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The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang Review


The Poppy War is the first book in the Poppy War trilogy written by R.F. Kuang. It is a historical military fantasy that has it's roots in the bloody history of China's 20th century. We follow a character named Rin, who, after succeeding a test get's a spot at the highly prestigious school of Sinegard. Being of low standing, it's not easy for her to find her footing and making enemies seemingly comes easier than making friends. While she's there, she discoveres that she has seems to posses the powers of the shamans. A people who derive their powers from the gods. And Rin has been linked to one of the most powerfull gods their are. The god of vengence, the Phoenix. Her power and that of other shamans is feared by many and considered extinct by more than even that. She gets the opportunity to learn more about herself and her powers from the lunatic master at the school, making herself even more of an outcast. But, when the Federation of Mugen comes knocking at the Sinegardian gates, threatening another Poppy War, Rin unleashes her powers and in doing so, makes herself a key in the oncoming war. While Rin tries to figure out more about herself and her powers now that her tutelage at the school has been cut short, she finds out that the power of the Phoenix may be more powerfull than she had bargained for. Maybe even more than she can handle. Tapping into the Phoenix' powers may be just what she needs to win this war. But will it cost her her humanity in the process?


My Review - Spoilers!

Starting out, this book seemed slow to start. That being said, from the moment I started to read, it flew by. It was very easy to read and it made me want to keep going. The whole part about Sinegard was interesting and a good way to teach us more about the world and it's history. I thought the story would start to pick up once we discovered that Rin had powers, but the story lulled on a little while longer after that. It was only once Mugen hit Sinegard that I felt the real story was about to begin. I honestly didn't think it would happen as soon as it did. This book covered a lot more ground than I thought it would, considering there are two more books after this one.

A few of the characters we meet throughout really peeked my interest. Altan, Chagan and Nezah being the three that really grabed my intention. But all of the characters we meet in the Cike has a great backstory and they all feel very fleshed out. I refuse to believe Nezah is dead by the way! Altan on the other hand, he seems to have died a heroes death.


Some more thoughts...


This was the first book I can remember reading that made me sick to my stomach at a certain point. The description of the war crimes was vile and harrowing and outright disgusting. Realizing therefore, that this story is based in reality, made it all the worse. This doesn't come up for a while, but when it hits. Oof, it hits hard. I questioned if this grotesque description was necesarry at a certain point while I was reading it. But, it actually is. From that point forward, Rin made some choices that I didn't agree with, but having the vivid memory of the war crimes in the back of my mind, I could see where she was coming from. It just wasn't the right decision in my mind. I'm curious to see how they're going to continue this story in the next few books.


I'm curious to continue this story, but I'm not running to the store to get the books if that makes sense? I want to know, I don't HAVE to know. This story did not hold it's punches in the second half and I'm a little bit scared to see where it's going to go. It's obvious that Kuang isn't scared to make an unpopular choice or to describe gruesome scenes. I might have to mentally prepare myself for the next installement.

Let me know if you've read this series and what you thought about it! I'm curious to hear your thoughts. Hope to talk to you soon!

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