The Poppy War
Reviews
Reminds me of Attack on Titan. I like there is no true villain or hero.
...almost 4 stars. I don't like cheeky dialogue in my war epics. Also traumatized tortured men are of very little interest to me, but it makes for a great unreliable narrator bc girrrlll
woah. the plot is crazy
I’ve said many times “everyone sucks, burn it all down”. This book really makes you face that statement and sit with it. Who is innocent? In war, what’s the difference between a murderer and a soldier?
I now need to lie down for several days and stare at a wall to recover.
i took my time reading this book because i was aware of kuang’s goal to be historically accurate in her storytelling. despite the time period the underlying themes of racism, socioeconomic inequality, and the effects of war stand true in today’s world. i was intrigued by how kuang explored the ideas of both power and control, as seen through rin and atlan. atlan chose to harness his abilities, he was aware of his power but did not want to use it to his full capacity. whereas rin craved the full unleashed power, she wanted to avenge her people. although i was not immediately immersed in rin’s story i would love to see how she prevails in the second book.
SPEECHLESS absolute cinema
i was gutted and distraught but i was also so enraptured in the beauty of the damn book. it’s amazing
Absolutely traumatized
“I don't love you. And I can kill anything.”
I've sat on this review—this entire trilogy really—since January of this year. Genuinely, this may be the most gutting, mind-bending story I have read in my 25 years on this planet. It is NOT for the faint of heart.
Rin is the morally grey (sometimes morally black) character of my most frenzied daydreams. She says the quiet parts out loud. She fails the Trolley Problem 9 times out of 10. She's selfish and petty and so goddamn angry.
And I love her for it.
Too often it seems like authors shy away from the worst aspects of human nature in order to make their characters and their story more palatable to the masses. But that's not real. I applaud Kuang's courage to let Rin and her cohorts show their teeth unapologetically.
This was, in my personal opinion, a masterclass of weaving historical atrocity with a fantasy veneer. Kuang based her characters and plot on the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Song Dynasty. She showcases some of the most brutal aspects of that time period, while also using the text as a study in the inherent violence of colonialism.
Just...a phenomenal work of genius and emotional integrity.
i need to just sit and reflect for a bit i think
I think it’s a little unfair to grade based on my feelings on a reread because it’s definitely a book with less reread value and I kind of want to finish this trilogy so I can actually finish it
Good work with Rin, Kitay, Nezha. Setting is a little derivative but it’s masked enough and (at the time) less common. Plot is dense and fast paced, points for that, but lacks in aesthetic and voice and tone (minus points for that)
i feel sick to my stomach
eh kapan ya gw bisa rate buku bermacam macam ALIAS KENAPA EMPAT TRS (aslina 4.5 guys). bismillah dengan menyebut nama Allah gw review ini buku. another spoiler free (nyapnyap dan experience) (INSYA ALLAH) review dari gw selama baca buku ini.
mulai dari penulisan, ini buku ditulis dari third person point of view. gw sebenernya kurang familiar karena biasanya baca buku pake first person point of view, butuh waktu buat nyesuain sm penulisan ini TP YA BISA AJA SIH (gw tetep prefer sudut padang org pertama btw). terus rfk ini tipe writer yang bener bener JELAS BGT kl bikin deskripsi gt. ada plus minusnya sih, (BAGI GW) kadang kebanyakan deskripsi gt bikin nguantukkkkk tp ya it helps you imagine things better. apalagi buat ngebayangin karakter itu sgt membantu (altan trengsin ganteng bgt DEMI ALLAH). trs apa ya, gw rada pusing dikit sih kalau mereka ngejelasin strategi (agak bolot maaf) tp ya berhubung strategi tsb jg dilakuin sama mereka ya jadi ngerti ngerti jg ajasih akwokwow
terus ke alur. buku pertama series the poppy war ini dibagi jadi 3 part. part pertama itu mostly ttg rin yang lagi adaptasi sama sistem akademi di sinegard, part kedua ini awal-awal the third poppy war, part ketiga jadi turning point karakter Rin dan gimana karakter, moral dan prioritas dia berubah seiring berlangsungnya perang. gw saranin jgn berharap alur buku pertama ini sat set bgt guys karena YA NAMANYA JG BUKU PERTAMA dan masih ada 2 buku lain yg lebih tebel. gw juga awalnya ngira konfliknya bakalan packed bgt tp ternyata masih bisa enjoy kok nggak terlalu ngosngosan. paling di part III ajasih anjinggg sampe kebawa mimpi dijajah gw koCAGGG.
gw mau ngomongin banyak tentang karakternya sih, tapi jujur, sampai akhir buku ini gw blm bisa teralu attached sm mereka (kecuali ALTAN TRENGSIN YA ALLAH GW CINTA MATI SM LU BELAH DADA GW ISINYA ALTAN TRENGSIN). jadi ngomongin karakternya nnt aja kl gw udh lanjut baca dragon republic sm burning god. udh kayaknya gt aja bingung gw.
oiya jgn lupa cek trigger warning ya cuy, berhubung rfk ini bener bener detail deskripsiinnya jadi TOLONG DIPERHATIKAN!!!!
After page 424….. my heart can never be the same..
the goosebumps i've felt at the very last part of this book, look what y'all made her do, kitay is right she's not fang runin anymore, she became what they warned against of and couldn't blame her, she’s what she is now because of all the atrocities she's experienced. i just hope her all of her choices will be worth it at the end.
simply mad i have to wait for the next book to be available at my library to read it
I now understand why R F Kuang is such a well-known author. This book was unlike anything I’ve ever read before - it was dark, thought-provoking, and so well-written. I need to read the next book in the series ASAP.
