465 books
—
77 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)” as Want to Read:
The Poppy War
(The Poppy War #1)
by
A "Best of May" Science Fiction and Fantasy pick by Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Audible, The Verge, SyFy Wire, and Kirkus
“I have no doubt this will end up being the best fantasy debut of the year [...] I have absolutely no doubt that [Kuang’s] name will be up there with the likes of Robin Hobb and N.K. Jemisin.” -- Booknest
A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting ...more
“I have no doubt this will end up being the best fantasy debut of the year [...] I have absolutely no doubt that [Kuang’s] name will be up there with the likes of Robin Hobb and N.K. Jemisin.” -- Booknest
A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting ...more
Get A Copy
Paperback, 544 pages
Published
April 23rd 2019
by Harper Voyager
(first published May 1st 2018)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
The Poppy War,
please sign up.
Popular Answered Questions
R.F. Kuang
YES ITS A TRILOGY
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)

Apr 08, 2018
Petrik
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Blood Song, grimdark/military fantasy fans
Shelves:
favorites,
arcs-and-review-copies
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 ...more
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 ...more

A really good book has a beginning, a middle, and then it absolutely ends you.
The Poppy War is a really good book.
I wish my pupils were at least heart-shaped so I could more accurately demonstrate my passion but if I ever die suddenly and don't have time to say anything profound, just know that my real last words will always be about how much I love this book.
So, what's this book about?
The Poppy War is a historical military fantasy grounded in the bloody history of China’s 20th century in ...more
The Poppy War is a really good book.
I wish my pupils were at least heart-shaped so I could more accurately demonstrate my passion but if I ever die suddenly and don't have time to say anything profound, just know that my real last words will always be about how much I love this book.
So, what's this book about?
The Poppy War is a historical military fantasy grounded in the bloody history of China’s 20th century in ...more

“But I warn you, little warrior. The price of power is pain.”
Holy hell, what did I just read??
➽ A fantasy military school
➽ A rich world based on modern Chinese history
➽ Shamans and gods
➽ Detailed characterization leading to unforgettable characters
➽ Adorable, opium-smoking mentors
That's a basic list, but this book is all of that and SO MUCH MORE. I know 100% that The Poppy War will be one of my best reads of 2018.
Isn't it just so great when you find one of those books that completely drags y ...more

You think I torture my characters? Pffft. I am a rank amateur compared to R.F. Kuang! Set in an alternate Asia and inspired by the Opium Wars and 19th Century colonialism in China, The Poppy War is the story of Rin, a small-town orphan whose only chance to escape poverty and an oppressive arranged marriage is to score top marks on the government’s exams and earn a place at Sinegard Academy, where the Nikara Empire’s best and brightest are trained for leadership. Imagine a combination of West Poi
...more

Feb 24, 2018
R.F. Kuang
rated it
it was amazing
· (Review from the author)
·
review of another edition
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 ...more
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 ...more

Jul 03, 2018
Emily (Books with Emily Fox)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
2018-releases
Hands down Best Fantasy of 2018!
This was such an amazing read and cannot wait to get my hands on the rest of the trilogy. The books will be insta buys for me!
War, school, magic, no freaking romance... This book kept me on my toes.
I have no doubt this series will become huge and I'll make sure to rave about it until you all read it!
PS. Just wanted to add that there are trigger warnings for... well everything. Self harm, drug use, rape, etc. It's a pretty dark book! ...more
This was such an amazing read and cannot wait to get my hands on the rest of the trilogy. The books will be insta buys for me!
War, school, magic, no freaking romance... This book kept me on my toes.
I have no doubt this series will become huge and I'll make sure to rave about it until you all read it!
PS. Just wanted to add that there are trigger warnings for... well everything. Self harm, drug use, rape, etc. It's a pretty dark book! ...more

I'm not going to lie, I struggled with this one. Right up to about 45% in I was wondering how the hell anyone was giving this 5 stars - not only was it not grimdark, it was borderline/actual YA, and a rather blatant rip off of The Name of the Wind to boot, including but not limited to: super clever, good at EVERYTHING main character who gets a place at top university/college and proceeds to be trained/confused/challenged by quirky professor/lore master who is the only one who believes in/can do
...more

May 31, 2018
Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
all-time-favorites
The Nikara believed in strictly defined social roles, a rigid hierarchy that all were locked into at birth. Everything had its own place under heaven. Princelings became Warlords, cadets became soldiers, and orphan shopgirls from Tikany should be content with remaining orphan shopgirls from Tikany.Epic. Spectacular. Breathtaking. This is the one of the best books I have ever read in my adult life. I literally could not put it down. I'm gushing, I know ...more
Well, fuck the heavenly order of things.

The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1) by R.F. Kuang

Gods, magic, and war. A military fantasy where the atmosphere inspired by Song Dynasty and the conflict in the book based on The Second Sino-Japanese War, you can be sure that this book won't be an easy one. Brutal story. Incredible world-building. Excellent writing. This is a story that asks us to examine how we weigh the life of ‘the other’, how we justify atrocities, and what it means to be human. Definitely wouldn’t recommend for a younger read ...more

Gods, magic, and war. A military fantasy where the atmosphere inspired by Song Dynasty and the conflict in the book based on The Second Sino-Japanese War, you can be sure that this book won't be an easy one. Brutal story. Incredible world-building. Excellent writing. This is a story that asks us to examine how we weigh the life of ‘the other’, how we justify atrocities, and what it means to be human. Definitely wouldn’t recommend for a younger read ...more

reread 1/8/21: Reading this another time knowing exactly how everything ends is... so painful. I feel such a deep sense of despair for these characters and how their lives are touched and terribly scarred by war and trauma. I was able to appreciate Rin’s character arc in a whole new light after reading the next books, and I also shed a lot of my initial dislike of Altan this time around. This book and series is so wonderfully written, and it is so tragic to witness but a blessing at the same tim
...more

”Children ceased to be children when you put a sword in their hands. When you taught them to fight a war, then you armed them and put them on the front lines, they were not children anymore. They were soldiers.”
This book. I mean… THIS BOOK! *sighs deeply and shakes head*
There is so much to be said about “The Poppy War” and I’m afraid I won’t even be able to put at least half of my thoughts into decent sentences. Because after finishing this book about a month ago (A MONTH AGO!!!) I still have tr ...more
This book. I mean… THIS BOOK! *sighs deeply and shakes head*
There is so much to be said about “The Poppy War” and I’m afraid I won’t even be able to put at least half of my thoughts into decent sentences. Because after finishing this book about a month ago (A MONTH AGO!!!) I still have tr ...more

Apr 09, 2018
Melanie
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Melanie by:
Petrik

ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
“But I warn you, little warrior. The price of power is pain.”
First and foremost, please go read one of my best friends in this entire world’s review: Petrik’s review is not only amazing, he is also an ownvoices Chinese reviewer. Next, I just want to warn you guys that this is a very dark book that is heavily inspired by the Nanking Massacre. Please use caution and know that this book has major trigger and co ...more

Low 3 Stars
Boy, did it take me forever to finish this thing.
I really wanted to love this book. One of my favorite reviewers adored it and sang it's praises, but it just didn't draw me in the way I thought it would.
The last 150 pages or so got really good (thus why I rated it 3 instead of the possible 2 I was planning on up until that point - not that it matters) and I smashed through them in one sitting; however, it still didn't save the entire book for me.
I felt that the world-building was lo ...more
Boy, did it take me forever to finish this thing.
I really wanted to love this book. One of my favorite reviewers adored it and sang it's praises, but it just didn't draw me in the way I thought it would.
The last 150 pages or so got really good (thus why I rated it 3 instead of the possible 2 I was planning on up until that point - not that it matters) and I smashed through them in one sitting; however, it still didn't save the entire book for me.
I felt that the world-building was lo ...more

