The Poppy War: A Novel: 1

5 stars! The Poppy War was an intense, unforgettable ride. The depiction of war is incredibly gruesome, rooted in real historical events, which made it both powerful and difficult to read at times. Some chapters felt a bit long, but it was absolutely worth it. I loved the fantasy elements, especially how the connection to the gods was described. Rin’s journey was gripping, and R.F. Kuang did an amazing job keeping me on edge, eager to read more.

Llegó en orden. Fue un regalo, así que no sé si la historia es buena.

Great story well written.Love the book and audiobook.

No se ni como describir este libro, es todo lo que siempre quise leer en una ficción, Rin es un personaje complejo y muy interesante, la historia es cruda pero no deja de sorprender, ahora entiendo porque lo recomiendan tanto, aunque si, puede que incomode a algunos lectores por los temas que habla pero al final del día así es la guerra, y más porque esta basado en una historia real. Pero este libro es maravilloso.

Es de sus libros favoritos y le encantó, está súper feliz sin duda le voy a comprar los demás súper buen producto

Me llego dañado de la parte de arriba

Llego en muy buenas condiciones, y se ve tal y como en las fotos.

El libro estaba dañado y una pagina sobresalia por un exceso, pero la trama hasta el momento esta bien

El libro es muy bueno pero vino roto

Ainda não li mas tô colocando aq as fotos com e sem a jacket Pra quem gosta de saber como é antes de comprar 😉

The Good: One of the most badass and brutal POV characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading, worldbuilding that rises up around the reader without you even realising, and a plot so tightly packed and paced that this veritable tome of a tale turns from page-turner to hair-tearer when you realise it’s all over but you STILL WANT MORE!The Bad: I did feel that some of the agency stalled in part three. When the rest of the book was so tightly wound, I couldn’t help but notice that it lapsed here. Regardless, this is my nit-picking for a ‘the bad’, as this is a truly fantastic book.The Ugly Truth: A coming of age epic that leads on to a magic school section of mayhem and mysticism, before spiralling into a grimdark no-holds-barred military fantasy that’d make Sun Tzu roll over in his grave to rewrite The Art of War, with Joe Abercrombie writing the foreword. The Poppy War delivers what most trilogies aspire to – in ONE BOOK.Review: For full disclosure, I read this months ago but at the time was too busy to review it properly. And then, as happens in life, things got in the way and before I knew it, months passed and still no review. The fact that this has sat in my TBR pile AFTER the TBR pile (i.e the to-be-reviewed pile after breaking free of the mountain that is the to-be-read pile) is entirely my fault.But, in a way, having put this aside for a few months has really helped me to realise how much this book got its claws into me.The Poppy War, like a drug, has me hooked.The Poppy War tells the story of Rin, a war orphan scraping at the bottom of society’s barrel. But when she passes the mandated tests of the Empire and earns her place in the most elite military school in Nikan, she learns that rising to the top doesn’t make the water in the barrel any less murky. Through teenage trials of friendship and falling out of love with your dreams, to the pains of growing up and what purpose life is supposed to hold, Rin learns life’s hardest lessons in the Sinegard military academy. Showing an aptitude for the equally mystical and mythical art of shamanism – something regarded as a bit of mumbo jumbo, or better yet, an excuse to get high – Rin learns the hard way that not all is as it seems. And just when she seems to have fought her own inner demons to a stalemate, an invading nation threatens all she knows.Now, before I continue, I need to clarify something. I’m not a fan of ‘trigger warnings’ – though that’s probably because I deal with the sentiments/emotions that the content invokes in me in a different and probably not all that healthy way – but this book is full of them. It’s a veritable who’s who of violence, abuse, and pain in all its forms. Be warned.It is also key to note that certain elements of The Poppy War are heavily influenced by the Rape of Nanjing/The Nanjing Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese war.For months now, in quiet moments when reflecting upon books, The Poppy War has crept into the back of my mind like an itch I can’t scratch – or the fix that I need. I’ve been lucky enough to read a lot of fantastic debuts in my time reviewing, and as a reader it’s as if I’ve struck gold in 2018 with all the recent releases of not-just-another-white-medieval-fantasy. The Poppy War is one of many new non-typical worlds brought to life by new voices, including Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri, The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty, and the Asian influences of RJ Barker’s Wounded Kingdom trilogy (aka the ‘Assassin’ books. #OhGirton). *From the first page, the world rose up around me. Time and again I’ve used the ‘living, breathing worldbuilding’ line in reviews, but in The Poppy War, Kuang does more than this. When I first started reading The Poppy War I thought that maybe it’s because the Asian influence is so clear and distinct that I can imagine the world easier, or maybe it’s because I was so hyped for this book I had already built the world for it inside my head. In hindsight (several months’ worth, but still a beautiful thing) it’s because Kuang’s worldbuilding and scene setting was done so cleverly that I didn’t notice the individual blocks until the whole was built and I was already sitting down with my feet up reading the book in the comfort of the newly constructed house.At which point ‘the first page’ has been and gone, and so has the first few chapters, and before I knew it, I was through the first part, with only two left to go, and I didn’t want the story to end. The plot is tightly packed, especially in the first third, which takes Rin from her ‘coming of age’ to ‘magic school’. The pace is thick and fast and doesn’t let up throughout. The only time I had an issue with the story was in part three, as I felt that some of the agency was lost at the start of that section. However, by the end Rin was well and truly back in control – or not, as it were.With every book I read I try and put my finger on the ONE thing that stands out the most for me, and with The Poppy War I had a hard time deciding what that was. Until now.It was Rin.Rin is one of the most compelling, complex and comprehensive characters I have ever read. At first she’s the underdog character, the type of ‘chosen one who was never meant to be’. Except, as the story progresses, her fierce spark of determination becomes a flicker of fire, then a flame, and by the end it’s a raging inferno. She is a heroine reminiscent of a Greek tragedy, hearty but equally heart-breaking, whose hubris and failures are linked not just to her faults but her strengths too. She is deeply flawed. Deeply. But at the same time she makes decisions based on logical comprehension that the normal person either wouldn’t see, or even bring themselves to face it and weight it as a choice. She does what others cannot, because they will not.There is a particular moment in part one, when Rin is faced with a dilemma and a decision, which I won’t cover due to spoilers. Firstly (and you will know the moment when you get to it), I have never heard of a book present this type of dilemma to a character, or indeed the reader, and secondly, Rin’s decision blew me out of the water and left me ‘whu whu whu’ing like a fish trying to breathe. It will probably go down as one of my most memorable moments in fantasy of all time.Which is a fitting farewell to a book that I will no doubt continue to think of. ‘One of the most memorable’ has more of a ring than ‘the damn book haunts me when I can’t sleep at night,’ but both are true. I like to think that the best books make you feel or think something, and by this mark, The Poppy War is one of the best books I have ever read.*Side note: I’d like to take a brief moment here to reflect on that sentiment: representation in fantasy, both that of the story and the teller.The world is a very big place. It’s also very old.There are far flung corners of the map that I, and many others (maybe even you, dear reader?), have yet to read stories ‘influenced’ or ‘inspired’ by these places, the history of the locations found there, or the people that have lived there. And, because we are talking about fantasy here, it’s not just about what/where is on the horizon, it’s about what is over the horizon, in places you cannot see except for in your mind.So, if anyone is short-sighted enough to not see the beauty beyond the four walls of the box you’ve built around your own expectations, please feel free to expand your horizons, and join in exploring a brave new world, and whatever lies ahead of us.The world is a very big place. It’s also very young.And I for one look forward to seeing where it goes next.

