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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
this book is my #1 op. feeling quite miserable! idk what to do with myself <3
edit: I wanted to come back on here and do an actual review.
I gave this book 5 stars despite only smiling like once... about a joke involving cannibalism... so that really shows you the "highs" of this book. That being said, I think it says something about the writing that I am really not a fan of war in books but this trilogy was exceptional.
The characterization remained insanely well written. Reading Rin's POV towards the end had my heart pounding. I was always THERE with her no matter how her morals twisted and shifted to align with her goals.
Although I was spoiled for the ending... something about reading it with my own eyes unleashed a different type of pain. OW.
I'll be thinking about this for a while.
P.S... Nezha they could never make me hate you-
edit: I wanted to come back on here and do an actual review.
I gave this book 5 stars despite only smiling like once... about a joke involving cannibalism... so that really shows you the "highs" of this book. That being said, I think it says something about the writing that I am really not a fan of war in books but this trilogy was exceptional.
The characterization remained insanely well written. Reading Rin's POV towards the end had my heart pounding. I was always THERE with her no matter how her morals twisted and shifted to align with her goals.
Although I was spoiled for the ending... something about reading it with my own eyes unleashed a different type of pain. OW.
I'll be thinking about this for a while.
P.S... Nezha they could never make me hate you-
6 stars. I feel worthless. I feel ugly. I feel gay.
the burning god more like the burning of rf kuangs laptop more like the burning of every book on the planet more like i never want to see rf kuang pick up the pen ever the fuck again
rf kuang you have a permanent enemy in me i will be sure to haunt you until the end of times you will never be free of me i will be worse than altan
the burning god more like the burning of rf kuangs laptop more like the burning of every book on the planet more like i never want to see rf kuang pick up the pen ever the fuck again
rf kuang you have a permanent enemy in me i will be sure to haunt you until the end of times you will never be free of me i will be worse than altan
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
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:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
.................................Overall, this series absolutely rips. I love the unconventional journey we go on with Rin. I've fallen in love with Kuang's writing style. This one just fell short for me in the back half. I wish Nezha was an actual acting/active character in this book. Rin, I will forever hold you close to my heart. Going on record to say yes, Rinezha will haunt me because how could I possibly still have rooted for them even til the end? WTF!
Part 1: 5 stars. The final fight scene of Part 1 was unmatched. I could see it so clearly in my mind. Fire and water clashing. The rain, Rin trying to kill Nezha, everything! It felt true to the characters, true to the story. Her immediate willingness to sacrifice Kesegi juxtaposed with her inability to kill Nezha.
Part 2:4 stars. started to feel less like our story, but I still saw so much of Rin here. I saw her wanting to be led, wanting to have someone tell her what to do. I do think she could have learned this lesson by this point already, but I still felt satisfied seeing the Trifecta obliterated and Rin calling Jiang a coward was right for her.
Part 3:3 stars. The "army" of shamans I've been waiting like 1.5 books for just did not deliver the way I needed it to. I think they were under utilized and, for an author who stays extremely true to circumstance (like how something would actually play out not the pipe dream), this arc fell short. Pipaji's death was the most impactful here. The battle with Nezha and Rin and the Dragon was so unsatisfying and confusing. Why was Rin suddenly able to access the full extent of her powers? Did she bypass the Seal? But then why was it back later on? And why did the Dragon just go back into hiding with no additional fallout? Everything there and what followed felt hollow. What I did love in this final section was Rin's paranoia and confronting the limitations of her leadership. You can run a military campaign on anger and revenge, but you cannot run a stable country on that. I liked that we addressed the Venka suspicions. I had hesitations about her the entire book, but now that it's over, I'm choosing to believe she was pure in her actions and intentions. We see everything through Rin's POV and I think Rin cannot understand how Venka's emotional convictions could ever outweigh her material ties to the North.
The ending:1.5 stars. Literally what? The solution to three books about not being conquered and enslaved, not being seen as less-than, not being dehumanized and diminished and disrespected is to cooperate? No! Why are we giving up shamanism? Fuck that! Maybe I see too much of myself in Rin, but if I read one more book written in the 2010s where the overpowered FMC dies at the end I'm going to absolutely lose my mind. I think this plot unfortunately wrote itself into a corner, and I don't know another way it could've wrapped up necessarily, but the end of this book left me deeply unsatisfied.
Part 2:
Part 3:
The ending:
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This series is not meant for readers that easily get triggered and do not have the patience to read graphic details of true horrors of war and (inhuman) human destruction!
R. F Kuang is a genius. The way she has woven the storyline into something short, telling the horrific real life events by poetic and symbolic fantasy plot will always be superior, there is definitely so much this book forces you to think about, many ideologies to ponder on, and many things that are easier set on paper than executed by action, such as moral during war is not something black and white, but gray, there is no victors but survivors, there is no "I will be better than my oppressor" but "I will burn down the world because I have suffered, and I am strong enough".
I love how she has written the female characters to be on par with the male ones but the unwomanly face of war does not spare anyone when it comes to the brutal nature of humans in chaos. Even when the main character possesses godly powers, and can destroy the world she still has a weakness, and she will always be an animal to test on, a weapon of war, until she decides to be the weapon of her own leadership yet even then, she's not inconvincible.
The ending of this book is not a happy one, so if you expect to put up with graphic details of war, for three books each of 500+ pages only to get a happy ending you will not have it with the Poppy War.
Finally this last book becomes more fantasy oriented but only because the previous two are so detailed about warfare and psychology of war that this sounds childish for the first half in comparison. We will see a lot of homage to Chinese mythology, but it's only a bit compared to all the PTSD of war. However, as someone who rarely reads dark stuff, this book was wonderful, because there was a point and meaning to the darkness and it's based on reality that has happened all over the world, and it still happens.
R. F Kuang is a genius. The way she has woven the storyline into something short, telling the horrific real life events by poetic and symbolic fantasy plot will always be superior, there is definitely so much this book forces you to think about, many ideologies to ponder on, and many things that are easier set on paper than executed by action, such as moral during war is not something black and white, but gray, there is no victors but survivors, there is no "I will be better than my oppressor" but "I will burn down the world because I have suffered, and I am strong enough".
I love how she has written the female characters to be on par with the male ones but the unwomanly face of war does not spare anyone when it comes to the brutal nature of humans in chaos. Even when the main character possesses godly powers, and can destroy the world she still has a weakness, and she will always be an animal to test on, a weapon of war, until she decides to be the weapon of her own leadership yet even then, she's not inconvincible.
The ending of this book is not a happy one, so if you expect to put up with graphic details of war, for three books each of 500+ pages only to get a happy ending you will not have it with the Poppy War.
Finally this last book becomes more fantasy oriented but only because the previous two are so detailed about warfare and psychology of war that this sounds childish for the first half in comparison. We will see a lot of homage to Chinese mythology, but it's only a bit compared to all the PTSD of war. However, as someone who rarely reads dark stuff, this book was wonderful, because there was a point and meaning to the darkness and it's based on reality that has happened all over the world, and it still happens.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am not going to lie, I definitley have to admit that I much preferred the sequels to the first installment of this series, and yet... I can't help but think that albeit the obvious high emotion and flawed characters (though rebecca, YOU COULD HAVE GIVEN US MORE NEZHA) I can't help but think that at traits plot-wise it fell short and unbelieable; like there were certain scenes where I was like 'how were they alive' and 'how did they survive that', 'HOW DID THEY DEFEAT THAT'. I genuinely think that at times it felt inevitably confusionary ugh, sorry and sad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No