R.F. Kuang’s debut novel, The Poppy War (Harper Voyager), is a study in every kind of violence. The humor is a bitter laugh, the lessons bruising ... The book starts as an epic bildungsroman, and just when you think it can’t get any darker, it does. Its Chinese influences and female character will garner comparisons to Mulan, but that’s a cheap thread. Kuang pulls from East Asian history, including the brutality of the Second Sino-Japanese war, to weave a wholly unique experience.
R.F. Kuang must first be congratulated on seamlessly drawing on and then reshaping Chinese history as influence for the world Rin [the protagonist] inhabits ... Her tenacity, stubbornness and insecurity are instantly sympathetic and Kuang’s attention to Rin’s feelings opens up oceans of emotional depth ... It would be a thrill to see Rin, fresh from the crucible of The Poppy War, on the pages of a sequel novel.
Kuang ambitiously begins a trilogy that doesn't shy away from the darkest sides of her characters wrapped in a confectionery of high-fantasy pulp ... Frankly, it's also just wonderful to have more genre stories told through an Asian cultural tableau. The future of Rin in this world may appear quite dark, but that of the series seems bright indeed.
As it stands, The Poppy War is definitely in dialogue with this tradition, but standing slightly apart from it: it flirts with the nihilistic cynicism of the grimdark tradition without quite committing to it, and holds out hope for things to become either better or worse in the sequel ... The Poppy War is a complex, sprawling, ambitious novel, part coming of age and part tragedy of power, that uses motifs and influences from the 20th century ... I feel ambivalent about whether or not it has succeeded in its ambitions, but Kuang is certainly a voice to watch.
The Poppy War is not without its problems, but it's still an enjoyable book ... The cast of characters is quite diverse, and present day issues of racial inequality are handled quite well here. So if you’re someone who likes your fantasy a little on the darker side and if you’re not turned off by violence, you might want to give this one a try.