Oct 16, 2020
✨ A ✨
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
adult,
faves-adult-scifi-and-fantasy,
five-stars,
read-in-2020,
fantasy,
buddy-read,
cross-post,
debut
You know when you read the first few chapters of a book and you’re overcome by a feeling, a knowing, that this book is going to stick with you. That you don’t know what’s going to happen next, but you can tell you’re going to love it? — that’s what The Poppy War made me feel.
The writing was exquisite. It drew me in, and kept me hooked. It felt like I was watching a movie in my head, everything was so vivid, mesmerising but also heartbreaking. From descriptions of the setting, to the history and ...more
The writing was exquisite. It drew me in, and kept me hooked. It felt like I was watching a movie in my head, everything was so vivid, mesmerising but also heartbreaking. From descriptions of the setting, to the history and ...more

TW: child abuse; self harm; death of animals; VERY graphic violence; gore; graphic torture; graphic deaths particularly of women and children; rape; self-sterilization; opium use
(Note that this is not throughout the book; the torture and graphic death are mostly present in 2 chapters)
This is a adult grimdark fantasy inspired by the historical events of the second Sino-Japanese war. It weaves the fantastical elements of magic and gods with the grim realities of war. I adored our characters and ...more
(Note that this is not throughout the book; the torture and graphic death are mostly present in 2 chapters)
This is a adult grimdark fantasy inspired by the historical events of the second Sino-Japanese war. It weaves the fantastical elements of magic and gods with the grim realities of war. I adored our characters and ...more

Jun 03, 2018
Sean Barrs
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Grimdark junkies
Shelves:
fantasy,
4-star-reads
The Poppy War is not a book to be missed by fantasy fans and especially those who like it infused with copious amounts of blood, darkness and misery.
This isn’t some fluffy little tale about teenage romance and personal discovery (although it may seem that way in the beginning.) This is a book about reality. Now that’s an odd thing to say isn’t it? Reality? We’re talking about fantasy here. But do let me explain.
This is a book about the realities of war. War isn’t pretty. War isn’t about heroic ...more
This isn’t some fluffy little tale about teenage romance and personal discovery (although it may seem that way in the beginning.) This is a book about reality. Now that’s an odd thing to say isn’t it? Reality? We’re talking about fantasy here. But do let me explain.
This is a book about the realities of war. War isn’t pretty. War isn’t about heroic ...more

Oct 08, 2020
Mary S. R.
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
grim military fantasy fans (not grimdark)
Recommended to Mary by:
♠ TABI⁷ ♠
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
sociology,
faves,
fantasy,
dark,
philosophy,
adult,
religion,
politics,
mythology
When you are so hyped for a book you’re practically giving helium a run for its money, there are only 3 possibilities:
I was hoping for the third.
But I’ll settle for the second.
☆ You write a pungent review, crushed beneath the waves of disappointment.
✯ You write a loving criticism, pleased that it was good but displeased that it was not that good.
★ You write a gushing piece, declaring your heart stolen and your soul sold.
I was hoping for the third.
But I’ll settle for the second.
Credit: Jhoca
...more
“You will be offered power beyond your imagination. But

‘this book will seriously mess you up.’
- ancient chinese proverb
lets get down to business. there is a lot to unpack with this book, so im going to use this review as a way to process my thoughts. to begin, the story is broken down into three parts.
part one - this felt very YA to me. students are gathered at an elite school to train to become top soldiers for an imminent war. we get introductions to characters and decent world building. its very straight forward feel to this section.
part two - t ...more
- ancient chinese proverb
lets get down to business. there is a lot to unpack with this book, so im going to use this review as a way to process my thoughts. to begin, the story is broken down into three parts.
part one - this felt very YA to me. students are gathered at an elite school to train to become top soldiers for an imminent war. we get introductions to characters and decent world building. its very straight forward feel to this section.
part two - t ...more

