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carolinewithane 's review for:
The Poppy War
by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2021—reread it before continuing the series and i feel i enjoyed the story much more, as i knew what to expect. bumping one star up!
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3.5 stars
I haven’t felt so torn about a book in a long time.
“The Poppy War” is about a peasant girl who, against all odds, is accepted in the most prestigious military academy in the country—just as it is in the verge of breaking into war. It’s astoundingly impressive, especially if you consider the author was 21 when she wrote it. It’s three books worthy of plot knitted together seamlessly. Most characters are incredibly well-crafted. It’s a story about war that doesn’t pull any punches. This is about as bloody as it gets.
But... I’m not entirely sure I enjoyed reading most of it. The writing is a bit too simplistic for my tastes. I can usually endure it when I connect with the characters, but no matter how three-dimensional they were, I didn’t truly like any of them, with the sole exception being Jiang. Once he stopped having a prominent role, my tolerance for the immaturity of the protagonist started wavering—as well as for the profoundly questionable stuff characters I’m sure we were supposed to root for did. It doesn’t help that, once shit hit the fan, the lighthearted parts evaporated, and there was only violence, and violence, and more violence.
It tires, after a while. I also felt it lingered a bit too long, a bit too gratuitously, in some of the most terrible parts. I had to take breaks to read HP fanfic to easy my mind. (No, really.)
Part One, at the military school, was my favourite. A bit too fast-paced, but still very enjoyable. Part Two was tough but still interesting enough, at least until the last couple of chapters, which I didn’t like at all. Part Three conflicts me.
Still, many parts of it were absolutely incredible. Many messages the book conveys and questions it poses are absolutely important. I’m honestly looking forward to the sequel, and truly recommend the book to anyone who likes their fantasy bloody, warring, and morally grey. Just know that basically every violent, triggering thing you can imagine happening will happen.
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3.5 stars
I haven’t felt so torn about a book in a long time.
“The Poppy War” is about a peasant girl who, against all odds, is accepted in the most prestigious military academy in the country—just as it is in the verge of breaking into war. It’s astoundingly impressive, especially if you consider the author was 21 when she wrote it. It’s three books worthy of plot knitted together seamlessly. Most characters are incredibly well-crafted. It’s a story about war that doesn’t pull any punches. This is about as bloody as it gets.
But... I’m not entirely sure I enjoyed reading most of it. The writing is a bit too simplistic for my tastes. I can usually endure it when I connect with the characters, but no matter how three-dimensional they were, I didn’t truly like any of them, with the sole exception being Jiang. Once he stopped having a prominent role, my tolerance for the immaturity of the protagonist started wavering—as well as for the profoundly questionable stuff characters I’m sure we were supposed to root for did. It doesn’t help that, once shit hit the fan, the lighthearted parts evaporated, and there was only violence, and violence, and more violence.
It tires, after a while. I also felt it lingered a bit too long, a bit too gratuitously, in some of the most terrible parts. I had to take breaks to read HP fanfic to easy my mind. (No, really.)
Part One, at the military school, was my favourite. A bit too fast-paced, but still very enjoyable. Part Two was tough but still interesting enough, at least until the last couple of chapters, which I didn’t like at all. Part Three conflicts me.
Still, many parts of it were absolutely incredible. Many messages the book conveys and questions it poses are absolutely important. I’m honestly looking forward to the sequel, and truly recommend the book to anyone who likes their fantasy bloody, warring, and morally grey. Just know that basically every violent, triggering thing you can imagine happening will happen.