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

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 

This is one of those books I had heard of forever but I had never picked up. And now I regret not picking it up sooner. 

I had heard this was a grim fantasy, but I didn’t expect it to be this dark. The depiction of war is one of the more realistic ones for a fantasy novel. I can handle a lot but some of the scenes genuinely made my heart plummet

Chapter 21. Chapter 21. Chapter 21.

 

All of the characters we spend time with are complex and fleshed out. If you are tired of fantasy novels promising you “morally grey” characters and then giving you really weak morally grey characters, please pick up this book. Everyone in this novel isn’t a goody two shoes. There are layers to every character, especially the main character. I’m hoping in the next book we can see her interacting with her classmates more.

I’m also hoping for some found family action since she’s the commander of the Cike

 

The magic system is also really cool. It’s not the most original, but that doesn’t matter here. I hope we can get more lore about shamans and the gods and goddesses in the next book. 

The ONLY issue that popped at me consistently was that the time skips weren’t very clear. A year in book time will pass in like a chapter with little fanfare. But this is a minuscule issue to be honest, because it doesn’t mess up the flow too much
 

Recommend for: People who want morally grey, female rage, shamans and a tense political war. 

5/5 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Racism, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug Use:

In order to access the gods, they have to get high, the drug use itself isn't graphic but its used so much I felt it necessary to put in this category, one of the characters was fed opium to be a soldier and he is addicted

Animal Cruelty, Animal Death

soldiers on the other side light stray animals on fire

Confinement, Medical Trauma, Medical content

one character was tormented as a kid and experimented on, later in the novel him and the main character are trapped in the same place

Colonization/Racism

The race of the main character and her friend was wiped out and used as a pawn in a war. The rage they feel about this is a driving force behind both characters

Blood, Child Death, Fire/Fire Injury, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury Detail/Physical Abuse/Torture/War:

This book takes place during a war and it does not shy away from that fact. Graphic depictions of corpses, bombings, beheadings, and general violence

Grief/Panic Attacks:

Characters react to horrors of war, one character has heavy PTSD from colonization and experimentation

Misogyny, Rape, Sexual Assault, Sexual Violence, Pregnancy

Chapter 21 a character recounts the rape she and other women felt at the hands of soldiers. And then recounts the murder of a pregnant woman and her 8-month-old fetus.