Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Опиумная война by R.F. Kuang

2266 reviews

adventurous dark emotional 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

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adventurous challenging dark informative 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

This book put me off eating for a week

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adventurous dark fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

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challenging dark emotional informative 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

Another enjoyable read from someone who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! Having already read Babel and Yellowface, it was interesting to read Kuang’s first publication and compare how far she has come in her writing. As usual, her strong suit is in the historical references she brings awareness to by adapting them with a fantastical flair. I love how different each of her books are. 

The Poppy War is a breath of fresh air in a fantasy world dominated by Eurocentrism - opening to the map of something that didn’t resemble the British Isle was pleasant. I’m glad I went into this one almost blind, however I did expect a lot more time in the war college than we got. The world building was great, though slow, and felt like info dumping at times. This is my only critique for the book and I fully understand that it is a necessary evil. 

I particularly enjoyed the explorations of colorism, misogyny, and “otherness” throughout the story. Kuang does a great job of creating characters that are representative of all sides of the rhetorical spectrum that don’t feel like caricatures. 

Overall, solid start to the series and I can’t wait to see where it goes in the rest of the trilogy. 

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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: Yes

A gritty, action-packed, and, at times, utterly hilarious read. This is how you write a strong female character.  

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adventurous challenging 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: Yes

Rin was as complex as they come. I mean I'm following her along on this journey from
Sinegard
to
the war
and then she ends up
committing genocide.
It leaves you not knowing who to root for and wanting more of this enriching story. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This was a wonderfully written piece of media, but young adults making emotionally charged decisions will never be my forte, especially being someone easily consumed by anger myself. And when you apply this to colonial narratives, we simply see colonial trauma transforming a victim into a colonizer herself. 

I had high hopes for Rin. And she was nowhere close to reaching them. But I’m not sure if she was meant to. 

I’ll think about reading the rest of the series, but I don’t think I will. 

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot

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