Something has been nagging me ever since I finished reading this and I finally know what it is:

1. the plot twists didn't surprise me because they felt sort of cliche. I guess I expected something more unique than a sort-of-but-not-really deus ex machina. But I do have to admit that I still think the metaphors of

Spoiler

how their powers works with these gods possessing them

is a different take on

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another pyrokinetic

2. the pacing of part 2 and part 3 felt off to me with the tone change. Especially part 3 because I feel like the infamous chapter was just added for the shock factor? that I didn't get shocked. Certain aspects felt too abrupt.. but then again this is war so I have a feeling Kuang meant for it to feel that way.

Okay that's it. I still loved this book and this is just a reminder to not let the hype get to you.

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ORIGINAL REVIEW:

This book is Mistborn + Nevernight but make it historically asian inspired, then add about a dozen trigger warnings (this includes but not limited to: drug abuse, drug addiction, rape, genocide, animal death, misogyny, death of a loved one, ++) just so that you're aware and prepare because R.F. Kuang will write it without any sugarcoating of any kind

Which basically describes the writing style of this whole book: YA with no sugarcoating... so basically New Adult? Adult with YA characters?

— overall thoughts: 4.5 —
⇢ content warnings//

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Abandonment, Ableism, Abuse (emotional and physical), Addiction, Animal death/cruelty, Assault, Blood, Bones, Bullying, Character death, Decapitation, Drugs, Fatphobia (unchallenged), Fire, Genocide, Gore, Hostages, Human experimentation, Infertility, Massacres, Misogyny, Mutilation, Murder (including children), Profanity, Racism, Rape (past, recollected), Self-harm, Skeletons, Torture, Violence (including against children), War

Very immersive, especially to someone like me who loves academy/military-esque settings that ends up building up to something more. At this point, the world is so alive in my imagination that it now has it’s own compartment in my head.

The fact that this was so well-researched bleeds into the prose and the writing. I don’t want to go into detail about the history because I could be very wrong in a lot of parts but I suggest that you do your own little research while reading or after you have read this book about the historical significances. (I highly recommend Tiffany's blog post: https://readbytiffany.com/2020/11/15/everything-you-need-to-know-before-you-read-the-poppy-war-by-r-f-kuang/)

You can of course just read it like any other high fantasy and you’ll be fine. I just appreciate it so much when an author takes the time to research on the finer details in historical fiction and it always shows in the book itself.

”But how does the existence or nonexistence of the gods affect me? Why does it matter how the universe came to be?”

“Because you’re part of it. Because you exist. And unless you want to only ever be a tiny modicum of existence that doesn’t understand its relation to the grander web of things, you will explore.

The fact that that quote could be interpreted both metaphorically and literally and still hit hard either way.

I loved how flawless the transitions were from scene to scene and from part to part. It's a very technical thing but it was executed so well in terms of storytelling. There is a whole lot of world-building going on, especially in part I and the rest of this series is us just kind of going through war through the eyes of Rin. I appreciated how much each scene was fleshed out without it ever being dragging. Dynamic.

The mix of different asian culture was also a huge selling point to me. Everything that went into the writing of this book was not in vain.

I am going to be honest that a big chunk of this still felt YA to me in terms of the plot and overall tone despite the very graphic/dark scenes. But I just might be immune to those at this point. Nonetheless, be warned if you are easily triggered. The themes are still very dark if you think about it and I have no doubt the levels will increase as the series goes on.

There were times when the writing tended to info dump and become more “telling” rather than “showing”. But there were still so many elements that made me keep reading (*ahem* Nezha) that I just kept absorbing the info dumps and storing it in my head.

"If there is a divine creator, some ultimate moral authority, then why do bad things happen to good people? And why would this deity create people at all, since people are such imperfect beings."

This quote spoke to me just because of how much it sounded like something that we have talked about in my religion classes. These are very common questions used in discussions in academic settings especially with those who study certain religions, like Catholicism. Particularly, in asian countries since a lot do believe in gods/God, which is a subtle touch that I really liked because of how prevalent it is in the modern world. Especially when you think about how this plays into the build up of the Lore of the fantastical kingdom in the book.

I love it when fantasy books are able to grasp the ideas of abstract concepts from real life, like religion and politics, and use it as a solid foundation in their world building (i.e. this book and Mistborn).

“Children ceased to be children when you put a sword in their hands. When you taught them to fight a war, then you armed them and put them on the front lines, they were not children anymore. They were soldiers.”

It took me some time to be attached to the other characters around Rin but the build up there is also just simply well thought out. I think we'll be getting more character dynamics and relationships in the next book though because this was mainly about Rin and getting familiar with the world (which was done to near perfection, I have quite literally run out of words to express my appreciation for this world building).


↣ Read this if you like dynamic epic fantasies, especially asian-inspired ones, that are rich in culture with a dash of historical fiction AND GODS. And of course, everyone's personal favorite: morally grey characters. ↢

I do think this is still building up to more things but at the same time I was just left feeling so empty (in a good way) that the only way I can fill the gap in my heart is by starting the next book.

“War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who remains.”

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