faroroshae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Confinement, Vomit, Torture, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Murder, Classism, Gaslighting, Blood, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Death, Racism, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Child death, Violence, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Addiction, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, and Miscarriage
imanqblake's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Torture, Confinement, Death, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, and War
cemeterygay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Self harm, Violence, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Torture, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Cannibalism
Additional CW: Scientific racism, Christian imperialism, and colorismperseffable's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Gore, War, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Violence, Torture, Classism, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, and Racism
Moderate: Trafficking, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Gun violence
Minor: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Medical content, Confinement, Child death, Xenophobia, Abortion, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Infertility, Gun violence, Excrement, Cursing, and Chronic illness
aehist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Racism, War, Xenophobia, Torture, Religious bigotry, Injury/injury detail, Gore, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Colonisation, Child death, Cannibalism, Body horror, Blood, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, and Abortion
andromeda_1998's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As the people who read my review of the poppy war will know, I love the character and worldbuilding in this series. R.F. Kuang shows us the brutality of war in a really graphic way. And I believe this is the only way to make people see the history of humankind. A lot of readers have problems with the gruesome depictions of war in this series but this is how war looks like. The most horrendous things have been done in wartime’s and we have to acknowledge the fact that humanity could have been spared a lot of horrors if we would just accept each other. R.F Kuang says it best: “They believe in a singular and all-powerful deity, which means they cannot accept the truth of other gods. And when nations start to believe that other beliefs lead to damnation, violence becomes inevitable.”
Why did I give this amazing book 4 stars instead of five? The start of this book is slow. At around a hundred pages the story picks up but around 300 pages it falls flat and I had to fight till around 500 pages in for the plot to pick up again.
This book could have been better and I feel one of the reasons that this happens is because there isn’t a lot happening between the characters. We don’t really get scenes where they get to know each other. This book focuses on the war talk and the strategy behind fights and sometimes you head just needs a break and some human interaction between characters could do the trick.
I would still recommend this series though! The books are amazing but before you start reading them check the triggerwarnings!
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Genocide, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Trafficking
jordanrds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm
Minor: Abortion, Child abuse, Excrement, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Death of parent
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
I love Rin and Kitay’s friendship. I loved seeing Venka and Rin become allies and then friends. Rin and Nezha’s dynamic was also very interesting to me. I know this series is a military fantasy inspired by real Chinese fantasy and it isn’t at all focused on romance, but can I just say that there’s SOMETHING going on between those two? Is that just me? While I like the way his character was written, I don’t love Nezha the way I do Rin and Kitay. I’m in a love-hate relationship with him at the moment. I’m excited yet concerned to see what unfolds in the final novel, given that every single review of it I’ve seen just talks about how heart-wrenching it is. I’ll get there eventually.
Representation
- protagonist of color
- some side characters of color
Graphic: Violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Blood, Body horror, Addiction, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Xenophobia, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Ableism, Abortion, Pedophilia, and Miscarriage
xandraj's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Rape, Drug abuse, Body horror, Child death, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Blood, Death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Vomit, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Genocide, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Dementia, Pedophilia, and Slavery
maggieslibrarycard's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Xenophobia, Vomit, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Cursing, Confinement, Child death, Body horror, and Blood
Minor: Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Bullying, and Alcoholism