Reviews with content warning for Addiction - Опиумная война

Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Опиумная война by R.F. Kuang

2259 reviews

dvinkreads's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

anikaandaj's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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

If we're being technical, I'd really put my star rating between a 3.8 to 3.9. This is a very strong and engaging debut novel, especially for a teenage author, though not without its flaws. Because R.F. Kuang is first and foremost an academic, she's going to give in-depth descriptions of 'magic school' without it feeling dry. As a protagonist Rin was near immediately a girl after my own heart from her unorthodox studying moments to

going "nah, take out that uterus I'm not dealing with that" immediately after her first period.

Aside from the first big twists being as subtle as a brick (especially with the special edition covers), I have very few complaints from the book's first half. It is the second half, when the book's tone switches, that cracks revealed themselves.

The previously set up cast of supporting characters disappear entirely

until needed for brief *trauma cameos*

and an entirely new, more forgettable group takes their place. There is a tonal inconsistency within the introduction of these quirky magical misfits that feel out of place and silly within the character's transition into a brutal war. At this point, side characters act as set dressing with no unique voices, relationship dynamics, or personality attributes. Kinda like the kid in a 4th grade school play waiting and waiting to shout their one line before going back to being a tree.

In terms of inspiration, there are points where it feels copy-and-pasted enough to take you out of the story and world being made. Sunzi as a not so subtle rip of Sun Tzu and his 'Art of War' are frequent references, and then there's Chapter 21. On this, I'm torn between whether this direct lifting of events comes across as self-insert fan fiction into real life atrocities or is an accessible way to encourage audiences to learn more about the history.

Despite how this review is mostly my thoughts on the negative, I did enjoy this book. But it's definitely a series I need to take a break from rather than feeling a rush to finish the whole story.

Content Warnings

maddiehendrie's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark tense medium-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

I truly think RFK is a wizard she writes the most amazing books. This story is dark, tense, morally grey and kept me guessing the whole time. I can’t wait to continue the series. This book is not for the faint of heart, there are very dark war scenes so if that’s not your thing i’d avoid this

Content Warnings

queen_susan's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book is challenging and very dark. The first half is a typical YA "underdog manages to get to the academy and learn a type of magic few, if any, have mastered" story and then it abruptly shifts genre into a war story. In some ways, it mimics real life, and it also follows the trajectory of the story in that Rin didn't have much time at the academy before being sent to the front lines of the war.

There's also a lot of violence in the book, starting at about the halfway point and continuing on until the end. R.F. Kuang draws a lot of inspiration from the conflict in Asia during World War 2 and pulls no punches about that.

Content Warnings

_alexrated's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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

I had heard how gut-wrenching this story was, but I was still left shocked by the intensity of the story. Half the time, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. The first part of the book, while tackling heavy topics, also had unexpected moments of humor. I’ve never disagreed with a character’s choices and thoughts as I did with Rin, yet I found myself compelled to keep reading to see what she would do next. Her unpredictability and complexity made the book impossible to put down. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the series brings.

Content Warnings

nebzzy's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

bellathebookworm's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

Content Warnings

sadyreads's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

tititink's review against another edition

3.75

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

It held my attention. Hard to focus on anything else. But there are very graphic depictions of horrible things.

Content Warnings

shelfedbykiym's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I ain’t gonna lie I loveeeddd this book because of all the WTAF!! Moments but if I had to reread this book I would skip out 2/3 of part one because it draggggeeed to the point I almost DNFed

Content Warnings

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