This was really good in the first half, but battle scenes are rather weak and repetitive, nevertheless I’m excited to see what the next books bring to the story
It was really good. An excellent read to end 2023 and start 2024! 🥰
It was a fun, tragic, and harrowing experience reading. I was rooting for Rin since the beginning of the book, I love my unhinged queen. The transition between the innocent academia lifestyle to the grim reality of war and the military is sublime. R.F Kuang did a masterful job of integrated the real historical background with her fantasy settings.
Kudos to translator, Angelic Zaizai, and illustrator, David Ardinaryas Lojaya for making a beautiful Indonesian edition of The Poppy War
devastating. this is a book about politics, history, addiction, and war. this is a book about the lasting effects such events leave on countless lives of people. it does not shy away from anything. it shows the consequences of war and leaders of countries using their people like pawns in a game of chess—disposable lives. but beyond that, this is also about camaraderie, finding a sense of self, and everything that is between a person and the people around them. it makes one question everything—their morals, their beliefs, their capabilities, and the things they are willing to do in order to get what they want.
“war doesn’t determine who’s right. war determines who remains.”
i knew nothing when i started it. i knew of the author, r.f. kuang, from her interviews and those alone. i knew that people regard her as a great writer. i knew her books are good and devastatingly so. those are all i knew about this and oh boy, i did not know anything at all. this is my first r.f. kuang book and i am so sure this is not gonna be my last.
Highlights
"Nothing is written," said the Phoenix. "You humans always think you're destined for things, for tragedy or for greatness. Destiny is a myth. Destiny is the only myth. The gods choose nothing. You chose.
That's why the Speerlies became addicted to opium so easily, she realized. Not because they needed it for their fire. Because for some of them, it was the only time they could get away from their horrible god.
"I don't need your pity. I need you to kill them for me. You have to kill them for me" Venka hissed. "Swear it. Swear on your blood that you will burn them." "Venka, I can't.. "I know you can." Venka's voice climbed in pitch. I heard what they said about you. You have to burn them. Whatever it takes. Swear it on your life. Swear it. Swear it for me." Her eyes were like shattered glass. It took all of Rin's courage to meet her gaze. "I swear."
this part was heartbreaking
"How dare you," he said. His voice was overly loud, distorted through her thundering ears. "You misunderstand the nature of our relationship. I am not your friend. I am not your brother, though kin we may be. I am your commander. You do not argue with my orders. You follow themn without question. You obey me, or you leave this militia.
She cut him off before he could get a word in. "I was the war orphan from the south, and you were the rich kid from Sinegard, and you tormented me. You made Sinegard a living hell. Nezha "
The more Altan moved, the brighter he burned, as if the Phoenix itself were slowly burning through him to breach the divide between the world of dreaming and the material world.
"We're at war! We might die anyway. So maybe calling the gods gives us a fighting chance. What's the worst that could happen?" You're so young" he said softly. “You have no idea."
Moray waggled his eyebrows.”One might say you’ve been obsessed with Nezha.” “Don’t be disgusting.” “You are. You’re always asking me about him.” “Because I’m curious,” Rin said. “Sunzi says to know your enemy.” “Fuck Sunzi. You just think he’s pretty.”
kitay is a real one. protect him at all cost
“Because I can,” she said. “Because he thought he could get rid of me. Because I want to break his stupid face.”
yes. but also… enemies to lovers..?
“So you’re not dying, sweetheart, your body is just shedding your uterine lining.” Rin’s jaw had been hanging open for a solid minute. “What the fuck?”
real. but drinking herb tea right after to destroy ur entire uterus is a bit extreme
Every year we get someone like you, some country bumpkin who thinks that just because they were good at taking some test, they deserve my time and attention.
words cannot express how much i hate this character
They worship men whom they believe are gods, not gods themselves.
But like the Fangs, the majority of Nikara were religious only when it suited them.
heavy on this
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.
She was no victim of destiny. She was the last Speerly, commander of the Cike, and a shaman who called the gods to do her bidding.
And she would call the gods to do such terrible things.
When they reached the junction that split the Cike headquarters and the Seventh Division’s base, Nezha stopped and turned to face her.
Her heart skipped a beat.
He was so beautiful then, standing right in the space of the road where a beam of moonlight fell across his face, illuminating one side and casting long shadows on the other.
He looked like glazed porcelain, preserved glass. He was a sculptor’s approximation of a person, not human himself. He can’t be real, she thought. A boy made of flesh and bone could not be so painfully lovely, so free of any blemish or flaw.
Children ceased to be children when you put a sword in their hands. When you taught them how to fight a war, then you armed them and put them on the front lines, they were not children anymore. They were soldiers.
Imagine you’re a highly militaristic country with more people than your land can sustain, and nowhere to expand. Imagine that your rulers have propagated an ideology that they’re gods, and that you have a divine right to extend your empire across the eastern hemisphere. Suddenly the sprawling landmass across the Nariin Sea looks like a prime target, doesn’t it?
The door opened. The man who walked trough was tall and lithe; he did not wear a Militia uniform but black tunic without any insignia. He carried a silver trident strapped across his back.
Rin swallowed, fighting a ridiculous urge to sweep her hair behind her ears. She felt a familiar flush, a heat starting at the tops of her ears.
SHE IS SO ME
His eyes caught the reflection of the lamplight above.
They were crimson.
we love you altan 😔🫵
This book appears on the shelf Books i own not read
This book appears on the shelf romance
This book appears on the shelf Romance
