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    The Poppy War: A Novel
    The Poppy War: A Novel
    The Poppy War: A Novel
    Audiobook19 hours

    The Poppy War: A Novel

    Written by R. F. Kuang

    Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    An AudioFile Magazine Best Audiobook of 2018!

    A Library Journal, Paste Magazine, and ENTROPY Best Books of 2018 pick!

    Washington Post ""5 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novel of 2018"" pick!

    A Bustle ""30 Best Fiction Books of 2018"" pick!

    “I have no doubt this will end up being the best fantasy debut of the year [...] I have absolutely no doubt that [Kuang’s] name will be up there with the likes of Robin Hobb and N.K. Jemisin.” -- Booknest

    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 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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateMay 1, 2018
    ISBN9780062848789
    The Poppy War: A Novel
    Author

    R. F. Kuang

    Rebecca F. Kuang is the #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy, Babel: An Arcane History, and Yellowface. Her work has won the Nebula, Locus, Crawford, and British Book Awards. A Marshall Scholar, she has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford. She is now pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale, where she studies diaspora, contemporary Sinophone literature, and Asian American literature.

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    Reviews for The Poppy War

    4/5

    2,089 ratings94 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a captivating and powerful YA fantasy book. The world building and references to historical events are rich and well-described. The characters are strong, although some readers felt that the main character's development was inconsistent. The plot is enthralling and moves at an appropriate pace. While some readers found the book overly violent, others appreciated its realistic portrayal of war. Overall, this debut novel is a fantastic read that blends coming-of-age and historical fiction elements.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      nice book and can not wait to read the next book

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This was a complex, deep, and tragic tale of unfolding. More than a simple hero story, it should leave you thinking for a long time. I enjoyed it greatly, and will carry the sadness and inspiration it evoked for a long time.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      Meh. I don't like anyone in the book enough to care. The plot kind of devolves onto politics and infighting among the Nikira. The story is missing a heart.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Absolutely amazing work and narration were perfect.
      I wish only the author didn't use a slur( though not a common use), it made this brilliant work somewhat cheap. the story and the plot would be as brilliant without slur words.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Absolutely stunning writing. From characters to plot. Everything about this story is going to leave you wanting more.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      More towards 4.5 stars. I couldn’t give this 5 stars because the last half of the story became a little bit too weird for me. I really really LOVE the first half though. The magical class setting is my favourite trope and that was a 5 star for me.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Really incredible and captivating book about war, struggle to live in a cruel world and morality told through eyes of a girl who was born to nothing and kept losing everything she worked for to build.
    • 4/5
      Not only did I enjoy the whole series which takes 66 hours to listen to, the narration was very well done. It was a perfect trilogy that kept me so engaged on my long drive.
    • 4/5
      This is really good with lots of moral ambiguity, but it pushed my tolerance for violence and grimness to the edge. Also, I feel fairly safe in giving this a content warning for pretty much everything you might consider warning someone about. GREAT narrator.
    • 5/5
      Read the trigger warnings. It's actually really amazing and morally challenging
    • 5/5
      Could not put this book down. It draws you in and you want to know find out what's next at every turn. The writing is *chefs kiss*
    • 4/5
      It is very captivating from the beginning. The world building and references to actual historical accounts of war, colonization, genocide, xenophobia, and racism were very rich i in description without feeling "preachy" like a criticism of our society.

      The characters were amazing. I really liked the main character for 60% of the story. She seemed to have a strong character established in the beginning, but then seemed very out of character through the middle bits and end. I'm not sure if the author was trying to demonstrate character growth, or "roundness" but at parts it seemed very wishy washy and indecisive. There was a lot of repetition where she makes one decision then changes her mind, which is very realistic in real life, but became a little irksome and gave me whiplash while reading it. It was also a little predictable in that whatever she chose she was going to second guess, regret, double down, then repeat. Also, seemed silly that the character becomes very "whiney" in the middle since that was basically beaten out of her early in the book, which they made a big deal of.


      There were some characters who had a consistent progression of growth and others who seemed to act out of character a little more frequently.

      There was one description that was particularly hard to read about (referencing comfort women) that I think was helpful to the story but seemed the most descriptive atrocity committed.

      I really liked that the settings of the story kept changing and evolving. An academy, the war, a battlefield, an enemy encampment, etc. It didn't get stale.

      I also liked that while the attraction of the main character to other characters was mentioned, it wasn't a romance. I like fantasy romance, but sometimes it feels like the fantasy genre featuring female mc's is saturated with romance subplots that end up taking over the entire story.