Jun 29, 2018
Connor
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Connor by:
Emily
Shelves:
fantasy
My Video Review:
https://youtu.be/6hlv4tFLNRI
This novel started out so strong for me, and I can't believe how little I was enjoying it toward the end. This novel reads like two separate people wrote it. I loved the first 40 percent. I know people have compared The Poppy War to The Kingkiller Chronicle because of the academy setting and the fact that the main characters don't have much going on personality-wise. I get that criticism, but I was just enjoying the academy and the classes and everythi ...more
https://youtu.be/6hlv4tFLNRI
This novel started out so strong for me, and I can't believe how little I was enjoying it toward the end. This novel reads like two separate people wrote it. I loved the first 40 percent. I know people have compared The Poppy War to The Kingkiller Chronicle because of the academy setting and the fact that the main characters don't have much going on personality-wise. I get that criticism, but I was just enjoying the academy and the classes and everythi ...more

UK folks! The ebook is on sale for 99 pennies! Might as well aboard the hype train.
———————————————
“You humans inflict everything on yourselves, and then blame us afterward. Every calamity has been man-made.”
And this is exactly why I don’t read fantasy nearly as often as I should. I am wiped the fuck out. I’m not even going to try and be coherent here, no point.
This was exhausting and traumatic and INcredible to read. And I expected that. But I was not prepared for this story to wrap itself ...more
———————————————
“You humans inflict everything on yourselves, and then blame us afterward. Every calamity has been man-made.”
And this is exactly why I don’t read fantasy nearly as often as I should. I am wiped the fuck out. I’m not even going to try and be coherent here, no point.
This was exhausting and traumatic and INcredible to read. And I expected that. But I was not prepared for this story to wrap itself ...more

I received an advanced reader copy of The Poppy War from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank R. F. Kuang and Harper Voyager for this opportunity.
Rin is a war orphan who works at her foster parents' shop and their main income is created by dealing drugs. Only just into her teenage years, Rin is offered a proposal to marry and bear children for an unattractive gentleman three times her age who has no redeeming qualities. She decides she needs to escape this prese ...more
Rin is a war orphan who works at her foster parents' shop and their main income is created by dealing drugs. Only just into her teenage years, Rin is offered a proposal to marry and bear children for an unattractive gentleman three times her age who has no redeeming qualities. She decides she needs to escape this prese ...more

I loved this reread!!

I can relate to so much with Rin. I love her and so many others. There were a few things but they were just mentioned so it was not as bad. There are some graphically human stuff but that’s okay. Either way, a fantastic book!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 ...more

I can relate to so much with Rin. I love her and so many others. There were a few things but they were just mentioned so it was not as bad. There are some graphically human stuff but that’s okay. Either way, a fantastic book!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 ...more

Sep 09, 2020
Nenia ✨️ Socially Awkward Trash Panda ✨️ Campbell
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition

Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || Pinterest
Whew. I buddy-read this with my friends Maraya and Sage and I'm honestly glad it was a team effort, because I'm not sure I would have gotten through the book on my own. The last time I tried to read this, I ended up quitting at 14% because I was so bored. THE POPPY WAR is a pretty widely-read book that a lot of people have read and have opinions about and I guess I'm just one of the masses in that regard, because I have a lot of things t ...more

REREAD JULY 2019: THIS WAS EVEN BETTER THE SECOND TIME AROUND ??? some thoughts:
• Altan [redacted] makes me so sad and umm ... I refuse to accept it? Turn up in The Dragon Republic king !
• Altan + Changhan .. does anyone else get a gay vibe
• I loved Nezha in this SO MUCH MORE THAN THE FIRST TIME and he really is my piece of shit son
• the scene where Nezha and Rin fight back to back IS art I don't take criticism
• KITAY NEEDS PROTECTION AT ALL COSTS
• I love this fantasy so much like ... interestin ...more
• Altan [redacted] makes me so sad and umm ... I refuse to accept it? Turn up in The Dragon Republic king !
• Altan + Changhan .. does anyone else get a gay vibe
• I loved Nezha in this SO MUCH MORE THAN THE FIRST TIME and he really is my piece of shit son
• the scene where Nezha and Rin fight back to back IS art I don't take criticism
• KITAY NEEDS PROTECTION AT ALL COSTS
• I love this fantasy so much like ... interestin ...more


Me: typing this post while trying not to move my neck because this book gave me a spine-cracking case of whiplash…
What just happened? I haven’t experienced this kind of love/hate 180 with a book in years. It’s like this was written by two people. One would be an author I would add to my auto-buy list. The other I would never read again.
Let me go ahead and throw out the obligatory “SPOILERS” warning now, because I have some feels and I need to talk about them without censuring myself.
This book is ...more

The second and the third books are calling me 💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃
Oh, Rin 🖤
"Warfare was about absolutes. Us or them. Victory or defeat. There was no middle way. There was no mercy. No surrender."
And this happens exactly in this book.
I want to talk about so many things but it's just that there are so many things that I can talk about which might actually become spoilers so I am in a dilemma since yesterday as to how to write the review about this book.
This book is so many things at once (as it's supposed t ...more
Oh, Rin 🖤
"Warfare was about absolutes. Us or them. Victory or defeat. There was no middle way. There was no mercy. No surrender."
And this happens exactly in this book.
I want to talk about so many things but it's just that there are so many things that I can talk about which might actually become spoilers so I am in a dilemma since yesterday as to how to write the review about this book.
This book is so many things at once (as it's supposed t ...more

Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars
I can't believe this is a debut. I can't believe the author is in her early twenties. I can't believe humanity's history with war and violence is so deeply disturbing.
RTC. ...more
I can't believe this is a debut. I can't believe the author is in her early twenties. I can't believe humanity's history with war and violence is so deeply disturbing.
RTC. ...more

The increasing level of violence over the course of this book was tough for me. It's a stunning debut though and one of those thick books that somehow flies by quickly. The characters are very well done. I empathized with all of them. And the China-inspired world is a real standout!
The thing I'll come back to later is the terrible thoughtful tradeoffs this book presents about taking on the Gods/magic/power. That aspect of the book is phenomenal.
But it is very very violent. Like, be prepared for ...more
The thing I'll come back to later is the terrible thoughtful tradeoffs this book presents about taking on the Gods/magic/power. That aspect of the book is phenomenal.
But it is very very violent. Like, be prepared for ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Reading Women: 22) A Fantasy Novel by an Asian Author | 33 | 585 | 4 minutes ago | |
Ranters and Revie...: The Poppy War | 21 | 20 | 14 hours, 3 min ago | |
SciFi and Fantasy...: "The Poppy War" - Full Discussion *Spoilers* | 72 | 276 | Jan 16, 2021 03:33PM | |
YA Addicted Book ...: The Poppy War - January 1st | 28 | 34 | Jan 15, 2021 05:08AM | |
Asians Under a Ty...: The Poppy War by RF Kuang | 3 | 13 | Dec 14, 2020 07:14PM | |
Asians Under a Ty...: TPW | Chapter 6 - 14 | 1 | 3 | Dec 14, 2020 05:28AM | |
YA Buddy Readers'...: The Poppy War (The Poppy War #1) by R.F. Kuang - Restarting November 10th 2020 | 66 | 123 | Dec 05, 2020 08:29PM |
Hello! I use Goodreads to support books I really loved (I don't review or even always finish books I don't like) so it's mostly 5 star ratings here. I don't check GR very often so I don't respond to friend requests or messages. If you'd like to get in touch, find me on Twitter or at my author website–thanks!
...more
Other books in the series
The Poppy War
(3 books)
Articles featuring this book
If you love the fantasy genre, this is the season for you! Some of the biggest books out this fall promise to be epics full of magic, adventure,...
192 likes · 49 comments
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
“War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who remains.”
—
337 likes
“I have become something wonderful, she thought. I have become something terrible. Was she now a goddess or a monster? Perhaps neither. Perhaps both.”
—
142 likes
More quotes…