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A review by river24
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
5.0
5/5
War doesn’t determine who’s right. War determines who remains.
This is one of the best fantasy books I’ve ever read! It’s a dark military fantasy with a heart wrenching story you could never begin to predict.
The writing is so vivid and so beautiful, the writing style and pace is perfect and the story is told exactly how it should be. I could sing this books praises forever.
The characters were all incredibly well-written and complex. They all had amazing character arcs (both positive and negative ones) that developed realistically and with such intrigue and nuance. Their morals were ever-changing and they faced difficult decisions with such human vulnerability. They seemed so real and complicated.
This book is notorious for being the darkest thing you’ll ever read and it completely lives up to that so please check trigger warnings, there’s a lot of violence. It unflinchingly shows the horrors of war without remorse and without pity for ignorant eyes. It perfectly carves horrifying descriptions of true pain and suffering. It’s not for the faint of heart!
Was she now a goddess or a monster? Perhaps neither. Perhaps both.
The world politics and relations are incredibly written and poignant. The world building and innovative world history are developed so well and artfully tie into the current plot.
I love any book with old gods and morally grey/corrupt characters and this book delivered over and over and over again. It was amazing from the beginning and only got better and better!
I loved that there was no distinct hero and villain, no one person or country was wholly good or wholly evil. Every single character was woven into such a perfectly human mess of morality. There was no right answer in the face of this destruction. There was no honour in both the building or collapsing of empires. I adored every moment!
Children ceased to be children when you put a sword in their hands. When you taught them to fight a war, then you armed them and put them on the front lines, they were not children anymore. They were soldiers.
War doesn’t determine who’s right. War determines who remains.
This is one of the best fantasy books I’ve ever read! It’s a dark military fantasy with a heart wrenching story you could never begin to predict.
The writing is so vivid and so beautiful, the writing style and pace is perfect and the story is told exactly how it should be. I could sing this books praises forever.
The characters were all incredibly well-written and complex. They all had amazing character arcs (both positive and negative ones) that developed realistically and with such intrigue and nuance. Their morals were ever-changing and they faced difficult decisions with such human vulnerability. They seemed so real and complicated.
This book is notorious for being the darkest thing you’ll ever read and it completely lives up to that so please check trigger warnings, there’s a lot of violence. It unflinchingly shows the horrors of war without remorse and without pity for ignorant eyes. It perfectly carves horrifying descriptions of true pain and suffering. It’s not for the faint of heart!
Was she now a goddess or a monster? Perhaps neither. Perhaps both.
The world politics and relations are incredibly written and poignant. The world building and innovative world history are developed so well and artfully tie into the current plot.
I love any book with old gods and morally grey/corrupt characters and this book delivered over and over and over again. It was amazing from the beginning and only got better and better!
I loved that there was no distinct hero and villain, no one person or country was wholly good or wholly evil. Every single character was woven into such a perfectly human mess of morality. There was no right answer in the face of this destruction. There was no honour in both the building or collapsing of empires. I adored every moment!
Children ceased to be children when you put a sword in their hands. When you taught them to fight a war, then you armed them and put them on the front lines, they were not children anymore. They were soldiers.