potensi mereka. Yang kejam yaudah kejam banget, yang masih bingung dibikin makin bingung, dan yang sudah merasa punya pandangan tertentu tentang peperangan bakal terus mengeksplorasi karakternya seputar peperangan.
Beberapa hal sudah bisa ditebak, tapi emang buku ini bukan buku mystery atau detektif juga jadi pembaca yang bisa menebak pun kayaknya juga bukan sesuatu yang wow. 
Banyak banget trigger warning, hampir semua daftar di trigger warning di storygraph aku pakai semua, meskipun buku ini kayaknya YA. 
Aku jadi ingin baca buku yang menceritakan POV Nezha karena aku penasaran apa yang dia lakukan selama dia tidak berada di sekitar Rin, dan kenapa dia tau-tau muncul lagi terus menghilang lagi.
Meskipun buku ini penuh kekejaman perang dan trigger warning, aku sempet ngerasa ngeri dan ngilu, tapi ga sampe membekas terlalu lama. Buku Uprooted yang aku baca tahun lalu cukup bikin mual dan sakit kepala, entah kenapa, padahal buku ini lebih brutal, which is something I admire from R.F. Kuang. Bisa bikin buku yang menunjukkan gimana parahnya peperangan,tapi ga sampe bikin trauma, karena sebenarnya aku jenis pembaca yang selalu menghindari topik peperangan dalam sebuah buku.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Murder, Death of parent, Drug use, Excrement, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racial slurs, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Deadnaming, Gore, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Animal death, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Vomit, Bullying, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, Grief, Racism, and Self harm

overbooked207's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

📖 The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang Book Review 📖

4th book of January 2023 and 4th of the year:

“War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who remains.” - R.F. Kuang.

A military epic fantasy novel inspired by the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Rape of Nanking, this book was engaging, hard to put down, and very dark and harrowing, showing how absolutely horrid war is and the trauma, horror, and destruction that comes out of it. It had absolutely amazing writing and world-building, relevant commentary, intricate, brutal, and well-written fight and battle scenes, a beautiful cover, a great audiobook, and fleshed-out/well-developed and complex characters. I love reading about complex characters who make mistakes, aren’t perfect, and/or are forced to make big and hard decisions. I especially love consuming content with angry characters in it. Characters who see or experience injustice and are fueled by their rage. Many times, I find it very cathartic because everybody reacts to trauma differently, with there being no such thing as the ‘perfect’ victim that the media/world expects and wants when horrible things happen. And anger is an essential part of healing and can be very useful when channeled toward good, and, while there are more now, I don’t see as many books/movies/shows that have a main character who expresses this understandable anger, and Rin does, so I really appreciated that. I highly recommend this. Just please be aware of all of the TWs(which I started listing alphabetically to make it easier for people) because there are many heavy things in this, and it was very hard to read at times due to them. TWs for abandonment, ableism, abuse(child, domestic, physical, and sexual), addiction, alcoholism, animal cruelty/death, blood, body horror, body shaming, bullying, child death, classism, colonization, confinement, cursing, death, drugs/drug use, excrement, fatphobia, fire/fire injury, forced institutionalization, gaslighting, genocide, gore, grief, gun violence, hate crime, infertility, injuries/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content/trauma, menstruation, mental illness, mention of forced marriage and prostitution, misogyny, murder, panic attacks, pedophilia, police brutality, pregnancy, PTSD, racism, rape(mentioned a few times throughout and described in detail by a survivor toward the end of chapter 21(80% through the book and at around 14:57:35 to around 15:03:58 in the audiobook)), religious bigotry, self-harm, sexism, sexual assault/violence, slavery, slurs, stalking, suicidal thoughts, suicide, torture, trafficking, violence, vomit, war, and xenophobia.🎧⚔️🏹

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Xenophobia, Classism, Excrement, Kidnapping, Self harm, War, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Hate crime, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Slavery, Trafficking, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Grief, Bullying, Violence, Addiction, Child death, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Rape, Abandonment, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

yammiereadsuwu's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-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

5.0

*deep breath* *VIOLENT SCREECH*

okay okay.

