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A review by miyaosamu
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
5.0
“Her destiny had not been written in the stars, or in the registers of the Pantheon. She had made her choices fully and autonomously. She was no victim of destiny.”
08/21/21 reread — just pain and much regrets of my choices in rereading the poppy war. despite the trauma i am still in from this trilogy i read exactly a year ago it was so good to be back in this wonderful painful world kuang created and characters i cherish near and dear to my heart, especially taking in the time in sinegard when things were simple. also noticing more things such as allusions to moments in the next two books and even foreshadowing to major moments in the burning god that were in this first installment. again still in awe of the magic system kuang created based off very much real history of the opium wars and lore of the shamans and their gods. in addition to not romanticizing war as most fantasies with the brutally descriptive chapter 21 being based off the massacre and rape of nanjing. yet i'm pushing forward to continuing to reread the rest of trilogy because i clearly love being miserable, jokes aside even though it will be a rough journey knowing the ending of this series i can't wait to continue and be back with characters i love with my whole heart and more.
_
08/23/20 1st read — The Poppy War's stunning entirety cannot be conveyed into enough words. I don't know where to start, like holy shit? I've never read anything like this, the development this book has was so wonderfully done, the intricacy of the system of powers from the gods and the pacing was perfect. I'm just in utter awe of The Poppy War and Kuang's outstanding writing and depth of knowledge weaving history's truth as elements in her fictional world. Part three of the book was gruesome and horrifying, very descriptive wholly different to what I've ever read before in any historical war fantasy. But nevertheless, it really tied in well in demonstrating the true horrors of war and contributed to Rin's development and choices in what she decided to do. This was just a personal preference bias since I love boarding school settings, I did wish we were able to spend more time in Sinegard, but regardless I very much enjoyed the way the war was just thrust upon them. As they were forced to grow up and become the soldiers for the war they were trained for. I love Rin, Nezha, Kitay, Altan and the Cike so much, along with that particular arc for Venka. Rin's development was brilliant, she went from questioning and tedious to "fuck morals" and I fully support her in that endeavor. And I'm so glad Kitay will be there to contrast that as he definitely will be constantly telling her off about every decision she goes about. Nezha, best boy he means everything to me, how much he's matured, and regrets his past actions. The dynamic going on between him and Rin especially how they've grown to subtly care for each other, yes I am looking directly at it. Altan was definitely a character where I did not expect where his arc went and grown to empathize for him a lot. I'm very much looking forward to seeing where all these characters' story lines go in the next book!
“I have become something wonderful, she thought. I have become something terrible. Was she now a goddess or a monster? Perhaps neither. Perhaps both.”
08/21/21 reread — just pain and much regrets of my choices in rereading the poppy war. despite the trauma i am still in from this trilogy i read exactly a year ago it was so good to be back in this wonderful painful world kuang created and characters i cherish near and dear to my heart, especially taking in the time in sinegard when things were simple. also noticing more things such as allusions to moments in the next two books and even foreshadowing to major moments in the burning god that were in this first installment. again still in awe of the magic system kuang created based off very much real history of the opium wars and lore of the shamans and their gods. in addition to not romanticizing war as most fantasies with the brutally descriptive chapter 21 being based off the massacre and rape of nanjing. yet i'm pushing forward to continuing to reread the rest of trilogy because i clearly love being miserable, jokes aside even though it will be a rough journey knowing the ending of this series i can't wait to continue and be back with characters i love with my whole heart and more.
_
08/23/20 1st read — The Poppy War's stunning entirety cannot be conveyed into enough words. I don't know where to start, like holy shit? I've never read anything like this, the development this book has was so wonderfully done, the intricacy of the system of powers from the gods and the pacing was perfect. I'm just in utter awe of The Poppy War and Kuang's outstanding writing and depth of knowledge weaving history's truth as elements in her fictional world. Part three of the book was gruesome and horrifying, very descriptive wholly different to what I've ever read before in any historical war fantasy. But nevertheless, it really tied in well in demonstrating the true horrors of war and contributed to Rin's development and choices in what she decided to do. This was just a personal preference bias since I love boarding school settings, I did wish we were able to spend more time in Sinegard, but regardless I very much enjoyed the way the war was just thrust upon them. As they were forced to grow up and become the soldiers for the war they were trained for. I love Rin, Nezha, Kitay, Altan and the Cike so much, along with that particular arc for Venka. Rin's development was brilliant, she went from questioning and tedious to "fuck morals" and I fully support her in that endeavor. And I'm so glad Kitay will be there to contrast that as he definitely will be constantly telling her off about every decision she goes about. Nezha, best boy he means everything to me, how much he's matured, and regrets his past actions. The dynamic going on between him and Rin especially how they've grown to subtly care for each other, yes I am looking directly at it. Altan was definitely a character where I did not expect where his arc went and grown to empathize for him a lot. I'm very much looking forward to seeing where all these characters' story lines go in the next book!
“I have become something wonderful, she thought. I have become something terrible. Was she now a goddess or a monster? Perhaps neither. Perhaps both.”