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Reviews tagging 'Death'

Опиумная война by R.F. Kuang

2718 reviews

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

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dark emotional medium-paced

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adventurous emotional 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: No

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I found the writing to be a bit juvenile and the pacing to vary wildly. It has an excellent premise and I think could have been something great. The execution lacked however. This was very nearly a dnf for me due to the lack of cohesion and flow within the plot. The character interactions were engaging however the character development and the development of the relationships between them were rushed, forced, underdeveloped, on several occasions did complete 180s, and overall were hard to follow. The lack of effective character development made it very hard to relate to the characters and even like them in some cases. 

This book was incredibly graphic. It goes into heavy detail of body horror, death, murder and SA. The author did a good job of painting the picture of the scene but could have done so in a more tactful and effective way. 
“The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.” -Richard Price
The author could have elicited an even greater emotional response from the reader, without being quite as triggering by using metaphors and focusing on a smaller, seemingly inconsequential aspect.  

Another thing to be wary of is the heavy drug use and abuse within this book. 


I believe that the most triggering chapter is chapter 21 and I’ll have a general description of the events for those who wish to skip it under a spoiler. This chapter covers exceptionally graphic and detailed descriptions of: murder, genocide, torture, body horror/mutilation, the postmortem state of bodies, SA, sexual violence, miscarriage/forced abortion/violence towards a pregnant women, and drug abuse. With that said, here is the general description of the chapter: 
The Cike travel to Golyn Niis and find that the Federation soldiers had already reached the city. They had brutally killed almost every citizen and Nikan soldier within. There were very few survivors, of which two were students Rin went to school with: Kitay, Rin’s friend who suffered no lasting injuries, and Venka, a girl Rin shared a dorm with. Venka had suffered from repeated SA and explains to Rin the details of what happened to her and to other women and Rin swears to get revenge for them. Afterwards Rin goes to find Altan and finds him practically incapacitated from smoking mass amounts of opium.

See the content warnings for the rest of possible triggers

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adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous challenging dark tense

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional sad 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

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

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challenging dark sad tense 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

after rereading, I docked it a star because while the world building is stunning and interesting, there are things in Rin’s progression that feel less sincere and more like they’re needed for the plot. I’ve read other works by Kuang at this point, and she definitely tightens some of the weaknesses that come out in this book. (you know, her DEBUT novel lol.)

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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: Complicated

Holy fuck my dear Rin what have u done.

 The social commentary compared the world we are living just made the story so much more profound. This book is not for everyone but it surely is beautifully brutal. Also R.F. Kuang the woman u are.


Note: Please be careful with chapter 21.

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