February 25 2024
By Juha(Lucy) Kim
Summary
Warning (highly inspired by the second Sino-Japanese War, which is one of the bloodiest, darkest, and goriest periods of Chinese history)
When country girl Fang Runin passes the test required to get into Sinegard, an elite military academy, everyone is shocked. As she studies and grows in Sinegard, she develops a gift for shamanism. This gift lets her call upon her god, the vengeful Phoenix, and use its powers.
The Nikara empire is in a period of unsteady peace. But everyone knows it is only a matter of time before the Muganese attack and the empire is encased in another poppy war.
Rin realizes that her abilities may be the difference between death or life, victory or defeat against the Muganese.
Review
R.F. Kuang needed to have been ingesting massive amounts of steroids when she wrote this book. I'm highly critical of fantasy books; it's not my favorite genre in the whole world, but this book was different.
Half of the book is about Rin's growth, her time of change, and her new beginnings. We start off in the country where Rin grew up. To escape Auntie Fang's clutches and avoid being sold off to marriage, she starts studying for the Keju, the most difficult test in the empire, to enter a school for the elites of the elites. This is the only place she may get a decent future and an education. The only place she has a fighting chance.
After two years of intense study, she is accepted into Sinegard. There, she is immediately faced with backlash, bullying, and segregation. The beautiful, pale, aristocratic people of the north cannot fathom how this dark-skinned, skinny girl got into the most prestigious school in the country. Sinegard is where it all starts for Rin. Her connection with the Phoenix, her bond with religion, and her burning demand for revenge.
Everything that happens in this book happens for a reason, and sometimes you’re unable to see that until the final book. Unlike many other fantasy books, the death, murder, and destruction in this story are impactful and necessary. The Poppy War may have been a quick read, but it was a scrupulous one, containing everything it needed for the second and third books: Rin’s later development and future, and the precarious thickening of the plot.
This book must have been years in the making; that's something you get a sense of while you read. R.K. Kuang's thorough understanding and depth of military tactics, Chinese history, warfare, and combat are insanely meticulous.
I want to make it clear that shamanism and the 64 gods of the pantheon aren't new knowledge. These things existed before Kuang wrote The Poppy War trilogy. Her determination to stay true to history is commendable, especially since we know authors will simplify religion and culture to fit their narrative and audience.
Not to even speak the writing itself. Every fight or action scene was vividly and intricately written so that I couldn't take my eyes off the words. My hand turned each page, tensed and excited for what came next. I was never bored. And for fantasy, that's honestly crazy.
I cannot express enough how engaging this book is. That is probably its biggest merit. This is an astoundingly fun, entertaining read. It's a book you couldn't stop reading if you tried. If nothing else, it is enjoyable.
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