Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Опиумная война by R.F. Kuang

1139 reviews

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous dark emotional 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

Originally I rated this 3 stars because I ended up kind of frustrated with it by the end. Then after thinking on it some more, I decided to bump my rating up to 4, since overall, I did enjoy the story and world building quite a lot. 

My main complaint is Rin. Not really her as a character, but how the author decides to handle her. I just don't find characters who are The Best at Everything all that interesting. I also found the sexism aspect of the world building to only be applied when convenient.

Overall, it's a very daring and well thought out story. The graphic violence at one point made me feel physically sick, but at no point did it feel "glorified" as some other reviews are saying. The violence felt very much like, "Hey, this is what war is like. It's extremely fucked up."

I will be continuing the series.

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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: Complicated

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adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective sad 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

it’s a great story but it’s not perfect. in the second part Rin was so childish and out of place and she knew that but there were no repercussions which made no sense, and at the end there are some things that didn’t feel like they made sense or clicked in the right way. some scenes were terribly heartbreaking. would recommend and will be reading the best one right away. 

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challenging dark 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

I got through the book relatively quickly and also really enjoyed the difficulty level of the language.

The last quarter of the book really surprised me because I was expecting a 'normal' fantasy school story, but holy hell that's not at all what this is about. I had to reflect for a while if I even wanted to continue the series because it's so dark and depressing but I'll give it a go and if I can't handle it, I can always stop. Great writing tho. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

A masterful entry into the trilogy.

Probably one of the best fantasy work I have ever read. As usual, Kuang strikes true and hard, her prose incredible, poetic and gutwrenching in the best way possible.
Her stories pull at something deep inside of you and nestle there to never leave, and I welcome them with open arms.

A must read for any fantasy lover.

However, do check the trigger warnings beforehand. 


This book is raw and Kuang doesn't coddle the reader. The atrocities that war inevitably brings are showed in all their horror. This is not a light read and some scenes are very graphic. 

Please read the trigger warnings if you are a sensitive reader.


Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark reflective medium-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: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings