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A review by booksrbrainfood
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
4.0
I enjoyed the beginning of the book and the ending but felt there was a slowness in the middle section.
This is the first of a trilogy and debut for Kuang. This is a terrific start in this trilogy and definitely leaves you ready for the remaining books.
I found the story to really do two things extremely well: 1) allow the characters humanity to be evident, in their imperfect decisions and 2) show a realistic rather than romanticized view of war. From the protagonist to the surrounding characters, even those of the superiors in classes and battle, everyone has weaknesses and makes difficult choices. This felt very real to me and it was clear how decisions can be made in the moment that haven’t been fully thought through by the characters. Same thing with the view of war...there is no holding back by Kuang, who really makes the truth of war evident, often in an unpleasant way. This decision by her was powerful and allowed the reality to speak for itself. The atrocities of war are real and spark further atrocities to be dreamt of in the form of revenge.
This was a fantastic book and I’m looking forward to the entire series. This one was a reread for me in order to put myself back into this world and I am ready and reread of book 2 and finally the finale.
Highly recommend for dark fantasy lovers.
This is the first of a trilogy and debut for Kuang. This is a terrific start in this trilogy and definitely leaves you ready for the remaining books.
I found the story to really do two things extremely well: 1) allow the characters humanity to be evident, in their imperfect decisions and 2) show a realistic rather than romanticized view of war. From the protagonist to the surrounding characters, even those of the superiors in classes and battle, everyone has weaknesses and makes difficult choices. This felt very real to me and it was clear how decisions can be made in the moment that haven’t been fully thought through by the characters. Same thing with the view of war...there is no holding back by Kuang, who really makes the truth of war evident, often in an unpleasant way. This decision by her was powerful and allowed the reality to speak for itself. The atrocities of war are real and spark further atrocities to be dreamt of in the form of revenge.
This was a fantastic book and I’m looking forward to the entire series. This one was a reread for me in order to put myself back into this world and I am ready and reread of book 2 and finally the finale.
Highly recommend for dark fantasy lovers.