The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang Review

The first thing I want to say in this review is that I absolutely loved this book and that it's probably my favorite fantasy book that I've read in quite some time. However, it is definitely meant for adults and deals with a variety of very sensitive subjects (trigger warnings are all listed at the bottom of this post), so make sure to keep that in mind while reading.

The Poppy War is a grimdark, adult fantasy book that's based on China's military history, specifically from within the 20th century. It follows a girl named Rin, who is a war orphan, as she tries to get into one of the top schools in her country in order to gain a better life for herself. From there, the novel takes off and goes in a few different directions, none of which I really want to explain because I think that it's best if you experience it yourself.

What I enjoyed about this book:

- The characters! I loved every single one of them and wanted the best for them, which is so essential when it comes to how heart wrenching certain sections of this book are. Even the characters made to be villains are deeply compelling and I genuinely enjoyed each of their scenes. The cast is quite large, but because of the pretty simple hierarchy and the character's relationships to each other, it was always fairly easy to keep track of them.

- The worldbuilding! I don't want to go too much into this because I don't want to include any spoilers, but the worldbuilding is absolutely stunning and every aspect of it was vivid and fascinating, which is always helped by the fact Kuang's writing is beautiful. While there are fairly complex political and religious systems, they're well integrated with the plot itself (hence why I don't want to include too many details) and I never felt confused about what was happening. There are a few sections that could be considered info dumping, but they also contain information that's immediately plot relevant and make sense within the context of the rest of the story, so I didn't mind reading through those slightly slower sections.

- The plot! The pacing of this book is absolutely perfect. There was no point in which I felt like certain plot points overstayed their welcome and the book was always moving forward in a meaningful way. Each of the characters had very interesting arcs and the overall plot of the novel always kept me guessing and made me want to read more. Going in, I hadn't even read the blurb of this book and I'd say that's the perfect way to read The Poppy War. Each new section kept me guessing and I absolutely loved every minute of it.

- It's exploration of war. This is by far the most specific segment in this review, but I appreciated the way that The Poppy War talks about and analyzes war and strategy. It is probably one of the most realistic portrayals of war within fiction and the subject is often debated and talked about with nuance within the plot. To expand this point more generally, I appreciated the way that each of the themes - including the more sensitive topics - of this book were explored.

If it isn't already obvious, The Poppy War was a 5 star read for me. I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to any adult interested in grimdark fantasy, although that does come with the warning that it is a very intense read at times. I can't wait to dive into the rest of the series and to see more of the deeper themes explored, how the plot continues, and how the characters grow.

TW: War, starvation, violence, rape, gore (this isn't present through the entire book, but there are a few pretty graphic scenes), genocide, racism, sexism, drug use, and addiction.