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A review by mcclintock1808
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
This is extremely complicated for me. Starting off, Kuang’s prose is beautiful and a pleasure to read. As someone who started with Babel and hopped to this, it was quite a surprise seeing the incredibly gory areas. Those segments are horrifying and would not recommend if you don’t enjoy extreme imagery of death. The story itself was extremely thought provoking and discusses important segments of history and themes.
Here’s where my struggles start. Rin, our main character. Throughout the first part of the book with her at Sinegaurd, I thought it was great and showed her desires finally coming true. When the war started I think things very much went south, and frankly I think it’s the point of the book? I don’t think the book is portraying her as a hero, and I think that’s fine. I just don’t think I want to continue watching her go down that path. I have read other books where the main characters go down the evil path, so not sure what has changed with this book. There were also a few parts I thought were glossed over too little.A lot of the whole Speerly thing felt weird, especially is Rin being one. Like how? How did she manage to get off Speer? Maybe it comes in a later book, but just odd. Jiang being the Gatekeeper was also just thrown at us. Also did Jun know? Because if Jim knew he was the Gatekeeper, why is he mad? He’s incredibly powerful don’t you want him on your side? I also think some things are just too easy, all Kitay, Nezka, and Venka survived?Also to me it just seems like Nezka was just left in a way, where it’s obvious Kuang is going to bring him back.
Overall, I think it’s a fascinating book, but I don’t think I will be continuing the series at this moment.
Here’s where my struggles start. Rin, our main character. Throughout the first part of the book with her at Sinegaurd, I thought it was great and showed her desires finally coming true. When the war started I think things very much went south, and frankly I think it’s the point of the book? I don’t think the book is portraying her as a hero, and I think that’s fine. I just don’t think I want to continue watching her go down that path. I have read other books where the main characters go down the evil path, so not sure what has changed with this book. There were also a few parts I thought were glossed over too little.
Overall, I think it’s a fascinating book, but I don’t think I will be continuing the series at this moment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and War