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adventurous
dark
emotional
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
love a good historical/fiction/fantasy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was a roller-coaster. I went in blind and was lulled into a false sense of security by the "underdog country bumpkin in a posh academy" plotline (which I loved, by the way). Then we got to the war part of The Poppy War.
It wasn't so much a tonal shift as a natural progression. Looking back, I can see howRin always had it in her to be who she becomes.
I was a bit frustrated with the characters at the end but the last few pages brought me around, and now I'm excited to see where this goes.
My biggest annoyance with the book is howthey showed us the Empress being a traitor halfway into the story. Seeing the characters learn something that we, the readers, knew for ages felt very anticlimactic. Which made the whole culmination of the book very boring. Like I said, the last few pages is what ultimately elevated the book from 4.25 to 5 stars (entirely based on vibes, mind you).
It wasn't so much a tonal shift as a natural progression. Looking back, I can see how
I was a bit frustrated with the characters at the end but the last few pages brought me around, and now I'm excited to see where this goes.
My biggest annoyance with the book is how
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Misogyny, Violence, Xenophobia, War
Moderate: Addiction, Sexual violence
Minor: Self harm
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, War
adventurous
dark
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:
Yes
I loved the training montage. Once the war starts, I struggled to go through some of the pages. Last third of the book i was hooked again. I overall really like the fantastical part but Rin basically just waiting around for something to happen was kind of boring to me. I understand that is part of war to an extent but as a story to read it wasn't too exciting. .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Violence, War
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
A unique and intense fantasy. It's a super interesting original concept but at times it felt like the author was rushing from one stage to the next. The pacing was odd and the 3 parts didn't feel super cohesive as one book. The inner conflict of the main character was really well done but most of the other characters lacked complete personalities and felt a bit flat to me. The themes and ethical dilemmas it tackled were great though.
Be warned, it does take a dark turn and the descriptions of violence and atrocities are quite graphic at one point.
Be warned, it does take a dark turn and the descriptions of violence and atrocities are quite graphic at one point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, War
adventurous
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Classism
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“Children ceased to be children when you put a sword in their hands. When you taught them to fight a war, then you armed them and put them on the front lines, they were not children anymore. They were soldiers.”
Rin’s journey unfolds from being tortured to becoming the tormentor. Once an orphan of war, she’s adopted by a corrupt family and forced to live a life of poverty and routine. Her future looks grim: she’s either destined to be married off to an older man to bear his children or study relentlessly for two years to take the Keju and enter the academy. Against all odds, the dark-skinned girl from Tikany rises above her circumstances, determined to change her fate. From a life of abuse, malnutrition, and overwork, she’s thrust into an environment where she has to fight for survival through training, studying, and the promise of new beginnings.“In Tikany, an unmarried girl like Rin was worth less than a gray rooster. She could spend her life as a foot servant in some rich household—if she found the right people to bribe. Otherwise, her options were some combination of prostitution and begging.”
This novel blends elements of war, fantasy, education, and chaos, weaving a tale marked by death and violence. Its themes are heavy, and trigger warnings abound (physical and mental abuse, sexual assault, self-harm, torture, mutilation, and genocide). In the first half, Rin comes across as a determined, but uncertain protagonist who faces racism, bullying, and isolation. Despite it all, she perseveres—sometimes going to extreme lengths, including self-harm, to ensure her success in the academy. “She found that she was fueled by praise from her masters. Praise meant that she had finally, finally received validation that she was not nothing. She could be brilliant, could be worth someone’s attention. She adored praise—craved it, needed it, and realized she found relief only when she finally had it.”
But Rin is a mere pawn in a world far larger and more corrupt than she could ever imagine. As the plot unfolds, the story introduces gods, emperors, empresses, and a range of characters from diverse countries and ethnicities—many of whom are denied a fair existence. Characters are meticulously crafted, and readers quickly form strong opinions about them. Personally, I didn’t care for Rin, Altan, Su Daji, or Jun Loran, but I found characters like Changhan, Kitay, Jiang, Ramsa, Qara, and eventually Nenzha more compelling. In the chaos of war, however, people make rash decisions, alliances shift, and deception runs deep.
“When man begins to think that he is responsible for writing the script of the world, he forgets the forces that dream up our reality.”
