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hanz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
book_sense's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have zero sanity left after reading this.. this series. These characters. I have so much love for them. They are so real to me.. the ending. The fucking ending broke me.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
mazomazli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
5/5 tissue boxes.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Colonisation
violaceae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Outing
ibazelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and War
xalrynne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The Burning God is just as dark and violent as the previous two books. War is raging in Nikan, and the Nikara are up against not only the Dragon Republic but also the foreign Hesperians with their new technologies.
This book focuses on Rin and Nezha, allies-turned-enemies on opposite sides of a war that neither of them wants to fight.
This book takes a look at what it means for invading forces to completely take over your city and your country and put you under their rule without your consent. Rin is both awed and terrified by the Hesperians’ technology and doesn’t know whether to embrace it or shun it, but ultimately the Hesperians are the colonizers, and they obviously don’t take into consideration what’s best for the people they’re colonizing because they think their own way of life is the best and the Nikara are subhuman at best. It’s interesting to see colonization from the other point of view; so often in school what we learn was written by the victor—by the people and forces who took over—but this book shows us what it’s like for all the other people on the inside.
We see new types of shamans in this book, which I loved. I won’t explain anymore so as not to spoil, but I’m super glad they were introduced so we could see wider implications of this magic than just Rin’s abilities.
This isn’t my favorite fantasy series out there but I can’t deny how well it’s written and the impact of its harrowing story. None of the characters in this series are particularly likable and there isn’t a whole lot of hope, but I still enjoyed the journey nonetheless. The Poppy War trilogy is way darker than I normally prefer my books to be, and I want to emphasize the huge amount of trigger and content warnings in this series. It is full of horrific and descriptive scenes of war and all the brutalities that happen because of that. Basically if you can imagine a trigger warning, this series probably has it, so make sure you’re in a good headspace before you start reading it.
My Book Blog: Storeys of Stories
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
racheldoesthings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Drug use and Emotional abuse
blynecessity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Colonisation
andromeda_1998's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The trilogy as a whole is really strong and it’s a big rollercoaster ride that I would recommend to everyone. In some ways these books still have some points of criticism that in my opinion could have made the books better. But the critics are really minor and not even really worth mentioning. It’s just that I would have enjoyed some more character interaction between the fighting. For me it would have explained more the love the characters feel for eachother.
My favorite quote from the trilogy:
“They believe in a singular and all-powerful deity, which means they cannot accept the truth of other gods. And when nations start to believe that other beliefs lead to damnation, violence becomes inevitable.”
I would recommend these books to every fantasy and history fan but make sure to read the trigger warnings. These books describe a lot of gruesome things in a lot of detail so make sure these books are the right fit for you.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Colonisation
ellaensorcelee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, and Cannibalism
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Frequent mentions of atrocities committed in the first two books (Golyn Niis, what happened to the Speerlies, what Rin did to the Federation), but they are not described in explicit detail. Frequent mention of human experimentation on the Speerlies by the Gray Company. Some moderately graphic description of starvation and mutilation of corpses.