The Poppy War: R F Kuang Fantasy Book Review
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The Poppy War is an epic fantasy novel debut by smash hit novelist R F Kuang, an award winning and strikingly grim military fantasy novel inspired in part by the Second Sino-Japanese War.
R F Kuang
Rebecca F Kuang, novelist and academic with a considerable knowledge of Chinese history and culture, wrote the very first instalment in her Poppy War Trilogy while still a student. The book released to critical acclaim, becoming a smash hit that spawned two sequels, all covering the Poppy Wars, a fictional series of conflicts heavily inspired by the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Just a quick summary of Kuang’s education should leave absolutely no doubt whatsoever that Kuang is a woman of considerable talent, spending time at prestigious institutions such as Georgetown, Oxford, Cambridge, and Yale.
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There are few fantasy authors with quite so distinguished an academic pedigree as Kuang, so perhaps it comes as no surprise at all that a person as highly successful and motivated as Kuang could come up with a fantasy debut quite as fantastic as The Poppy War.
And of course, Kuang absolutely hit it out of the park with The Poppy War. Blending her academic understanding of Chinese and wider East Asian history with her unique flair as a writer, Kuang produced a truly ambitious fantasy reimagining of the Second Sino-Japanese War, an epic historical military fantasy truly worth the name.
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The Poppy War Spoiler Free Review
War orphan Rin at first glance appears to be the totally standard kind of protagonist for an epic fantasy story, and in many ways, she actually is. Orphaned during a conflict between the Nikara Empire and the Federation of Mugen – both proxies for historical China and Japan during the Sino-Japanese War and related conflicts – dark skinned peasant girl Rin fears a boring and mundane life of toil and misery, with seemingly no way out.
At least until Rin discovers that she can test into an elite military school, Sinegard, and leave her boring world behind. And so of course, that is what Rin endeavors to do, as all good fantasy protagonists would.
What follows is a nightmarishly hard jaunt to boarding school, almost like a Hogwarts where every teacher is harsher than Snape, as Rin manages to attend the most elite military school in the entire Nikara Empire, proving herself to be made of much finer stuff than anyone back home would have ever thought.
Featuring a seemingly insane teacher, impeccable world building in a magnificently rendered fictionalised, fantasy China blending ancient China with a China’s Twentieth Century to create a rich, unique setting, and an elite military school, The Poppy War is the kind of fantasy debut every author would want to have.
Rin must make her way in a world which values pale skinned northerners of wealth and class over people like her, a dark skinned peasant girl with no family, and does so in a way that’s challenging and authentic to her character.
Spoiler free Verdict
While there are some parts of the book which feel almost cartoonishly grimdark, the very fact the The Poppy War and many of the events within it are rooted in actual historical events only serves to underline the true horror of war. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that The Poppy War is well worth a read. For fans of epic historical military fantasy, The Poppy War is an easy sell.
But even for fans with a little less interest in military fantasy or darker fantasy, The Poppy War is a compelling tale with a wonderfully realised protagonist and a whole lot of depth. The Poppy War is easily one of the best fantasy debut novels of all time.
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The Poppy War Review: Spoilers Ahead!
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a truly vicious conflict with millions dead on each side, filled with horrendous atrocities. A lesser author may have steered well away from depictions of such things in their debut fantasy novel, but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Kuang is not a lesser author.
The Poppy War is a truly ambitious fantasy reimagining of many of the conflicts between historical Japan and China, and set in a fantastic world where magic and mystery lurks just beneath the surface. Rin’s shamanic powers granted by gods long thought dead rub shoulders with military strategy and events right out of real world history as Kuang creates an incredible morality tale with truly superb epic fantasy wrapping.
Kuang manages to weave the look and feel of ancient China, China’s Twentieth Century, and wider East Asian history into a strikingly grim military fantasy novel which isn’t at all afraid of dealing with horrific and upsetting events such as a Nanjing Massacre and its aftermath.
She handles these and many other issues with grace and style, blending them into the narrative of the story and into the world building. As a fan of world building and epic fantasy in general I very much enjoyed my time in the Nikara Empire. As a fantasy debut, The Poppy War was great. The Poppy War and later the entire Poppy War Trilogy was a masterclass in how to craft an impeccably entertaining story laced with deeper meaning and references to history.
Make no mistake – The Poppy War is grimdark fantasy, but it’s grimdark fantasy with a point, portraying with accuracy the horrors of the Second Sino-Japanese War and war in general.
Even the early portions of the book where Rin attends Sinegard, the elite military school, speaks to the difficulties faced by ethnic minorities and those from more deprived economic backgrounds when attending prestigious institutions such as the most elite military school in the Nikara Empire.
More than the gods long thought dead, Rin’s shamanic powers, or the seemingly insane teacher, the very real and relatable journey undertaken by war orphan protagonist Rin is the real draw, as she moves from just surviving school to being dropped right into a war inspired by one of the bloodiest and most vicious wars of East Asian history.
The third Poppy War is the perfect setting for such an exploration, drawing together diverse themes into a coherent narrative along with excellent world building featuring Chinese history and a setting from East Asian history that felt fresh.
Verdict
The Poppy War is a tour de force of epic military fantasy, a truly original and engrossing tale of a talented young soldier amid horrific and brutal war. The Poppy War is a fantastic opener to the Third Poppy War setting of the Poppy War Trilogy, an introduction to Kuang’s fantasy world with a truly bloody history.
Debut novelist Kuang creates the perfect journey for war orphan protagonist Rin, taking her from her humble origins and placing her into an elite military school before finally sending her off to war.
There is again absolutely no doubt in my mind that The Poppy War is one of the best fantasy debut novels of all time, and anyone with any interest at all in world building, historical fantasy, and military fantasy absolutely needs to read this fantastic fantasy debut.
