Genre: Epic Fantasy
Rating: Five stars
~ Spoilers ~
This book left me gobsmacked. The characters, the worldbuilding, the story… it was wildly ambitious and intriguing and worked so well. I can’t even process everything that happened.
My favourite part of this book was the characters. They weren't likeable in the traditional way a lot of fantasy characters are. They weren’t heroic or selfless or noble. They weren’t fighting for a better world. They were fighting for pride, status, power and revenge. And I’m obsessed with it.
Rin was obviously a highlight. We see her journey from fourteen years old to nineteen and she ends the book as a completely different person than she was at the beginning. I love that her motivations aren’t always ethical and that she’s ruled by anger and power. We don’t often see female lead characters act on those kinds of raw emotion for fear of them being unlikeable to the reader but I love that Rin has such a dark streak.
Jiang was a personal favourite of mine. I loved his eccentricity and humour and I think he’ll play such a crucial role in future books. Nezha and Altan were also standout characters for me.
Altan was fascinating to me because, every time I thought I knew him and understood his character, we would learn something new that peeled a layer back and changed my perspective of him. When we first meet him at Sinegard, I perceived him as quite a stoic and serious person- a soldier. When he’s then introduced as the Commander of the Cike, he came across so passionate and caring for the Cike- they were a family. But as victory turned to defeat during the war, he slowly became harsher and angrier as pressure and fear minimised him. Then we learn about his experiences as one of the last Speerlies and his opium addiction, and yet another revenge-hungry side of his character was shown. I loved all the different facets of his personality shining through at different moments.
And then we have Nezha. I hated Nezha to begin with but, to my surprise, he ended up becoming one of my favourites. I love how he owned up to his behaviour at Sinegard. He recognised that he was a spoilt kid that was scared and threatened of Rin and apologised to her for his actions. I love that they learnt to fight side by side and became close friends (I even shipped them a little…). I’m convinced that Nezha is still alive. Maybe it’s wishful thinking and I’m being foolish but we didn’t actually see him die- he was just pulled into the toxic gas by the Federation. I’m holding onto hope.
Epic fantasy isn’t usually one of my go-to genres, simply because they can be quite dense and heavy on world-building. While The Poppy War did have some intense world-building and histories, I think it was completely worth it. The payoff is completely worth the effort readers put into understanding the world. The histories around shamans and Nikan were so well fleshed out and entrancing.
I couldn’t believe how much happened in such a relatively short page count. I was only half way through the book and we’d already followed Rin for years, training at Sinegard, becoming a shaman, and going to war with the Federation.
I have to say that this book had the most intense fighting and post-battle scenes I’ve ever read. The aftermath of the massacre at Golyn Niis… that was so difficult to read. I don't think I've ever been so repulsed and affected by a fictional battle in my life.
My favourite fight scene had to be the Rin and Nezha taking on the Chimei. Any mythological creatures that twist the minds of their victims are so much fun to read.
The ending of this book was brutal. I was on the edge of my seat and it was both rewarding and devastating to see Rin finally seize the power of the Phoenix and decimate the Federation. I can’t wait to see the consequences of this and where Rin’s journey takes her in the next two books. Based on the astounding amount that happened in this first book, I know I’m not mentally or emotionally prepared for the rollercoaster that the rest of the series is sure to be.
What did you think of The Poppy War?
0%I absolutely loved it!!
0%It wasn't my cup of tea
0%It's on my TBR!
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