R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War is a novel I cannot forget, not only in its narrative plot, but in its strong characters, intense political setting, and the touches of historical inspiration and imagery. It is the adult fantasy that made me reconsider my preferences in fantasy, shifting from YA to the more gritty, more layered content of adult fantasy. It is also the book I remember taking days to get through as its near 530 pages of dense prose had me spending twice as long, possibly even longer, getting through the book.

The Poppy War is an epic historical military fantasy which takes inspiration from China’s bloody twentieth century history and includes themes of with treachery, betrayal, war and magic. Rin, a poor war orphan from one of the southern provinces, passes the Keju – a nationwide exam – and ravels to the elite military school, Sinegard, along with the forty-nine highest scoring students across the provinces. There, she must prove she is worthy of walking among the heirs of war lords, and fight tooth and nail for her spot in the school. But outside the school’s walls tension is bubbling and a new war is on the horizon. Can Rin, with ancient and untamed powers, be the key to the nation’s survival?

Now I really like seeing how authors write up schools like this. I love seeing where their inspiration and sources come from when it comes to the physical training and war room strategy and protocol training. It is in these two areas where I find the most world building and history, and therefore the two areas that should, in my mind, be the most compelling aspects of these schools. I can happily state that I feel The Poppy War delivers in these areas, even with the physical training taking a slightly out-of-class route. The strategy classes also are a fantastic way to further deepen character beliefs, upbringing, personality, and so on. Where are each characters morals? At what point do they start to reconsider tactics? How far will these student go to win, or at least make sure the enemy is at a loss? With all the external influences and backgrounds these students have going into these classes, and the events happening outside of the school’s walls, it really helps round out the political standings and circumstances, especially for the war lords and ministers whom we don’t see or hear of much apart from their children mentioning them.

There are a handful of characters in The Poppy War I love for various reasons. Kitay, Nezha, Rin, and Venka are all malleable and prejudice in their own ways. I love seeing them interact and change their perceptions over the course of their first year at Sinegard, and the events that occur afterward. They feel like solid characters developing as they should, adjusting to things around them and adapting to the changes, while also remaining who they are at their core. They are all strong characters and show clear signs of the story world’s impact asthey learn and grow. Not only that, but their relationships with each other feel authentic, emotive, and believable. I can feel the resentment rolling off Nezha and Rin. I can feel the calm, knowledgable presence of Kitay, but also his nobility and position in society. Venka radiates lethal energy, and her mean girl image is so fitting for her character, even when things change and her relationship with those around her changes.

The plot trajectory is interesting, engaging, and full of additional threads to keep you entertained as the main plot shifts and stews in the shadows. The shift from being a student to being a soldier feels right, especially with what we learn about the story world and the characters as we move through the novel. One this I will say is that my personal investment in the book does lessen and even withdraw completely during the scenes with drugs at its centre. I understand their importance in the story, but I feel it can be overused as a plot point at times and the repeated scenes make the book feel unnecessarily long. I wouldn’t eliminate all the scenes, or even half the scenes, but a handful could have been merged together or at least given less detail to condense them to their key purposes in progressing the plot. With so much going on in this book, these moments of stagnancy mess with the pacing and tension, and feel a little insignificant in the overall picture

I know that I like The Poppy War the least out of the books in the trilogy, so I am eager to pick up The Dragon Republic and continue to reread this intense epic fantasy series. If you are a fantasy fan, especially an adult fantasy fan looking for some militaristic or politically-focused fantasy, then look no further. The Poppy War is full of all sorts of detail and action, and will be sure to spark interest for the fantasy-inclined.