The Poppy War
The Poppy War, Book 1
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The Poppy War
Narrated by:
Emily Woo Zeller
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Narrated by:
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Emily Woo Zeller
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By:
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R. F. Kuang
About this listen
Winner of the Reddit Fantasy Award for Best Debut 2018
‘The best fantasy debut of 2018’ – WIRED
A brilliantly imaginative epic fantasy debut, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic.
When Rin aced the Keju – the test to find the most talented students in the Empire – 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 had hoped to get rich by marrying her off; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free from a life of servitude. 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 south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Fighting the prejudice of rival classmates, Rin discovers that 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 psychoactive substances and a seemingly insane teacher, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive – and that mastering these 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 Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most people calmly go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away…
©2018 Rebecca Kuang (P)2018 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"A blistering, powerful epic of war and revenge that will captivate you to the bitter end." (Kameron Hurley, author of The Stars Are Legion)
"A thrilling, action-packed fantasy of gods and mythology...The ambitious heroine’s rise from poverty to ruthless military commander makes for a gripping read, and I eagerly await the next installment." (Julie C. Dao, author of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns)
"In The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang draws on history and myth to tell a relentlessly unforgiving story of war, vengeance, power and madness, with larger-than-life characters that evoke sympathy and rouse terror. Brace yourself." (Fonda Lee, award-winning author of The Green Bone Saga)
Great but very dark
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TLDR: The story of a young woman forced to come to grips with her powers and the darkness of human nature in an original fantasy world set within an Asian analogue. A novel magic system and dark deeds make this a unique read that hits a lot of points that most fantasy novels seem to miss.
Now I nearly didn’t give this book the chance it deserved. I’ve been spoiled recently by finding a series that was so good that I blasted through ten books in the space of 6 weeks. So fast, in fact, that I never actually had time to write a single review for any of them. So, when I stood atop the mighty pedestal that I had placed that series upon (Spellmonger, by Terry Mancour) and stared down upon my next target, my judgement was always going to be a little harsh. That said, even with my opinion bar forcibly lowered to a more reasonable level, The Poppy war still got off to a bit of a slow start for me. It certainly wasn’t a bad start and it was very well written, but I nearly stopped after the first twenty minutes like I have with the two previous audiobooks that I had started that week. However, I carried on, and I’m glad that I did, because once you give it a little time, The Poppy war becomes a very good listen/read.
A single female perspective fantasy novel set in an analogue of medieval china. Already this book is a bit different to anything else I’ve listened to lately. The shift of perspective to an Asian culture and away from the usual European backdrop that most fantasy novels follows was genuinely refreshing. It was novel, something that I struggle to find in books these days after tearing through so many in the genre. Although I didn’t bond with the main character at first, before too long I was subconsciously rooting for her far more than I thought I would, which to me shows a brilliantly written character. I can’t say that there were many other characters for which I developed the same level of attachment, but they were all presented well and most certainly had enough depth to them to remain entertaining.
The world within which the book is set is well thought out with a great backstory that is entirely believable. I didn’t just see the land as a stage upon which the character act but more a canvas upon which the story itself was painted. It can sometimes get a little too specific about certain aspects and at other times gloss over areas that I would love to hear more about, but overall, the universe the book creates is sound. The magic system as well is fairly original, with the very few magic users in the world, and those that can use magic being primarily dependant on psychedelic drugs to induce their powers. I like this a lot. It’s both unique and rooted in real-world shamanism, though it doesn’t really explain a whole lot about the specific powers people have. They simply have abilities without going into how they work. They just work by magic, leading me to the first of my issues. There are certain aspects of the magic system that make the shamans completely OP, to the point where I’m thinking that they likely would have done some serious damage the people, ecosystems, and even underlying geology of their entire continent before the events of the books. Its not like their ultra-powers haven’t existed before the events of the books, and yet only in this book are they used with such catastrophic consequences in situations that surely would have arisen before to some degree. It soils the otherwise very grounded nature of the novel and left me constantly asking why this hadn’t become an issue in the thousand years that the main nation had existed prior to the book.
My second issue is that at times (one time in particular) there is illogically senseless levels of violence carried out. Now, one of the greatest aspects of this book is that it takes a much more rounded view of the consequences of war by concentrating quite heavily on the plight of the civilians that get caught up in the wake of a major and brutal conflict. This is a brilliant angle to play and something that I believe needs to be done more both as a literary technique and to make readers and listeners actually think a bit more about the true consequences of war, not just the sword flashing and heroics of our protagonists. That said, there is one point in particular where the ‘bad guys’ do something so heinous that it just doesn’t make sense. These guys are portrayed as Uber-Nazi’s in their belief that they are a superior race (though to be more accurate it may be more Imperial Japan-like considering the context), but they commit such barbaric acts at times that I simply can’t take the book seriously. It’s like R.F Kuang was trying so hard to show us that these guys are truly evil that she pushed their atrocities beyond the realistic, beyond even the obscene, and the effect is to have them ending up straight in the realms of ridiculous. What was worse was that it didn’t make listening to their descriptions any easier. I’m the first to say that I’m a bit of a gore fiend and it takes a damned lot to make me say ‘wow there, calm down,’ but this just went a little to far. I can quite happily accept that such horrible things get carried out when they serve a purpose: slaughtering people to save food in a siege, executing civilians in horrific manners as part of a concerted terror campaign to demoralise the enemy, murdering thousands in the most brutal fashion because their fear and pain is used to fuel some macabre device. Those are three very believable reasons for such horrors that I thought of just off the top of my head. However, in this case I simply cannot see the reason why such a well-trained military force would take so much time from their hectic invasion schedule to partake in such blood-chilling atrocities when simply killing those same people quickly and efficiently would have made far more strategic sense. If there was an actual reason for those horrible acts that is made apparent in later books, it could really do with being shown earlier.
Beyond those little nit-picky faults that I just had to vent, I enjoyed the book. I’m not rushing to listen to the second, but I certainly will do at some point in the near future.
As for the narration, a good performance. Emily Woo Zeller’s portrayals of the wide range of characters was brilliant, and in particular her conveying of the deep emotional strife that runs through the latter half of the book for many of the characters was wonderful.
Personal score: 3.5 stars
Professional score: 3.75 stars
School, genocide, and tripping balls. An odd combo
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The HunterXHunter of Young Adult
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There is an awful lot of very well discribed violence but this is really a part of this story. The main character Rin, is arrogant and obnoxious but you soon realise that these characteristics are essential for her survival.
I need a break between this and reading book 2 but I'm also looking forward to being taken into a story that isn't real yet can still be related in in many ways.
Different
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This is a book however for those people who are wanting something different something to tease their interest. I have listened to and read a lot of fancy books however I’ve never come across something quite like this, There are similarities for sure With Patrick Rothfuss being one of them. I am Dad this book will take you on twists and turns you wouldn’t expect and if I could give it more than a 10 out of 10 I would this book has left me reeling for days. The narration is outstanding. Enjoy
Just… wow
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Good but not good enough
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Other characters also didn't feel too fleshed out. It felt like as soon as they gained enough 'screen time' to be memorable they were only introduced back into the story at random and short intervals, never really interacting with Rin though she is the only perspective we see.
Again though, I enjoyed the picture painted for me in terms of the world building. I just wish Rin had kept her (for lack of a better word) fiery personality
The characters lack consistency and depth
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not my cup of tea
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A fantastic and gripping story
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Great story but couldn't finish
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