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kiwibird5's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
eloisereading'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
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
jhbandcats's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The good part was that Rin was powerful again, not whiny and miserable as she’d been in the second book. The battle scenes were gripping, and the strategy sessions were fascinating. But the periods in between battles felt like slogs.
As a whole, the trilogy is incredible. It amazes me that the author wrote these books between ages 19-23. Her skill at research and writing is unparalleled. You feel the mud and the rain, you smell the filth of the army, you know that weariness and hunger. But after 1600 pages, I, for one, didn’t want to be there.
I hope Kuang keeps writing - she’s just astonishing. These last two books were just too difficult for me to experience.
Graphic: Animal death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ladynocturnal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide and Kidnapping
Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
mfrichter10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
icy_queen'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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Slavery, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Minor: Infertility and Abortion
chasinggrace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ghost_rider's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
nithyuh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I feel like I saw some part of the ending coming, but not to this extent.
R.F. Kuang’s writing and The Poppy War is forever ingrained in my brain. I’ll miss all these characters.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Racism, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
Minor: Torture and Trafficking
hyithia'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
4.5
- a very morally ambiguous main character that I loved/hated and I can't be mad at her for it
- overall interesting plot
- all characters had their complicated motives - no character seemed flat and all main characters developed well
- pacing was okay, but the ending felt very rushed compared to the rest of the book
- the parallel to colonization was clear and it made for a more emotional and intense narrative
- I loved the shamanism concept. I liked that the gods are to be feared, especially as a conduit, allowing them to inflict their will on the world
- I wish that we could have learned more about all 64 deities
- Disabled representation is present, which cannot be said of many books
Rin raising an army of shamans makes a lot of sense for her character and the war - desperate times call for desperate measures Rin's manic episode at the end was a fascinating character arc. at first, she refused to bend the knee, then realized her mistake, sacrificing herself and Kitay to Nezha for the greater good of her people. I found this arc so captivating because it illustrated the war-inflicted paranoia on Rin, especially after accusing Venka of being a traitor (but who knows, maybe she was... I enjoyed Rin and Venka's comradery though, so I hope not...) wasn't too much of a fan of the dragon arc - it didn't make much sense to me why the dragon would attack the city rather than try to capture Nezha and Rin. I did like that the dragon was more powerful than the phoenix and that the dragon was unbeatable because I think that is "realistic". the torture that both Rin and Nezha endured by the Hesperians was disgusting but was analogous to how colonizers treated those whom they were colonizing. it is an important narrative to show. similarly, I found the mindset that the Hesperians had towards the Nikara revolting. again, however, the mindset that a certain race is inherently better than another is one that people have had and have used to justify irreparable harm to those groups that they have decided are somehow lesser than. I hope that those who read this series notice, appreciate, and internalize the historical parallels, as to me, the historical parallels are core to this series. R.F. Kuang has done something truly amazing with this series.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Blood, Colonisation, and War