Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

1593 reviews

emislostinabook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional fast-paced

• 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? No

5.0

This was an incredible work. The battle/war was intense and Gorey at times so check triggers if you are considering reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Gore, and Violence

becky_catherine's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug use, War, Drug abuse, and Genocide

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Xenophobia, Racism, and Torture

thewrightsage's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.5

Cool book, was not mentally prepared for it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Misogyny, Child death, Slavery, Sexual violence, Death, Body horror, Gore, Genocide, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Murder, Child abuse, and Addiction

keshawnc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Rape, War, Addiction, Classism, and Death

secretgoldfish's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

I've never read a book where I didn't know who to root for by the end. I've also never read a book that went from 0 to 100 so fast.
The vibe of this book is the scene in Mulan where they're singing about girls and then they come over the hill and see the village burned to the ground.
Its so sudden. So jarring. And so intense. I loved every second of this book. Its so real and mystical at the same time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Vomit, Bullying, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, War, Addiction, Blood, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Classism, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Child death, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping

themadbloodstone's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• 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

I was never a real fan of fantasy books. They all felt the same to me and I always struggled reading them. However, The Poppy War was refreshing, unpredictable, and beautifully written. It did not shy away from the horrors of genocide and the aftermath of genocide, using Rin’s character development to symbolize the effects of war.
Even though there were some flaws in this book (such as the author reusing the same similes within pages of another or the odd will-they-won’t-they between Rin and Altan and Nezha), R.F. Kuang’s debut novel is definitely deserving of 5/5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Misogyny, Genocide, Death, Rape, War, Violence, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Bullying, and Classism

Moderate: Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Mental illness, and Addiction

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Death of parent

freyaturtle's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Good book- very gripping and really enjoyed the world-building, especially how it maps onto the history and politics of contemporary East Asia (China, Japan, Taiwan). Sometimes could be a bit convoluted/ confusing (definitely took a while to understand how all the different layers of lore map onto each other) and agree with the criticism that the middle of this book is too drawn-out. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Rape, Suicide, Violence, War, Drug use, and Genocide

yatesanna's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Drug abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child death, Death, Drug use, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Colonisation, Confinement, Addiction, Suicide, Rape, and Sexual assault

rabekah0's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Sexual violence, Torture, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Sexual assault, Violence, War, Sexual content, Addiction, and Drug abuse

adelin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Torture, Death, War, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Addiction, and Rape