Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

1738 reviews

frog_appreciator's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

Very odd pacing, felt disjointed. I wasn’t invested for most of the book and it felt tropey which is not like Kuang’s other books I’ve read. Took a dark turn in the last bit, and Rin became more interesting. That dubious morals and way too much power is why I’ll keep reading. It serves its purpose for connection to the horror of the real world as it’s based on true events. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Self harm, Addiction, Body horror, War, Rape, Torture, Drug abuse, Child death, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

uphorikbooks's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

A great read, occasional pandering but an impressive debut. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, Murder, Confinement, Physical abuse, Addiction, Torture, Violence, War, Gore, Rape, Child death, Drug use, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, and Genocide

Minor: Slavery, Animal death, Misogyny, and Suicide

Many scenes come from real atrocities throughout history

savannah201's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Colonisation, Murder, Addiction, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Blood, Torture, and Sexual assault

Most of the content warnings happen when they go Golyn Niis toward the end of the book

michealasharp's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, War, Torture, Rape, Racism, Suicide, Genocide, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Violence, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Murder, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Gore, Death, Bullying, Body horror, Blood, and Addiction

exeidur's review against another edition

4.25

A solid first part of a trilogy. I absolutely loved the start and was drawn in quickly. Rin is a very strong character, and different from a lot of fantasy protagonists - she goes further in her rage and vengeance, she will do anything to achieve her goals, but she is also massively insecure and desperately seeks validation from her teachers. It is interesting to see how war both enhances and changes her characteristics.

Great cast of characters - though there were a bit many to remember at some point -, a solid writing style, and a well-structured plot with some twists and turns that do ultimately make a lot of sense. 8,5/10

I could've done with a little less horrifying descriptions of dead babies near the end, but you can't say Kuang is pulling any punches. And since its sadly based on reality, I can't really complain.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, War, Child death, Medical trauma, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Rape, Addiction, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Bullying, Murder, Sexual assault, Torture, Abandonment, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug use, and Genocide

meganpbell's review against another edition

challenging dark informative tense medium-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

4.5

Everything you’ve heard about this brutal achievement of an epic fantasy is true—it’s grim, dark, and will leave you gutted. Inspired by the events of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the most ghastly aspects of The Poppy War are horrific because they’re based in historical truth. Through following Rin from child to student to soldier to shaman, R. F. Kuang graphically demonstrates the evils of imperialism and war, as well as rage and vengeance. I’m scared and a little sick to my stomach, but let’s start the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Genocide, Murder, Blood, Drug use, Classism, Grief, Addiction, Ableism, Animal death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture

Minor: Infertility, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

bootsmom3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Genocide, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Animal death, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Violence, War, Blood, Child death, Drug use, Dysphoria, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Torture, Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Murder

airguac's review against another edition

adventurous 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

First: PLEASE look at the content warnings before you read. There are a lot of triggering things in this novel. There are parts of this book that hard to read due to the graphic content.

This book gripped me in a way no other has in a while. Thrilling and haunting in equal measure. The Poppy War will make you laugh and hope, and then slap you with the atrocities of war. You will root for the protagonist, Rin, and fear her all at once. You will sympathize with characters you once hated. You will watch characters morph and change for the better, but more often for the worse. 

Rin is a poor war orphan who studies her way out of Rooster Province and into the prestigious Sinegard Academy. The events that unfold from there, I will leave for you to discover. Needless to say, I will be continuing this series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Classism, Death, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Genocide, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, War, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

agenericmirkwoodelf's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Rape, Drug use, Death, Addiction, Sexual violence, War, Child death, and Blood

annaruthh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Moderate: Violence