Review: The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

This book is an absolutely wild ride. It covers so much ground it feels very difficult to properly organize my thoughts for a coherent review. I am going to try, mostly just so I can look back on the experience. If you care about my opinion at all, you probably just need to know this book is dark and I think you should read it.

I will go very briefly over what I didn't like about the book. I wasn't quite as enthralled with the last 70-ish pages as I was with the rest of the book; I am unsure why and if it is at all the fault of the writing or if I just was slightly distracted while reading. I was still very invested, just less feverish. The only other thing is Kuang uses a trope I personally dislike, which is having a disability healed by magic. I think this was used to further a larger plot point, and I think it is going to be relevant and contribute to a twist in future books, but obviously, I don't know. If you also don't like this trope, this is just a heads up that it is used, it totally isn't egregious or anything, just a thing I tend to not love.

Almost the entirety of this book completely gripped me. It took me a while to read this book, mostly because of life events. Still, partly because I knew I was going to be completely committed to reading this book, so I didn't want to pick it up if I didn't have a significant amount of time to just pay attention to this story. I was very engaged in the narrative; the story both went wildly away from what I expected and covered the ground that I initially assumed would be the entire trilogy. The pace is breakneck. This book goes through what could have been entire series in one installment. I am so excited that I can just go read books 2 and 3 immediately.

The character development in this book is wild. Just as the pace, we cover so much ground. The cast changes significantly multiple times. Either three or four times, we get almost completely new casts. I really loved the experience; it really served to help us feel Rin's instability; her surroundings are constantly changing, and she is constantly being unmoored from those who provide her with stability. I also just liked seeing what Kuang did with various fantasy character archetypes, particularly with two of the 'mentor' characters. It was set up very much in the style of a good love triangle, each person representing a different ideology, and Rin's character arch following her choice between the two. Her choices were broader than just these two characters, and I really did like the way the book ended, reflecting on choice. Also, books about people doing bad things doesn't mean the author is pro those bad things; the story clearly wants the reader to be uncomfortable. A good dark book should not make you love terrible things; it should make you see how easy it is for people to choose to do terrible things. Or something like that.

I have also seen lots of reviews talking about the shift between the 'school' part of the book and the 'war' part of the book. And obviously, there is a big shift there, content and tone change. But what struck me was the mirror of the school section in the war section. Most of what Rin encounters in school come up over the course of the book; if you are really paying attention and able to zoom out while reading, I am sure there will be things that won't surprise you the way I was surprised (even when I thought 'bet this is gonna come into play later' I still didn't really nail when later would be). Basically, I really liked Kuang's foreshadowing.

I cannot wait to see where this story goes, see how these characters change and continue to react to one and another, and see where Kuang's mind goes with the politics and philosophy her series explores. I loved reading a book so clearly by someone who loves history, and I really love thinking about the political theory she is engaging within the text. This is an enthralling read on so many levels; the characters are dynamic, the plot is fast and exciting, the historical reflection is raw and makes you want to explore that aspect more fully, and the philosophy presented is wonderful to engage with.

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads and The StoryGraph. Basically, I love this book and think you should read it. Now I have to decide if I should take a break or jump right into book 2.