The Poppy War - R.F. Kuang

⭐ 7.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

I think I have come to terms with that fact that I don't actually like the fantasy genre. I don't like contemporary fantasy, and I really only like things set in a sword and sorcery, medieval European setting (LOTR, Witcher, GoT). I read this book in part to see if it could change my mind.

Initially, I was mostly on board. I didn't love it, but I liked it more than most. The lead character was kinda spunky, and the world building was a little clearer, not being over ambitious, and basing it off real life Asia (basing fantasy on real world history is always preferable to me). But I kinda petered out, and then went back months later using audiobook.

And I'm glad I did! The book completely changes, going from a so-so Harry Potter knock off to a super bleak and bloody war chronicle. And that's good with me because I like that genre, and she writes is pretty effectively. I binged the second half of this book, not necessarily because I was in love, but it definitely was interesting enough to listen to on audio while working.

So I still have lots of thoughts, both good and bad. I do think the absolute bleak nature of this book was intriguing. Almost nothing good happens, and things keep getting darker and darker. It sounds weird to say I liked that, but it made for compelling reading. How much could they go through? I didn't love the characters, but still you wanted to see them make it out and exact revenge.

That said, there was plenty I didn't love. Going back to the characters, I would have preferred them being light in a dark story. But the character is never really great, and her motivations are kinda undercooked and feel a bit juvenile. I think there are much better reasons a character might choose to do the bad things that she ends up doing. It's not that this character felt evil (she was) but that she just wasn't putting enough thought into her decisions.

Also, while I think Kuang is a better writer than certain other fantasy contemporaries, I still didn't always jive with her style. Most of it was trying to get to this atmosphere of feudal China, but then she'll say things like "then she got kicked square in the solar plexus." She actually talks about the solar plexus multiple times. Just call it a stomach! I dunno, I am spending so much time thinking about how Tolkien rewrote LOTR like 50 times, and this kinda feels first drafty. Not Sanderson bad, but portions felt rushed (though some are polished, terrific peices of writing). I also hate any time fantasy books feature slang, and this book's go-to was "Tiger's tits" which might be the worst I've read yet.

I think this book also had massive pacing issues. It covers some 5 years or so, and just flies through plot. I'm not sure how this could have been fixed, but I think the characters suffer as a result. The narration is moment-to-moment, but then it will randomly skip a year or two with a paragraph. Just a little odd, and I never got a sense of her growth.

So yeah, overall, that's a lot of negative, but I enjoyed this book. I don't think I'll finish the series, but I'm open to it. It's miles better than your typical Sanderslop, and I prefered it a lot to Jemisin, but I would say it falls short of, say, The Name of the Wind.