The Poppy War

by R. F. Kuang

Paperback, 527 pages

English language

Published Nov. 1, 2018 by Harper Voyager.

ISBN:: 978-0-00-823984-8

(15 reviews)

A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting debut with this epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic, in the tradition of Ken Liu’s Grace of Kings and N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy.

When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the …

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.

10 editions

René reviewed The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang

Incredible

5 stars

It was an intense, brutal and wild read. I really enjoyed the way it’s written.

Marek reviewed The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang

A dark, grim tale of violence, injustice, and the horror of revenge

3 stars

Content warning Spoilery review. Dark, striking, fantasy.

R.F. Kuang's debut won quite a few awards and deservedly made her a name much discussed. This is the first of her works that I've looked at, and was really looking forward to it. It's great to have a new voice, one with a background, writing about a world, quite different to the default medieval Western one.

The settings has the general roughness you'd expect from a medieval-ish fantasy. The characters are generally well drawn and the world has a range of interesting aspects to it that are gradually unfolded over the course of the book. Underneath it all, slowly rising to the surface, is a history of prejudice, injustice, deceit and violence that becomes evermore grim and overwhelming.

By the end, I personally found it a bit much, and here the spoilers kick in. While we can somewhat understand the main character, Rin's, journey, it is ultimately one of almost continuous violence, defeat, and destruction, culminating in her engaging in acts almost as evil and depraved as those on whom she seeks revenge.

Having dug in and bent the world to her will in the first half of the book, during which she overcomes the various obstacles put in her way, in the second half she is borne along by events, with no agency, a constant victim, as the world tears itself apart around her. She repays it by tearing it apart much worse (as do the squad of others she ends up with).

Generally well told, it feels unnecessarily grim to me - that's probably just a taste thing. There are important tales to be told about how humanity gets crushed by the violence of injustice. I think Octavia Butler or N.K. Jemisin might have clearer voices on that, but for Kuang to be working her way toward that kind of thing, particularly as young as she was writing this, is damned impressive.

The writing style got me by times. This is a quasi-medieval setting, but terms like 'genetics', 'cognitive dissonance', and 'suspended animation' get bandied around as though perfectly natural. They use hypodermic needles, and heroin, but refer to volcanoes as 'fire mountains' (which nonetheless spew 'volcanic gas'). These should just be trifling frustrations, but were just a little to frequent and kept knocking me out of the story, which is a shame.

So, glad I read this one, but I'm not too interested in reading the follow up. These are not pleasant characters, and I don't really wish them well, however much I sympathise with what has happened to them.

Char reviewed The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang (The Poppy War, #1)

Review of 'The Poppy War' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

It was an excellent book, dark and riveting.

ctaymor reviewed The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang (The Poppy War, #1)

Review of 'The Poppy War' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Very powerful, and very dark. I did really like this book, and I think it’s an important book to read. However, I wasn’t quite prepared for how dark it got, and I’m not sure it was the right timing to read it in my life.
It’s a fantasy novel based on the Sino-Japanese War, including the Rape of Nanking. It’s history I didn’t really learn in school, and a fantasy novel is a powerful way to explore that history. But it also gave me nightmares and I don’t think, had I known, that I would have read it on vacation at 8 months pregnant.