A review by emvdw
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

adventurous dark funny
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I absolutely loved te first half of this, but thought the second half was decidedly weaker, especially in terms of characterisation. The pacing grinds to a sudden halt, events become somewhat confusing and the character motivations did not make always make sense to me - and I've noticed that that is a real dealbreaker for me. The first half of the book is for sure 5 stars, the second half maybe 2,5-3. Sequels may clear things up though, and I feel it's definitely worth picking them up to see where this goes.

I also go back and forth on how I feel about the horrific events
depicted in Golyn Niis, based on the Massacre of Nanjing. On the one hand, there is something to be said for this level of explicit horror never being necessary to depict, just like some people feel depicting sexual assault should never be necessary. On the other hand, the massacre is a piece of unknown/forgotten history and I understand the author wanting to shine a spotlight on the issue, as she says in her afterword
. But I'll be very happy if there's nothing as terrible in the next books.
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