diadiscovers's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book less than the first. And I realise that Rin is meant to be the anti-hero but I really dislike her character in this book. I try to think of how young she and her friends are meant to be but it still felt like a huge disconnect from Rin in the first book. Then again, lots of things have happened to her since but it just felt like a disappointment. Also, (spoiler) I find it unbelievable that they've just suffered massive losses from a war and yet they were able to fish out that one soldier Rin burned the balls off to further solidify their reasoning for wanting to trade her off to the enemy.
georgieb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
raulterhes's review against another edition
4.0
Rin gurl, eat a snickers, your Mao is showing when you're hungry.
Second book in The Poppy War series was from my point of view a big step-up from the first book.
While the first book started with a great premise and fascinating world-building, it had some pretty big flaws, some of which Kuang evolved out of for the second book.
- In the first book there always seemed to be a rush to move the characters into position for specific events, rather than have the characters flow naturally towards said events. This caused it to feel jumpy and rushed for me. This one seemed way more structurally sound, especially pacing wise.
- While the first book felt a lot like a YA book, that wanted to be a grim-dark book for the second one I felt two things improve a lot. Firstly there is the character work. I hated every one of the characters, literally there is not a single character who I don't think should die a death of a thousand fires. Now that's some badass grid-dark there (or if you want there characters were fire -.-". I had to.sorry.). Next there was the brutality. Hear me out here, I enjoy a massive slaughter as much a the next guy, gimme gimme Abercrombie style, but the first book was not consistent with the rest of the story. The violence was there to keep the reader feeling sorry and sick for the common people (because it had to follow the Nanking Massacre). This time around the book was way more balanced. Yes there was some big violent and cruel scenes, even involving our main characters, but it felt a whole lot more cohesive to me that the first book.
Now after giving praise where praise is deserved, there's some stuff I couldn't get past. Same as with the first book, I would have enjoyed to see some more unique stuff in terms of the overall story. This not really a fantasy book, but a alternate historical retelling with a fantasy twist. I always enjoy fantasy books that inspire from real historic events, but I want to feel something unique as well, in terms of anything. This had everything historic with changed names.
But my biggest issue with this was the sole decision to have Rin lose her fire for more that half the book. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against her losing her powers, but the whole felt kind forced. The decision to attack the Autumn Palace and the whole actual attack felt like just a set-up for her to face Daji and lose her powers. After that she kinda tries to get her powers back, but like for a couple of weeks and then gives up real quick. Why is this important? Because the whole rebellion would have gone way smoother with her having powers, book would have been like half the size. I personally don't enjoy this kind of stuff, not done like this.
Overall though I truly enjoyed the second instalment in the series and have seen a lot of improvement on Kuang's writting. I don't regret going further with the series.
“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.”
Second book in The Poppy War series was from my point of view a big step-up from the first book.
While the first book started with a great premise and fascinating world-building, it had some pretty big flaws, some of which Kuang evolved out of for the second book.
- In the first book there always seemed to be a rush to move the characters into position for specific events, rather than have the characters flow naturally towards said events. This caused it to feel jumpy and rushed for me. This one seemed way more structurally sound, especially pacing wise.
- While the first book felt a lot like a YA book, that wanted to be a grim-dark book for the second one I felt two things improve a lot. Firstly there is the character work. I hated every one of the characters, literally there is not a single character who I don't think should die a death of a thousand fires. Now that's some badass grid-dark there (or if you want there characters were fire -.-". I had to.sorry.). Next there was the brutality. Hear me out here, I enjoy a massive slaughter as much a the next guy, gimme gimme Abercrombie style, but the first book was not consistent with the rest of the story. The violence was there to keep the reader feeling sorry and sick for the common people (because it had to follow the Nanking Massacre). This time around the book was way more balanced. Yes there was some big violent and cruel scenes, even involving our main characters, but it felt a whole lot more cohesive to me that the first book.
Now after giving praise where praise is deserved, there's some stuff I couldn't get past. Same as with the first book, I would have enjoyed to see some more unique stuff in terms of the overall story. This not really a fantasy book, but a alternate historical retelling with a fantasy twist. I always enjoy fantasy books that inspire from real historic events, but I want to feel something unique as well, in terms of anything. This had everything historic with changed names.
But my biggest issue with this was the sole decision to have Rin lose her fire for more that half the book. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against her losing her powers, but the whole felt kind forced. The decision to attack the Autumn Palace and the whole actual attack felt like just a set-up for her to face Daji and lose her powers. After that she kinda tries to get her powers back, but like for a couple of weeks and then gives up real quick. Why is this important? Because the whole rebellion would have gone way smoother with her having powers, book would have been like half the size. I personally don't enjoy this kind of stuff, not done like this.
Overall though I truly enjoyed the second instalment in the series and have seen a lot of improvement on Kuang's writting. I don't regret going further with the series.
dudeitsvy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
another absolute hit from r.f kuang. i fucking love this series it’s so fantastic
melissafelicia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-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? Yes
4.25
I liked this book a bit better than the first book, maybe because this time around I was prepared for how dark it could get at times. I still have some of the same comments, which are that the worldbuilding is absolutely amazing, but that I don't really like/have a hard time relating to the main character. That makes me grow frustrated with her at times. I'm reading this book more because I'm so interested in the world and in some of the side characters than in the main character.
arygirlll's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.5
upsidedown10's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
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
4.0
We still support women's wrongs in this house! I still really liked Rin's depiction and it really drove forward the narrative for me. The world really starts to open up in this one. I liked where the story goes and how singular Rin is in her mindset. I am very grateful to the flow of the narrator for the audiobook and I will definitely be going forward with the audiobook for the last one.
amoureux_des_livres's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
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
4.0
eradecki15's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
5.0