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He saw a pale green light shining from the grotto floor. He saw faces, beautiful, but eyeless. Human faces embedded in the sand and coral, and an endless mosaic studded with silver coins, porcelain vases, and golden ingots—a bed of treasures that stretched on and on into the grotto as far as the light went. Kuang wrote The Poppy War while teaching debate in China and graduated with a degree in Chinese History from Georgetown University a few days after its release. [1] Her studies in Chinese military strategy and collective trauma inspired her to write the novel. [7] [8] She said, "I chose to write a fantasy reinterpretation of China's twentieth century, because that was the kind of story I wasn't finding on bookshelves". [7] Kuang said Rin's life is meant to parallel the trajectory of Mao Zedong. [9] Grounded in the real-world history of Chinese wars and adding a fantasy drug element inspired by the Opium Wars, [4] The Poppy War is a dark and fatalistic tale of warfare. [10] Rin must decide whether to make a deal with the gods to unleash her shamanic powers. Her decision may change the war but result in the loss of her humanity. The war between Rin's country of Nikan and Mugen mirrors the Second Sino-Japanese War with its horrors at the Nanjing Massacre. [6] Reception [ edit ] Nam, Michael (2018-05-10). " 'The Poppy War' book review: A magical, brutal coming-of-age tale in a medieval Asian fantasy world". New York Daily News . Retrieved 2018-05-12.
Rin, Venka, Nezha, and Kitay drink to their victory. Rin is then DOUBLE CROSSED AND CAPTURED WHAT by Nezha. Cries. This is where I broke. Nezha, Rin, and Kitay drink to bring in the New Year. Rin then comes across frozen bodies, which is disturbing. It looks as though people were fleeing their towns en masse. Here is a spoiler summary of what happened in The Dragon Republicby R. F. Kuang to help refresh your memory before you read the sequel , The Burning God. What happened in The Dragon Republic? Let me clarify. Book 1 was inspired, specifically, by the Second Sino-Japanese War and depicted, with gruesome accuracy, the atrocities committed in the Nanking Massacre. In Book 2, Kuang covers phase 1 of the Chinese Civil War. If anyone has more than a Year 12 education in ‘Chinese Revolutions’ please correct me but this is how I see it. There are infinite connections that can be made but given these main few, we can presume that ‘The Dragon Republic’ covered the time in which the alliance between the Chinese Communist Party (Rin) and the Government of the Republic of China (Vaisra) collapsed. By the end of this book, we are poised for the commencement of hostilities between the 2 parties which I would assume will result in Rin gaining control of the mainland and Vaisra, or whoever is left of his government, being forced to retreat to the island of Taiwan or killed. If I know anything about Kuang, they’ll be killed.Nam, Michael (2018-05-10). " 'The Poppy War' book review: A magical, brutal coming-of-age tale in a medieval Asian fantasy world". New York Daily News . Retrieved 2019-12-27. This is an uncorrected proof of the book and any quotes will be changed if they are not correct in the finished copy. I would like to thank Netgalley and the Publisher for a digital copy of this wonderful book for review.*** What The Dragon Republic did, essentially, was play with all our feelings set the stage for Rin and Nezha becoming diametrically opposed and yet fundamentally connected pieces in this game of war. By the latter half of the second book, you know that it’s undeniable that Rin and Nezha care very deeply for each other. You could even say they’re in love. And yet, that will never, ever be more important than what they want for themselves: vengeance and survival. Kang, J.C. (2018-05-02). "R. F. Kuang Interview – The Poppy War". Fantasy-Faction . Retrieved 2018-05-12. An original and engrossing tale of the coming of age of a talented young soldier amid the horrors of invasion and genocide'
Mother’s been in bed all week. She won’t find out.” Mingzha twisted around in Nezha’s grip and shot him an impish smile. “I won’t tell. The servants won’t tell. Will you?” Rodney Barnes Sets Scary Podcast Series ‘Run, Fool!’ With Ballen Studios, Eyes TV & Film Adaptations Jinzha was killed in the lake battle and he was cooked into dumplings and presented to Vaisra. Honestly one of the most disturbing parts of the series so far.She wondered if he was going to kiss her now. She didn't know much about being kissed, but if the old stories were anything to judge by, now seemed like a good time. The hero always took his maiden somewhere beautiful and declared his love under the stars. if youve read 'the poppy war,' you already know this series was headed for inevitable darkness. this is a bleak, unforgiving installment of betrayal, heartbreak, loss, and anger. i know many readers wont like the relentless tone of this novel, but i love it. appreciate it, even. i think kuang expertly captures the feelings and atmosphere of war, regardless of how miserable it may make the reader. Blood is spilled. Too many innocent people are massacred violently! I know this is not a sweet, soft reading but I felt like watching first 23 minutes opening scene of Saving Private Ryan over and over again! Yes, this book is a great test how far you survive with low pain tolerance. Something that I really love how it was depicted in this book was Rin’s healing. Rin is dealing with the aftermath of all the actions she committed, and she is living with immense grief, immense depression, immense trauma, and immense PTSD. I feel like so many times in stories we get to see characters “heal correctly” or whatever our society deems is correct. Yet, we get to see Rin make “bad” choices in her healing process. From drug addiction, to denial, to darker thoughts even. Yet, this is such a real depiction of trauma and grief, and one that we normally never get to see, especially in a fantasy setting. Rin is so rightfully angry, and her pain is so loud, you hear it unapologetically, and I loved it a lot. She should have been afraid, but when she searched his face, she couldn't find a shred of anger. Just fear.
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