- I loved this book. RF Kuang is my favorite author. I just…AGSJSHSJSJJE

- It’s tragic, i felt like the book was stomping on my heart half the time. I loved every second of it. I was able to sit hours on end reading with no interruption (a rare phenomena to me) and i wouldve finished faster if outside factors didnt stop me. It’s engaging and for people who can see visual images while reading, i felt like i was watching a movie while reading, the descriptions are really well written. 

- The characters…I read Babel before I read TPW and I love Kuang’s characterization. I love how she gives them emotions and internal conflicts. I love how sometimes their actions arent aligned with whats “morally right” and they acknowledge it and do it anyway. The characters are unique and even tho the book is from Rin’s POV i could deeply understand all the characters that mattered. (i ❤️ ramsa, he’s my boy)

- The world building is magnificent. The details. The explanations. The slow reveal of the universe. I loved it all. I did have to re-read some passages & google some things but only because im a fast reader and sometimes my mind doesnt fully absorb what i read. I read a negative review that said the world building is inconsistent, but for me I didnt see it as such at all. 

- The plot is great but I dont really care about that usually. I also hate unresolved issues that foreshadow following books…Kuang changed my mind on both tho. I think the foreshadowing is great and i want to pick up the second book instantly. 

- I love Rin. I just. I love her. IDC what anyone says, shes my girl. I also love Altan. Some of his moments weren’t the greatest but he was real and I loved him for it. Jiang, i wanna give you a hug. Kitay, I have some unresolved feelings for you, I hope the second book repairs those bc I love(d) you (I WANT TO DROP THE D SO YOU BETTER ACT RIGHT)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicide, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Torture, Rape, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm

ka_ke's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark slow-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

5.0

Love Love LOVE this book! R F Kuang has written a real masterpiece of dark historical fantasy. 

The Poppy War will force you to think about privilege, oppression and what it means to be human. Your beliefs will be challenged and your views will change. It is not for those looking for a happy ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Child death, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Colonisation, Child abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, War, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Drug use, Genocide, Gaslighting, and Gore

Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Pedophilia, Slavery, Abandonment, Bullying, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt

inthemoonforcheese's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Colonisation, War, Xenophobia, Torture, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Cursing, Confinement, Animal death, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Infertility, Gore, Genocide, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Domestic abuse, Death, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Classism, Child death, Body horror, Blood, Abandonment, Ableism, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Addiction, Vomit, Trafficking, Mental illness, Gun violence, Child abuse, Slavery, Sexual violence, Hate crime, and Forced institutionalization

rnbhargava's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing 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

This book, a fantasy, fictionalized variation on China in WWII with the aftermath of the Opium Wars also in the mix, is frankly amazing. The writing becomes more dark and elaborate as the protagonist Rin ages and becomes less innocent through fighting in war at much too young of an age. The mythological aspects are very inventive and refreshing. The Cike is like a sort of Thunderbolts from Marvel or Suicide Squad from DC, if you’re familiar with these comic book teams. All of the characters that Rin is mentored by and/or befriends brings different aspects of her developing personality to the fore. I can’t wait to see what choices Rin makes in “The Dragon Republic” for better or worse. All of the characters are so intriguing and many of them easily could have been protagonists in their own rights. I got quite attached to everyone. This book is an experience. My only slight gripe is that many characters that the protagonist knows have a sort of low key plot armor so that they can be used to illustrate certain aspects of war later in the novel despite it seeming that they shouldn’t have survived some earlier world building regarding how the war is playing out in different fronts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Medical content, Torture, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

All of these triggers are evident in this narrative whether they’re something that happens to the main character, someone she knows, or is just generally part of the world. It is a brutal world that is in the midst of war and the protagonist is part of a group that’s kind of feared. All of the brutality is mentioned quite specifically in increasingly dark detail as you progress in the novel. Be aware, it doesn’t hold back.

coolfool_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Torture, Sexual violence, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, War, Gore, Gaslighting, Cursing, and Abandonment

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death