Es la novela de fantasía que más me ah sorprendió en los últimos años, una mirada cruda a la guerra y al papel de la mujer en la misma

The Poppy War is a searing and blood-soaked military fantasy that will carve itself into the reader with every word. Deftly blending historical events and Chinese mythology, the novel imagines a vivid new world and uses this alternate universe to process living generational trauma. Between the endless actions and warfare, among the figures of gods and monsters, readers will also find a human story about war and the lasting impact it has on the individuals and nations involved.The-Poppy-WarAt the heart of The Poppy War is Fang ‘Rin’ Runin, an ambitious Nikaran war orphan raised by a pair of opium smugglers. To escape a life of robbed of agency and an arranged marriage, Rin plotted and blackmailed her way into sitting the Imperial Keju examination, subsequently gaining access to Sinegard – Nikara’s leading military and combat academy. In Sinegard, Rin contends with students from privilege backgrounds and instructors who underestimate her worth. What I love about Rin is her drive and ambition, the way she refuses to let anyone else take control of her life’s narrative. In a fantasy genre filled with Chosen Ones with preordained destiny, Rin stands out by using sheer grit and determination to dictate her own fate.Aside from Rin, there is a host of intriguing characters populating The Poppy War. I love the ‘easter eggs’ hidden for readers familiar with Chinese folklore and classic texts, such as Su Daji and Jiang Ziya, or Nezha and the members of Cike – these figures are simultaneously familiar and recognisable yet stand on their own merits as complex and unique characters. As the book documents a period of several years, we are privy to the development of several characters throughout their Sinegard schooling and beyond. There are characters I wanted to punch at the beginning of the book, only for them to become one of my favourites by the end (although I would still like to punch them). While I may not always agree with the decisions of certain characters, I could sympathise with them as their choices are always grounded in realistic and complex motivations.The book is inspired by modern Chinese history, particularly touching on the Second Sino-Japanese war and the Nanjing Massacre. Its use of fantastical and fictional elements to directly commentate on the wounds left by war and the ghost of memories is nothing short of brilliant. The Poppy War exemplifies why SFF as a genre excel at starting difficult conversations about the issues in our world. The dialogue that The Poppy War begins is uncomfortable but necessary, and its execution was raw and honest – I can see this as a book that would haunt its readers and be discussed for years to come.There is a lot of darkness within this book, and several difficult and triggering scenes which mirror horrific events in real life. These scenes are harrowing to read, and I felt physically ill at one point – so I highly recommend that all readers take care before diving into the novel. I thought the unflinching inclusion of these brutalities in the story was necessary, and would highly recommend you read the author’s own take on it.Here’s a list of content warnings: self-harm and suicide, violent rape including the rape of minors, sexual assault, murder, genocide, massacres, torture, mutilation, brutalisation, drug abuse and addiction, emotional abuse, physical abuse, relationship abuse, human experimentation.If you’ve seen my activity across social media in the past weeks, it’s no secret that The Poppy War is one of my favourite books of 2018. However, there are a couple of things I would love to see explored in future books. Firstly, the ableism in one scene – where someone comments that a character would be better off dead than disabled. Secondly, while there are many women within positions of power within the novel, aside from Rin, they all play a minor role to the men in the current narrative. I believe the antagonist set up for the subsequent novels will change that, but I would love to see more women in prominent roles for the rest of the series.I am still left reeling by this book, the fate of its characters, the scope of its world. The Poppy War 2 is already my most anticipated novel of 2019, and I can’t wait for the day I get to pick it up and have my heart destroyed once more.