      So other than frustrations with consistent character development and a laggy bit in the middle, very good and I look forward to more!

      For the audiobook version, the narrator is fantastic. I disliked the sometimes whiney tone she used for the main character because it was particularly grating, but no other complaints. She did all of the characters a really good job.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely amazing! Can’t wait to get my hands on the next books! If you like Brandon Sanderson, Sabaa Tahir or Tomi Adeyemi this is for you!!
    • 5/5
      Couldn't stop until I reach the end, I love the characters, not just the protagonist that is not portrait as a perfect savior, but also the ones around her that influence her personality and the decision making. The reaction to the situations is real.
    • 4/5
      Simply put, this story is unapologetically ugly, it doesn’t shy away from brutal raw descriptions and emotions.

      The characters all feel insane, which I get is the point, but man it’s frustrating to watch all these dysfunctional people constantly turn against each other for the slightest little things. The books dedicates too much of it’s cast and time to shitting on the main character, which made it very difficult for me to get attached to any of them. Overall it’s been an interesting enough read, but it was frustrating and I don’t see myself finishing this one. Good luck to those that try, and I hope you’ll enjoy the characters more than I could.
    • 5/5
      Very good book, complicated epic world and ethical dilemmas. I didn’t agree with all of the main character’s choices, but still rooted for her the whole way.
    • 4/5
      Loved it! The story is compelling, the first half I favored better than the rest. Rin is also not my fave mc and personally I wouldn't like her but I also think most of us weren't meant to like her which is all good.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely perfect. Mesmerising and an amazing page turner (for a lack of better words). Ordering a physical copy asap
    • 5/5
      One of the best books ever written. Powerful, gripping, honest and Rae. Still had that captivating element for a YA Fantasy book but it feels like so much more. Step out of your comfort zone and let yourself be bewitched.
    • 1/5
      I quit listening in the second half, the descriptions of warcrimes are just to gruelsome. I still have trouble getting these ‘images’ out of my head.

      First part was great, especially about the psychedelic experiences, but Rin just doesn’t get it and it’s annoying her teacher doesn’t teach her. Enlightenment is about universal love not power. I simply can’t understand that after such an experience Rin still wants ‘power’ and wants to fight and kill people. Nope, not buying it.
    • 4/5
      I love the Chinese influenced aspect of this fantasy. I did feel it was overly violent with details of gore and perversion I did not feel were justified.
    • 5/5
      An excellent read for fans of fantasy and for those curious about the history and culture of China. The author cleverly disguises a typical "hero's journey" trope into something entirely new and refreshing. Frequently throwing curve balls and twists at you so that you throw predictability out the window.

      Note - Chapter 21 is not for the squeamish. Even worse is that the horrors depicted there are based on true events in China's recent past.
    • 5/5
      Very disturbing at certain points. Overall a wonderful book on the horrors of war from a fantastical perspective
    • 4/5
      Narrator is excellent characters are really strong. I just thought near the end some of the descriptive language and dialog gets a bit lengthy. As a result it feels as though it drags. I get it because you don't want to leave doubt as to why the main character makes the decisions she makes. But I think the motivations could have been done in a more concise way.
    • 5/5
      Amazing !!! Highly recommend this series, I can’t wait to read the second!
    • 5/5
      Very interesting the magic system is amazing the heart to die down memorial in conversation being had in the book sale very much in 2021
    • 5/5
      This book is fantastic. I binged it in two days. It’s emotional and beautiful and horrible and I wish I could listen to it again for the first time. The narration was also fantastic. Heads up…if you find explicit depictions of assault and gore triggering, this is not the one for you. Some parts of the story are very hard to get through, but are realistic and necessary to the plot. It is a book about war, and that’s what you will find, despite its soft beginning. I cannot wait to get through book two.
    • 4/5
      Good writing for most part and solid story. Very dark and heavy at times. Need something lighter before I jump to the next in this series.
    • 5/5
      Taken strictly as a high fantasy novel, The Poppy War is great. Taken as a fantasy novel that reflects on real historical events, culture classes, and characters, the novel is FANTASTIC. Look for interviews with R.F. Kuang online to learn about the connections between the Poppy War characters/themes/events and the real history of China. Brilliantly reflective without being a retelling or an alternate history.
    • 5/5
      Phenomenal! I genuinely don't understand how this is a debut novel. It gets dark, but never gratuitously. (Requires lots of content warnings - do some Googling for those)