The Poppy War follows the story of war-orphan Rin as she wins entry to the most prestigious military academy in the Nikara Empire. At first, Rin’s priorities are purely on getting away from her old life. A life of drug trafficking and abuse. When war breaks out, Rin finds herself wrapped in a world of opium haze, shamanistic magical powers, gods, and incomprehensible human terrors. She is given a choice: retain her humanity and watch Nikara fall into the hands of the terrifying Mugen Federation, or lose herself to the gods and save her country.
I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up this book. I saw it on the shelf and decided it looked right up my alley. After reading Stormdancer, I had expectations of something along similar lines. A Chinese alternate universe, with the trappings of China and not much else.
I was so wrong, and I’m better off for it. R.F Kuang’s debut novel is a true treat to read, particularly if you are a history buff. If not, I would highly recommend taking a moment to read (even if it’s just on Wikipedia) about the China-Japan conflict in World War II either before or after reading this book (and you should read this book).
A grimdark war novel, there is just enough world and character building in the first act to set you up properly for the rest of the novel. There are no annoying YA love triangles. Kuang writes a book that makes sense for the world that she’s built up. Kuang clearly poured her heart — and probably pieces of her soul, this may be a Horcrux — into the writing of this book. Her knowledge of history bleeds into every page. The Poppy War is well researched, heartfelt, and well developed. The characters feel natural and quite real, although don’t get too heavily attached to any of them.