My rating: 5 of 5 stars
HOLY SHIT
R.F. Kuang does not play. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, other than a strong recommendation to read this by a good friend of mine. I wasn't sure what I felt starting out, and felt the same way at the end for entirely different reasons.
This book will ruin you. It bares out the brutality that humans are capable of, especially in war.
It brings to light an event in Japan and China's past : The Nanking Massacre. It was brutal and according to Dan Carlin, only gave an arbitrary number of 300,000 deaths, but could have actually been closer to 500,000 (Thanks Dan Carlin.) Now imagine an author taking those facts and finding a way to recreate those numbers in the most brutal and torturous ways possible; some that can be no doubt borrowed from methods that were actually used during the Nanking Massacre.
The book is overzealous with torture and I had to stop at certain sections near the end where I was emotionally drained by the horror of what humans can do in the name of "war." The atrocities committed by one side truly made me cringe, especially a scene describing the rape experience of one character. Yes, that's my trigger warning.
So why did this book get 5 stars if I was so horrified? It takes a very special talent to make you feel what characters feel in the way that R.F. Kuang did in The Poppy War. It was well written. It was beautiful. It took it's story from real life events, like the true Poppy Wars and ran away with it, adding a bit of fantasy and godly powers.
The main character, Rin, is not a hero. . She does terrible things, sometimes by her own will, sometimes by survival need. She is bold and sometimes obsesses too much over how certain people perceive her and the squad she's been placed in during the war.
So, the romance, you're wondering. Is there any? Ehhhh, No. But Hetal you only read books with at least a little romance!! It's like your one requirement in a book! I know, I know, such a long book without romance in the fantasy genre? I'm making an exception. Though I craved a romance aspect in The Poppy War, it wasn't necessary in this book. And honestly? There wasn't time for romance. In no way were the events unfolding in this book even a smidgen conducive to holding a romance plot. BUT, it does set up potential love interests in book 2 and I do think book 2 will have a romance subplot solely due to the fact that we're talking about humans bonding over terrible experiences and needing to not be lonely. I'm waiting for a sort of redemption arc (*cough* Altan *cough*) from a certain character as well, though I do not think he will be the love Interest. My prediction and bets are on Nezha stealing that role. I will say no more on that, because spoilers.
SUCH A GOOD BOOK. I listened to it on audible and the narrator is amazing and does a spectacular job with the voices and really lets you the anger and despair. If you're hesitating because you don't want to commit to reading to it, listen instead. Hopefully, like me, you will be utterly enraptured.
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