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
joeynystrom'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Gore, Slavery, Sexual assault, Torture, Genocide, Mass/school shootings, Violence, and Body horror
mdiffer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Torture, Drug abuse, and War
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
nushka_online's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed the Poppy War and devoured it rather quickly but I did have some things I didn't love so much. I read about half of this as an e-book and the other half I listened to the audiobook, switching frequently between the two and the narrator also did a great job.
I see a lot of comments comparing Book One to The Name of the Wind, initially I saw some minor similarities but I felt as though the school thing was a fairly common trop in fantasy, especially YA/middle-grade so it didn't feel that comparable, but admittedly nearly everything to do with Jiang/Lore brought The Name of the Wind to mind. The tone shift after they leave Sinegard was a little sudden, Rin's relationship/feelings towards Altan felt a little inconsistent too but maybe that's understandable given circumstances.
I also felt that since it was a fantasy, but almost everything had a direct real world equivalent (aside from Speer which was Taiwan but only barely), I felt a lot less drawn in by the world-building than I normally am in fantasy. That being said, I still enjoyed the historic parallels, though at some points I was like oh so that's literally just the Art of War, or recounting
Spoiler
near exact accounts of the Rape of Nanjing. Some of Venka's accounts of the relaxation house felt a little much for meI still found it an easy book to get into and enjoy, although there were some scenes especially listening to the audiobook made me uncomfortable, and I did enjoy most of the characters. I like (view spoiler) I have somewhat mixed feelings about Rin and Altan's characters but I do like how their choices were portrayed and I'm interested to see how the story progresses in the next two
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Physical abuse, Torture, War, Sexual assault, Genocide, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Slavery, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Xenophobia
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Slavery, and Infertility
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
- 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
adn_v's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Violence, Genocide, Sexual assault, Drug use, Self harm, Xenophobia, Drug abuse, War, and Racism
mervegms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault
lillie102's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.0
I'm not sure if i lacked compassion or thought from where Rin was coming from, but i genuinely wish that it was told from someone else's perspective. Also, I didn't like the relationship dynamic between Rin and Altan, nuh uh.
On another note, the storytelling of this was absolutely gorgeous. the writing was so easy to read. The story just flowed and moved.
I'm not sure if i want to read the second and third books, but i feel like i should, just to see if Rin redeems herself.
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, War, and Violence