The story is set in a world of conflict where gods, have left a devastating legacy, but are they truly to blame? One of the most tragic stories is of a race wiped out by war, with a few survivors subjected to cruel experimentation. The so-called alliance to the Speerlies resulted in the Nikara (Red Emperor) using poppy flowers (opium) to control them, turning them into puppets for their bidding. The gods’ power, wielded by shamans who could enter the spirit world, ultimately leads to tragedy. Those who commune with the gods lose their bodies, their minds, or their lives—trapped in caves, their power stripped away.
“To commune with the gods was to walk the dream world, the world of spirit. It was to relinquish that which she was and become one with the fundamental state of things. The space in limbo where matter and actions were not yet determined, the fluctuating darkness where the physical world had not yet been dreamed into existence.”
The Poppy War is a brutal and unflinching novel, blending the fantastical with painful truths. While its narrative pulls us into a world of magic and gods, it also reflects the grim realities of war—where individuals are swept up in agendas they may or may not believe in. Choices are made, sides are taken, and the death toll rises. War’s aim is not victory, but obliteration, indifferent to the innocence it destroys. Through its lens, the novel critiques religion, politics, greed, and the forceful imposition of ideologies, all at the expense of countless lives.
Rin’s journey unfolds from being tortured to becoming the tormentor. Once an orphan of war, she’s adopted by a corrupt family and forced to live a life of poverty and routine. Her future looks grim: she’s either destined to be married off to an older man to bear his children or study relentlessly for two years to take the Keju and enter the academy. Against all odds, the dark-skinned girl from Tikany rises above her circumstances, determined to change her fate. From a life of abuse, malnutrition, and overwork, she’s thrust into an environment where she has to fight for survival through training, studying, and the promise of new beginnings.“In Tikany, an unmarried girl like Rin was worth less than a gray rooster. She could spend her life as a foot servant in some rich household—if she found the right people to bribe. Otherwise, her options were some combination of prostitution and begging.”
This novel blends elements of war, fantasy, education, and chaos, weaving a tale marked by death and violence. Its themes are heavy, and trigger warnings abound (physical and mental abuse, sexual assault, self-harm, torture, mutilation, and genocide). In the first half, Rin comes across as a determined, but uncertain protagonist who faces racism, bullying, and isolation. Despite it all, she perseveres—sometimes going to extreme lengths, including self-harm, to ensure her success in the academy. “She found that she was fueled by praise from her masters. Praise meant that she had finally, finally received validation that she was not nothing. She could be brilliant, could be worth someone’s attention. She adored praise—craved it, needed it, and realized she found relief only when she finally had it.”
But Rin is a mere pawn in a world far larger and more corrupt than she could ever imagine. As the plot unfolds, the story introduces gods, emperors, empresses, and a range of characters from diverse countries and ethnicities—many of whom are denied a fair existence. Characters are meticulously crafted, and readers quickly form strong opinions about them. Personally, I didn’t care for Rin, Altan, Su Daji, or Jun Loran, but I found characters like Changhan, Kitay, Jiang, Ramsa, Qara, and eventually Nenzha more compelling. In the chaos of war, however, people make rash decisions, alliances shift, and deception runs deep.
“When man begins to think that he is responsible for writing the script of the world, he forgets the forces that dream up our reality.”
The story is set in a world of conflict where gods, have left a devastating legacy, but are they truly to blame? One of the most tragic stories is of a race wiped out by war, with a few survivors subjected to cruel experimentation. The so-called alliance to the Speerlies resulted in the Nikara (Red Emperor) using poppy flowers (opium) to control them, turning them into puppets for their bidding. The gods’ power, wielded by shamans who could enter the spirit world, ultimately leads to tragedy. Those who commune with the gods lose their bodies, their minds, or their lives—trapped in caves, their power stripped away.
“To commune with the gods was to walk the dream world, the world of spirit. It was to relinquish that which she was and become one with the fundamental state of things. The space in limbo where matter and actions were not yet determined, the fluctuating darkness where the physical world had not yet been dreamed into existence.”
The Poppy War is a brutal and unflinching novel, blending the fantastical with painful truths. While its narrative pulls us into a world of magic and gods, it also reflects the grim realities of war—where individuals are swept up in agendas they may or may not believe in. Choices are made, sides are taken, and the death toll rises. War’s aim is not victory, but obliteration, indifferent to the innocence it destroys. Through its lens, the novel critiques religion, politics, greed, and the forceful imposition of ideologies, all at the expense of countless lives.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Classism
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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 felt that the bit in school could've been an entire book in itself, and because it wasn't, it felt rather rushed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail