The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)

by R.F. Kuang

Well, fuck the heavenly order of things.

“Oil that’s been scooped off the street. The big restaurants toss their cooking oil into the gutter. The street food vendors siphon it up and reuse it.”

I wonder how many people know this isn't fiction

Rin supposed that was fair. She herself found the dialect nearly indecipherable; every word, it seemed, had to be shortened, with a curt r noise added to the end.

Damn, she really wrote a book about China and replaced the place names

“I hate this city. The way they talk—that stupid apprentice—it’s like they don’t think I should be here.” “Of course they don’t,” said Tutor Feyrik. “You’re a war orphan. You’re a southerner. You weren’t supposed to pass the Keju. The Warlords like to claim that the Keju makes Nikan a meritocracy, but the system is designed to keep the poor and illiterate in their place. You’re offending them with your very presence.”

Hmmm Kuang keeps saying this. It's only the second chapter

“Aw, shut it.” The apprentice feigned a yawn. “You’re at a military academy. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to kill each other throughout this year. But save it until after orientation, won’t you?”

Me

The boy sat, looking immensely relieved.

KITAY MY LOVE I KNOW ITS YOU

“The Federation is gone because we were so pathetic that the great naval powers to the west felt bad for us. We did such a terrible job defending our country that it took genocide for Hesperia to intervene.

Looooove American involvement

“Jima’s philosophy is that hunger is good. It’ll keep you light, focused,” explained Raban.

Light in the head si ka isus

But if words of command are clear, but orders are not executed, then the troop leaders are to blame.’ Then he selected the two most senior concubines in the group and had them beheaded.”

Shit lesson

“Then begin.” They drilled. They were flawless.

What the hell is this. How?

“You’re on,” Rin started to say, but Kitay slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, no. Oh, no, no.” Kitay yanked Rin back. “You heard Jun, you shouldn’t—” But Rin shrugged Kitay off. “Jun’s not here, is he?”

Stupid. She was so scared of being expelled but now...

“Just as you said.” Rin dipped her head into a mocking bow. “I only know one kick.”

Putting a character at risk to prove a petty point. Hm.

“Consider me bullied and intimidated, just let me sleep.”

Me

“Doesn’t he feel pain?” Rin demanded. “He’s not human.” “He’s not,” said Raban. “He’s a Speerly.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know how to talk,” Nezha suggested. “You know how the Speerlies were. Wild and bloodthirsty. Hardly knew what to do with themselves unless they’d been given orders.” “The Speerlies weren’t idiots,” Niang protested. “They were primitive. Scarcely more intelligent than children,” Nezha insisted. “I heard that they’re more closely related to monkeys than human beings. Their brains are smaller. Did you know they didn’t even have a written language before the Red Emperor? They’re good at fighting, but not much else.”

If he becomes Rin's love interest somehow, I'm going to break a table

Nezha’s lip curled. “Spend a lot of time staring at Altan’s eyes, do you?” Kitay blushed.

Oh!

Before the civilizing influence of the Red Emperor’s envoys, the Speerlies were a primitive people who practiced vulgar and barbaric rituals. They had very little to offer culturally or technologically—in fact, they seemed centuries behind the rest of the world.

Sounds about brainwashed to me

“The Speerlies were a barbaric, war-obsessed race,” he said. “They trained their children for battle as soon as they could walk.

Aren't y'all doing the same

“Let me be perfectly clear. There are no shamans. There are no more Speerlies.

I know what's about to happen

Even Venka looked stunned.

Why? Isn't she also just as elitist?

Jun’s punishment was as good as an expulsion. She was done. It was over. She’d be back in Tikany within a year. But Nezha attacked first. The more she considered this, the faster her despair crystallized into anger. Nezha had tried to kill her. She had acted only in self-defense. Why had she been thrown out of the class, when Nezha had gotten off with little more than a slap on the wrist? But it was so clear why. Nezha was a Sinegardian noble, the son of a Warlord, and she was a country girl with no connections and no status. Expelling Nezha would have been troublesome and politically contentious. He mattered. She did not.

How many times do you have to say this

“That’s because Nezha was born with a gold ingot in his mouth. Nezha got off because his father’s got half the faculty here by their balls. Nezha’s from Sinegard, so Nezha’s special, Nezha belongs here.”

Shut up

It was a testament, perhaps, to the lack of sexual education in Tikany that Rin didn’t learn about menstruation until that morning.

No periods until 16? Wtf

But I don’t want children, Rin thought. I want to stay here. If that procedure could stop her menstruating, if it could help her remain at Sinegard, it was worth it.

Yeah this cookie is full of dumb ideas. She's also likely to be the last female Speerly.

She had now been painfully reminded that her place here was not permanent. The Keju had meant nothing. The Keju had tested her ability to recite poems like a parrot. Why had she ever imagined that might have prepared her for a school like Sinegard?

SHUT THE FUCK UUUUUUUPPPPPP

“You’d rather kill your own people than let the opponent’s army walk away?” Irjah asked. “Killing isn’t the same as letting die,” Rin objected.

Wtf

“She’s talking about decimating entire villages!” Venka protested. “You can’t just break a dam like that. Dams take years to rebuild. The entire river delta will flood, not just that valley. You’re talking about famine. Dysentery. You’ll mess with the agriculture of the entire region, create a whole host of problems that mean decades of suffering down the line—”

It's... a war

“I’m not entirely sure that’s not what happened,” Rin said. “There’s some evidence that the attack on Speer was allowed to succeed.” Irjah’s expression betrayed nothing, but his fingers tapped thoughtfully against his wooden desk. “Explain.” “I find it very difficult to believe that the strongest fighting force in the Militia could have been annihilated so easily. That, and the island was suspiciously poorly defended.”

In the months since the semester began, Jiang hadn’t shown up once to class. Students occasionally spotted him around campus doing inexcusably rude things. He had in turn flipped Nezha’s lunch tray out of his hands and walked away whistling, petted Kitay on the head while making a pigeon-like cooing noise, and tried to snip Venka’s hair off with garden shears. Whenever a student managed to pin him down to ask about his course, Jiang made a loud farting noise with his mouth and elbow and skirted away.

What the fuck is his deal. I like him

His eyes were a pale blue color she had never seen on anyone in the Empire.

Man's Gojo

“Martial arts came to the Empire by way of a warrior named Bodhidharma from the southeastern continent.

I'm so serious stop bringing up real people

“They’re not sure if he’s going to be able to walk again. Nezha shattered his kneecap.” “Seems like Nohai’s problem.” Rin didn’t want to hear about Nezha’s victories.

Oh you're so stupid

It wasn’t enough. She was still burning. Ignoring the shouts of the masters behind her, she set off at a run.

“You’re burning,” he said in amazement.

Speerly alert

“One urinating statue for my easily entertained friend.”

Me and Sandra

Lan cooked them spicy peppercorn hot pot,

Oop there it is

“Then why don’t they worship me?” Rin complained.

Scary

Don’t know when I’ll be back. Open fire from both sides. Four civilians dead.’” Niang read Irjah’s note aloud. “Gods. That’s war, isn’t it?” “Not necessarily.” Kitay was the only one who seemed utterly calm. “There are skirmishes all the time.” “But there were casualties—” “There are always casualties,” said Kitay. “This has been going on for nearly two decades. We hate them, they hate us, a handful of people die because of it.”

“I understand the truth of things,” she murmured. “I know what it means to exist.”

Cringe

She wanted to learn to channel it, not to suppress it.

Ugh

The first-year stuck out his chin. “Sinegard is my home. I’ll defend it. I’m not a little kid, I don’t have to be herded out like all those terrified women and children.”

Sad how people are brainwashed to be patriotic

“I’m scared some of the younger ones are going to sneak back in,” he told her quietly. “You’ve got to admire them,” said Rin. “Their city’s about to be invaded and their first thought is to defend it.” “They’re being stupid,” said Raban. He spoke with none of his usual patience. He looked exhausted. “This is not the time for heroism. This is war. If they stay, they’re dead.”

“We’re at war! We might die anyway. So maybe calling the gods gives us a fighting chance. What’s the worst that could happen?” “You’re so young,” he said softly. “You have no idea.”

I will keep you sane, Jiang had promised. But he had not kept her sane. He had shown her a great power, a tantalizingly wonderful power strong enough to protect her city and country, and then he had forbidden her from accessing it.

He tried his darndest but you didn't listen babes

It’s just a physiological reaction, she told herself. It’s just in your mind. You can control it. You can make it go away.

Fear is the mind killer lol

Jiang stood before them, his white hair hanging still in the air as if he had been struck by lightning. His feet did not touch the ground. Both his arms were flung out, blocking the tremendous force of the general’s halberd with his own iron staff.

Gandalf the White

A Speerly? Her?

Bitch I thought you knew

“Aratsha prefers to spend his time in this guise if he can help it,” Baji interjected. “You don’t want to see his human form. Very grisly.”

I like Aratsha

“I like Ramsa,” she offered. “He’s a charmer. Like a new puppy. You think he’s adorable until he pisses on the furniture.” “Did he?” “No. But he did take a shit in Baji’s pillow once. Don’t get on his bad side.” Altan grimaced.

Men and women had been thrown against the walls of buildings. They remained frozen there with a kind of ghastly adhesion, pinned like preserved butterflies. The intense pressure from the bombs had torn off their clothes; they hung naked like a grotesque display of the human form.