Reviews

2.5… (sorry!!) I read this to be stubborn and finish the trilogy but I’m not mad about it? I gave it higher than book #2 bc I can tell this was an immense effort; she writes at her best when she’s ruthless and thinks about the ingenuity of military strategy. Unfortunately none of the characters felt convincing by this point and the storyline lacked a sense of being thought out with random pivots and discards, giving us the impression that the author was writing as she went along.

The ending was just so stupid and logically did not follow and I hate to use that as a critique bc I love stories where I don’t feel in control of the ending, but my god.

I think she is a wonderful creative thinker but her imaginary world fell short because it was so shackled to Chinese history, almost textbook-style. Im not surprised a Chinese production company is adapting this into a tv show is all I’ll say…

seachelli's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

seriuzbiznus's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

verity_lilolia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.75

j6sse's review against another edition

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5.0

r.f kuang is a master. i loved this series so much. i loved these characters so dearly. i fear this will ruin all other fantasy for me because it simply won’t be the poppy war. as painful as it was, i savoured every moment of reading this.

Spoiler

r.f kuang can write a complex character admirably well. the apex of this story is rin and her will. she is as divine as she is terrible. i loved her as much as i feared her, cringing thinking of her blow out reactions to things, wishing that she could just have a well deserved rest and time to heal. i could cry again thinking of what she could be without the phoenix puppeteering her actions.
she was so human, so caring, but also so monstrous and willing to commit atrocities as a means to an end. she put her emotions behind her and leapt into battles ruthlessly but always suffered at her own hands. her relationship with kitay humanized her in such a profound way and let us really understand that in the end, a lot of her actions were caused by the phoenix’s perpetual craving for destruction. those soft moments of wholly platonic but complete love between them were so emotional and profound, and i really appreciated leaving them as platonic rather than leaning into any romance tropes. also to note the complex relationship between rin and nezha and all the intricate webs connecting them and simultaneously wrenching them apart were so painful but fun to read. so well done!!

another aspect i appreciated so much was how r.f kuang does not shy away the realities of leading a war campaign. of losing foot soldiers to the terrain, famine, and disease. rin never wins ignorantly, there is always a trail of losses in her wake that she must absorb and carry with her. the campaign does not begin and then the characters magically end up in new places unhurt after timeskips, no, we are forced to endure harsh terrain and weather along with the soldiers. i appreciate the realistic view this story always held while engrossed in a world with fantasy gods and supernatural powers. this is why i think this will ruin other fantasy for me!! it was too well done!

overall, r.f kuang, you have ruined me. i loved your series and im endlessly sad. thank you for writing this. you will always be famous!

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