The Poppy War

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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 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 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 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. Best Download [ The Poppy War ] Author [ R.F. Kuang ] – kino-fada.fr ARC provided by the publisher Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review.I have no doubt this will end up being the best fantasy debut of the year No no, scratch that understatement Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you a review for The Poppy War, a book that will go down as one of the best grimdark military fantasy debuts of all time.Once in a while, there comes a book that you just know will be a fantastic book just from the premise or the cover this was one of those books for me ARC provided by the publisher Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review.I have no doubt this will end up being the best fantasy debut of the year No no, scratch that understatement Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you a review for The Poppy War, a book that will go down as one of the best grimdark military fantasy debuts of all time.Once in a while, there comes a book that you just ...Hi, there THE POPPY WAR is my book, so I m obviously a bit biased I wrote it over three months during the winter of 2015, signed with an agent in February 2016, and sold the book to Harper Voyager during my birthday weekend in May 2016 It s been nearly two years since then, so I m terribly excited for it to finally go out in the world I m going to use this space to tell you a little about THE POPPY WAR in case you re wondering whether you might enjoy reading it This book is not a romance sto Hi, there THE POPPY WAR is my book, so I m obviously a bit biased I wrote it over three months during the winter of 2015, signed with an agent in February 2016, and sold the book to Harper Voyager during my birthday weekend in May 2016 It s been nearly two years since then, so I m terribly excited for it to finally go out in the world I m going to use this space to tell you a little about THE POPPY WAR in case you re wondering whether you might enjoy reading it This book is not a romance story This is not a YA fantasy school story sorry I love those too Yes, there s a school, and we learn some things at the school, but please don t let that description deceive you as we leave that setting quite quickly This is, as I ve always conceived it, a war story It draws heavily on the Second Sino Japanese war which if you know anything about Asia was one of the darkest and bloodiest moments in Chinese history It grapples with the Rape of Nanjing It deals heavily with...I know I tell you all that I love Petrik a lot, but he knows my reading taste better than anyone on Goodreads, and he was so kind when recommending this to me, so I went to read his perfect review and Ownvoices Asian inspired grimdark fantasy That everyone is comparing to NotW That talks in detail about menstruation If you liked Avatar the Last Airbender but always wished it were a little darker andfucked up, you might like this R.F Kuang.and this sounds like everything I v I know I tell you all that I love Petrik a lot, but he knows my reading taste better than anyone on Goodreads, and he was so kind when recommending this to me, so I went to read his perfect review and Ownvoices Asian inspired grimdark fantasy That everyone is comparing to NotW ...I mean, we kill people on order, but on the whole we re quite niceHOW HOW HOW IS THIS JUST THE FIRST BOOK IN THE TRILOGY AND A DEBUT AT THAT It is simply so well written and basically packs at least two books in one since it happens over a span of three or so years.Rin is just goals She s now one of my favorite main characters because of how fucking badass she is From...So THE POPPY WAR starts out as kind of an inverted Mulan There s a matchmaker scene, and family decisions which force our main character, Rin to pursue a path that leads to the military Kuang makes it clear right from the jump, though, that this is no Disney movie Auntie Fang is a dark, dark woman Rin s options are bad and worse And there s sure as hell no clever dragons or lucky crickets to smooth her path In fact, all throughout the beginning of the novel, as she struggles through her fi So THE POPPY WAR starts out as kind of an inverted Mulan There s a matchmaker scene, and family decisions which force our main character, Rin to pursue a path that leads to the military Kuang makes it clear right from the jump, though, that this is no Disney movie Auntie Fang is a dark, dark woman Rin s options are bad and worse And there s sure as hell no clever dragons or lucky crickets to smooth her path In fact, all throughout the beginning of the novel, as she struggles through her first year at the top military academy, I kept wondering if there was going to be any magic in this novel, or if I were simply reading an engaging, evocative narrative that drew freely from Chinese history And then the magic shows up, and hooooly shit is it fun and wild and complex I won t spoil it, but shit gets real for Rin All of this is before the kung fu ba...My official review A thrilling, action packed fantasy of gods and mythology, THE POPPY WAR is equal parts military epic and exploration of the morally complex choices humanity must make in the name of victory The amb...I AM ON THE FLOOR I CANNOT EVENI need the rest of this trilogy desperately like wow damnnn the author really went thereThis was incredible Kuang makes world building look completely effortless, and yet there are so many carefully crafted layers of history and myth here While in some fantasy this happens at the expense of the characters, the characters here are vibran...Ever since I first read Patrick Rothfuss s The Name of the Wind, I ve waited for a fantasy novel that could match it in terms of world building, scope, and scale R.F Kuang s The Poppy War has ended that wait The novel begins in familiar territory Rin, an orphan, seeks a better life and has the talent and work ethic to achieve it She not only passes the Keju, an academic placement test, but gains entrance into Sinegard, the premiere military academy in Nikan Despite this unheard of achievem Ever since I first read Patrick Rothfuss s The Name of the Wind, I ve waited for a fantasy novel that could match it in terms of world building, scope, and scale R.F Kuang s The Poppy War has ended that wait The novel begins in familiar territory Rin, an orphan, seeks a better life and has the talent and work ethic to achieve it She not only passes the Keju, an academic placement test, but gains entrance into Sinegard, the premiere military academy in Nikan Despite this unheard of achievement, she is not accepted among her peers and continues to have to fight for her place While she struggles with difficult classes, students and teachers alike who want to see her fail, and wrenching loneliness, Rin also discovers things about herself she never could have imagined She is a shaman, one who can commune with the gods It is terrible and powerful thing, especially when the gods have desire...Can t stop grinning because I just got an ARC copy so very excited for this book

The Poppy War
  • English
  • 18 February 2018
  • Hardcover
  • 544 pages
  • 0062662597
  • R.F. Kuang
  • The Poppy War