WeHa Book Club

*Spoiler-Free Review*

I’ve always tried to diversify – or at least stagger – my reading list, based on genre or general ‘feel’. If I’m reading a post-apocalyptic drama, for example, I try to make my next read a coming-of-age YA book or otherworldly fantasy epic. I’m usually in the middle of 2 or 3 books at once, and this helps avoid any confusion.

That said, I’m prone to slipping up from time and time and boy am I in one now…

A Fantasy/Sci-Fi story about rebellion against an oppressive government? Oops! I’m suddenly reading three of these series all at once. Maybe even four if you consider the comic series Monstress which features many of the same themes.

I’m reading The Hunger Games trilogy, where I’m currently in the middle of book #3, Mockingjay. Check out my spoiler-free reviews for The Hunger Games and Catching Fire here. I’m also on book #4 of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. You can read my latest review about The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook here.

And after continued recommendations from a friend of mine, I decided I could no longer wait to start his favorite fantasy series, The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang. And boy am I glad I did. Focused much more on lore and legend than The Hunger Games and Dungeon Crawl Carl – at least so far – the first entry into the Poppy War series has so much to like right from the first page.

It’s one part teenage coming-of-age novel and one part fantasy war epic. It features elements not unlike Harry Potter’s introduction to Hogwarts while carrying the immense end-of-the-universe stakes of Lord of the Rings.

And so much ground is covered in this first book as well. In an attempt to avoid spoilers as best I can, it’s almost like the story arc of the first, let’s say six Harry Potter books is crammed into this first book of The Poppy War. And while it’s not particularly short at over 500 pages, it’s not dauntingly long either, making the pace a feat, in and of itself.

To be clear, this is in no way a YA offering. While our main character, Rin, is a school-aged girl at the start of our story, the reading level and overall themes are definitely for adult readers. As Rin’s understanding of the world increases and her innocence is slowly lost through her exposure to the corruption of those in power, our experience as a reader follows a similar trajectory.

While The Poppy War may start as a simple story about a girl who wants to escape poverty and improve her life by being accepted into a prestigious academy, her goals quickly shift as the story dictates. This allows author R.F. Kuang to almost play with different genres as the plot progresses, all while maintaining an easy-to-follow throughline that keeps everything feeling connected.

Not quite the monumental undertaking that is Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones or The Dark Tower, I found The Poppy War to be a very accessibly entry into one of the most celebrated fantasy novels of all time. Given how much ground was covered in this first book, I can’t wait to see where the next two take me. This is the most excited I’ve been for a book series since I finally read through Harry Potter a few years back.

There’s been a lot of hype about R.F. Kuang’s newest release Katabasis, which I have yet to read, but it’s on my list. But if you’re looking to check out the series that first led to Kuang’s rise to popularity, why not check out The Poppy War? I absolutely, 100% recommend it.

The only reason it’s not getting 5 stars is because I’m reserving that potential honor for the sequels. I may go back and retroactively change it because it’s that close to a perfect score. Worth noting.

---

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang