The Poppy Wars by R.F. Kuang
Published: 2018
Trigger Warnings: Graphic descriptions of death and sexual assault.
Official Synopsis:
(from Amazon.com)
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.
Review:
There was a lot that I enjoyed about R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy Wars (enough to make me want to read the sequel), but there was also a great deal about the book that I can’t help but critique. My main criticisms lie with the main character, Rin, who flees her rural community to attend one of the most prestigious schools in the nation of Nikara, Sinegard. While being a strong female protagonist, it is unclear what motivates Jin throughout most of the book: she flees poverty, trains at the academy, enlists in the military, and that’s it. What is her driving force? It seems like for the majority of the novel, Rin is responding to the events around her, rather than following her own ambitions and motivations. In the sequel books, I’d like to see Rin transform into a more dynamic character, as the end of The Poppy Wars seems to hint at.
While this is a novel partially about the cruelties of war, my next critique deals with the violence described in the book. To put it simply: it’s a lot. There is one scene, in which Rin and her squadron of warriors bear witness to the horrors that have befallen a Nikaran city after an enemy invasion, that had me reeling. As a Stephen King fan, I am used to the occasional bit of violence, but the violence in Kuang’s book was so graphic that it bordered on gratuitous. I don’t think this violence should dissuade readers from experiencing Kuang’s rich, diverse novel, but I encourage all to exercise caution.
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