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soswiin 's review for:
The Poppy War
by R.F. Kuang
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this book has been recommended to me for years but i'd be lying if i said i wasn't intimidated by the fantasy genre for its complexity. having just read the rape of nanking, whose author the poppy war is dedicated to and whose influence is unmistakable, i thought there was no better time to dive into this.
the complexity of the world kuang has built is precisely what makes this so incredible. it's an obvious allegory of 1930s east asia but it, under the guide of being an "epic military historical fantasy" (never even knew that was a genre — the more you know), manages to dive into the minds of those who would've lived through the era that frankly isn't covered enough in fiction. kuang's explorations of morality are rough and intense and unstable. i can see why people are so quick to hate characters like rin or altan because it's just impossible to put yourself in their shoes.granted rin was genuinely all over the place — her decision-making process NEEDED to be examined with a much closer lens to get the audience on her side.
liked the way kuang writes her characters. ADORE the way she writes dialogue even if it just acts as a way to info-dump sometimes. i loved the first part of this to bits even if the magical academy-ness felt a bit YA-ish at times. the tonal shift that comes with part ii is, however, incredibly jarring even if it can be interpreted as realistic.i could not bring myself to care about the cike to the same degree that i was able to digest the cast at sinegard. dare i say the first book alone should've been a trilogy?
i thought that the system of magic also needed to be fleshed out more as cool as it was (something i wanted from kuang's other novel babel as well) because i found myself skimming over passages of it to get to the action. thought some characterization + motivations were rushed but that's probably because i, like, rushed.
regardless of how overwhelmingly negative i've ended this review, this is one hell of a debut — you're telling me a nineteen year-old wrote this? not to say this didn't have some issues but i'm sold on the next books.
p.s. what was the point of her carrying that pig up the mountain??? the uterus-blasting cocktail????
the complexity of the world kuang has built is precisely what makes this so incredible. it's an obvious allegory of 1930s east asia but it, under the guide of being an "epic military historical fantasy" (never even knew that was a genre — the more you know), manages to dive into the minds of those who would've lived through the era that frankly isn't covered enough in fiction. kuang's explorations of morality are rough and intense and unstable. i can see why people are so quick to hate characters like rin or altan because it's just impossible to put yourself in their shoes.
liked the way kuang writes her characters. ADORE the way she writes dialogue even if it just acts as a way to info-dump sometimes. i loved the first part of this to bits even if the magical academy-ness felt a bit YA-ish at times. the tonal shift that comes with part ii is, however, incredibly jarring even if it can be interpreted as realistic.
i thought that the system of magic also needed to be fleshed out more as cool as it was (something i wanted from kuang's other novel babel as well) because i found myself skimming over passages of it to get to the action. thought some characterization + motivations were rushed but that's probably because i, like, rushed.
regardless of how overwhelmingly negative i've ended this review, this is one hell of a debut — you're telling me a nineteen year-old wrote this? not to say this didn't have some issues but i'm sold on the next books.
p.s. what was the point of her carrying that pig up the mountain??? the uterus-blasting cocktail????
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, War