bergha1998'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
3.75
Fantasy, Historical, Found Family
“I believe in gods as a cultural reference. As metaphors. As things we refer to keep us safe because we can’t do anything else, as manifestations of our neuroses. But not as things that I truly trust are real. Not as things that hold actual consequence for the universe.”
“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.”
“It was, simply, what happened when one race decided that the other was insignificant.”
“And if your opponent was not human, if your opponent was a cockroach, what did it matter how many of them you killed?”
“If you were the victim, what could you say to make your tormentor recognize you as human? How did you get your enemy to recognize you at all?”
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, War, Blood, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Gore, Grief, Murder, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Xenophobia, Addiction, Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, and Vomit
geminireader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I don’t know what book I read but it was not anywhere near the 5 star book people have described it as. I really don’t even know where to start. The main character… I feel absolutely nothing. I’m not even sure I could give more than 2 characteristics that describe her. She is simply there to carry the plot as it must follow a character but I feel nothing for her. Others critique that they dislike her… I am jealous of that because at least they feel something. Dislike is more intriguing than nothing at all. Just absolutely no character development. And are her driving pain really isn’t even her own? Maybe if we got to spend time with her at the beginning or had a more compelling backstory but I really have a hard time even feeling bad for her supposedly abusive childhood. So all her “rage” comes off very superficial and egotistical. I would have rather followed Altan who had a more genuine backstory and understandable rage. I can understand plot-wise why Rin is the choice and not Altan but still. The reader pays for that choice. While we’re at it, a critique of this book is that it doesn’t have romance. I’d argue it has something much worse: it has a feeble “will they won’t they” with the main character and someone who is implied to their sibling/at least related. And when I say feeble, I mean FEEBLE. They barely talk. And quite honestly, the fact that there was even a hint of romance in this book really disgusts me considering the content this book contains. There is so much more issue I have with the “characters” in this book (put in quotations because they are so weak) but we’ve hit a good transition into plot time. The content of this book is devastating and unfortunately, the real atrocities of this book aren’t fiction. As you probably know, this book is derived from the second Sino-Japanese war, which was a really heinous time in all of human history. So, I agree with all the other reviews on here saying the reader takes on some heavy trauma. But what bothers me so much about this, is that I felt so emotional reading this content because it is historical and completely inhuman, not because the writing/story/characters or literally anything about this book made me feel that way. Which I guess brings me to a point where I would have felt nothing from this book or story if it hadn’t contained retellings of real events.
In summary (pat on the back if you actually read this), I am greatly disappointed. I was so excited going into this read. And now I feel guilty tearing it down because it’s an East Asian fantasy that has reached high popularity and has added some much needed diversity to the fantasy section (getting a little tired of the Greek mythology retellings over here). But a book still has to be good. And I would argue this book, objectively, isn’t good. If anyone is curious, I will still be attempting the second book as I’ve read it has major improvements on the first. Funny, im trusting those reviews even after the glowing reviews from the first book betrayed me. But alas, this is how badly I want to like this series. Stay tuned.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Torture, Animal death, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, War, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Genocide, Blood, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, and Racism
melissafelicia'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
4.0
However, the character growth went a different way than I expected or would have hoped, which made the book frustrating at times. It was also waaayyy darker and graphically violent than I expected (that's on me for not wanting to spoil myself and not reading any of the reviews or authors' statements about trigger warnings). I still think it's a very well written book and an interesting world and I'm curious how the story will continue, but I might need to take a little break before starting part 2.
Graphic: Medical trauma, Rape, Gore, Self harm, Sexual assault, War, Death, Genocide, Grief, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Addiction, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail
lizy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Xenophobia, Death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Genocide
Moderate: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, and Drug use
Minor: Kidnapping
k_o's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, Infertility, Murder, Violence, Drug use, Physical abuse, War, Sexual violence, Vomit, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Genocide, Grief, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Torture
bekahzabel'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? No
5.0
The Poppy War was on a completely different plane than most books I’ve read this year, in a good way. This was a heart wrenching literary masterpiece to me. A 6 star book. Military fantasy meets magic & the spiritual realm. Not sure I can put into words how much I loved this entire storyline, but I am BROKEN.
Imma have to give myself a break in between to heal before I start Dragon Republic because my world just got ROCKED. If you heard this was good they lied, it’s great.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Drug use, Abandonment, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Genocide, and Grief
Moderate: Hate crime, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, War, and Rape
_justjess's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Physical abuse, Torture, Vomit, Addiction, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Genocide, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, War, Sexual assault, Violence, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, and Sexual violence
pages_to_go_until_i_sleep'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
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Murder, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Genocide, Bullying, Addiction, War, Violence, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Sexual assault, Drug use, Racism, Gore, Drug abuse, and Death
gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I enjoyed that the author really gave us a morally corrupt character arc, and threw a lot of questions about the ethics of war and war tactics.
I wish that the character of Rin was a bit more consistent throughout the novel, in her unwavering strength. I feel like the first and last third see her with the willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed.
Really reminded me of the quote: “You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” This definitely challenged the view of the hero’s revenge quest trope, and if the means to get there are worth the cost.
I would have rated this higher if it had a little bit less of the graphic depictions of what happened in a specific genocide. I think it’s possible to mention the atrocities without painting so bleak a picture in what I can only assume are very triggering ways. I’ll see how the rest of the series plays out, but I’ve liked Kuang’s other writing, so hoping it the other books are better for me.
Graphic: Violence, War, and Genocide
Moderate: Addiction, Self harm, Rape, and Medical trauma
Minor: Child death, Animal death, Colonisation, and Fire/Fire injury
While it is off-page and not from a POV, there is sequence that a character describes the assault of women who are prisoners of war it gets graphic, but can be skipped and will not change the narrative of the genocide atSpoiler
Gyolin Niiskc_mellow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Note: be prepared for the graphic content in chapter 21. A lot of is based off true events that occurred during the Rape of Nanjing.
Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Child death, War, Genocide, Racism, Murder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Blood