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

adventurous challenging dark sad 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? Yes

4.25

i've made piece with the fact that r.f.kuang's academic prowess is virtually inseparable from her creative writing. she tells stories like she's writing a text book...which isn't necessarily a bad thing! on one hand, there's little room left for subtext and there are times when we are told large blocks of information through character conversations. luckily i had no issue with skim reading bc, i was really invested in the world and the war she's created for the poppy war.

our heroine rin is the perfect shade of grey. the pacing at the beginning of the story was very slow, but i'm glad i stuck with rin's journey. her motivation for wanting to go to the sinegard are simple and strong. the scene where she
self-sterilises was...wow. i wasn't expecting it. but her reasoning was written very convincingly.
. 

the military academy portion was my favourite part of the book, and i think rin made some really touching friendships there. rin's relationships with other characters - specifically jiang and altan added to her complexities. there was so much to analyse, and this is only the first book! (imo rin attributes power with safety, but in actuality, on top is the most dangerous place to be as someone will always seek to rob her of such a high status.)
call me delulu...but i'm convinced that nezha is still alive. and that he will return in book 2. his rivallry with rin really snuck up on me, i wasn't expecting to enjoy their dynamic as much as i did. naturally, there is no place for a romance between them in the midst of so much war and violence. plus, rin's aversion to marriage, fertility etc means there will always be a strong denial from her end.


the revelation that rin was
a speerly felt very...anti-climactic. one character connected the dots, told her she was from speer...and rin just accepted it. from that point onward she was a speerly...
idk...i expected this bombshell to trigger a deep reflection into rin's identity and maybe an exploration of grief. but the overall writing style was a barrier to accessing rin's introspection.

very curious to see how this journey continues.


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